Waukesha West's wild ride ends early

A quick glance at the final score says nothing of the ridiculous seventh-inning rally, the way Waukesha West battled to take a lead in the third inning after an early deficit or the heroics of first baseman Alex Lawrence.

When West was dismissed, 14-7, in the WIAA state quarterfinal at Bukolt Park on Thursday against eventual state champion Franklin, the score didn't tell the full story. The notation next to that score indicating that the game went to extra innings might leave a clue.

Lawrence hit a two-run home run with two outs in the seventh, tying the score at 7-7 and breathing new life into a Wolverines team that came into the final inning trailing, 7-4. But Franklin took advantage of control problems on the hill, and a grand slam by Joel Kornhoff made for an emphatic response to West's thrill-ride with a seven-run eighth.

"That was a tough way to lose," said West coach Chad Montez. "That lead-off double (in the eighth by Evan Walton) really hurt, but it was to their credit, too. Then we walked a guy and then hit a guy and then they blew it wide open. We just couldn't close the door. That grand slam really took the wind out of our sails. Give the kid credit. He really hit it. It was amazing that they hit three home runs and we were still in the game."

Rally time

West, which had already overcome a 3-0 first-inning deficit to take a 4-3 lead through three innings, opened the seventh with consecutive single by Eric Solberg and Aaron Jushka. When Brandon Kranz flew out to center field for a sacrifice fly, the score was cut to 7-5, but Jushka was ruled to have left second base early when he tagged and tried moving up one base.

Now with two outs and nobody on base, Jeff Neuman singled and Lawrence crushed one to right, raising his hand in the air as the no-doubter cleared the fence to tie the score at 7-7.

"I loved how we fought back (in the seventh) but that's the way this team has been all summer," Montez said. "I thought we really had a chance after that because our bottom of the order guys were starting to come through."

Lawrence finished the game with three hits and two runs scored, and Kranz went 3 for 3 with two RBIs. Neuman also went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Jushka worked the first seven innings and settled somewhat after allowing two first-inning homers. Neuman never found a rhythm in the eighth, issuing a double, two walks and a hit batsman to four of the first five batters. An error by Lawrence at first base gave Franklin its second run of the inning, and Kornhoff followed with the home run to put the game out of reach.

Kranz provided an RBI single in the first, and Lawrence doubled and scored in the second on a squeeze play to make it 3-2, Franklin. In the third, Brandon Berghoefer led off with a single and scored on Jushka's sacrifice fly, and Neuman added a two-out single after Kranz doubled, giving West a 4-3 lead.

Franklin scored twice more in the fourth without a hit, with two infield errors and three walks hurting West's cause, then added runs in the sixth and seventh. West outhit the Sabers, 12-11.

Big picture

The Wolverines were making a second consecutive visit to the state tournament in Stevens Point and seventh trip in the past decade.

"This was a good run for us," Montez said. "There are not too many towns with three teams in it like we have and still we're able to get to state for the seventh time in 10 years. It says a lot about our kids, because we're competing with a lot of one-horse towns (like Franklin) who can put all their energy into one team. I told the guys that we pulled a lot of upsets this summer, and that was with only four seniors."

Those four seniors were Jushka, Neuman, Nick Tehan and Lawrence.

-- Steven L. Tietz contributed to this article.

Box score

Franklin 14, Waukesha West 7 (8 inn.)

West

Totals