Gibraltar/Washington Island found themselves on the short end of a true pitcher's duel on Friday, falling to Kewaunee 2-1.
Both the Vikings' Aaron Brey and Brett Paulsen kept batters on their toes early, piling up strikeouts and scoreless innings until both pitchers ran into problems in the fourth inning. At the top of the frame, Paulsen led off with a double that was driven home on a double by Diesel Bosdeck. A throw home during the sequence allowed Bosdeck to scamper to third, which allowed him to score on a Waylon Delain single to make it 2-0. In the bottom of the inning, Brady Kita singled and advanced to third on a stolen base and a passed ball. A RBI groundout of Bennett Isaacson-Krueger made it 2-1. Both teams would threaten later in the game, but Brey and Paulsen would not allow it. In the top of the fifth, the Storm loaded the bases before Brey struck out Brady Pribek to keep the game at 2-1. The Vikings had their own opportunity at the bottom of the seventh with a bases-loaded situation, but an unassisted groundout to Delain secured the win for the Storm.
Paulsen and Bosdeck had two hits, while Delain and Bosdeck had the RBI. Luke Rericha was the lone Vikings player to reach base twice in the game, registering a single before getting hit by a pitch. Paulsen earned the win with a complete game effort, allowing one run on three hits while striking out 11. The combination of Brey and Isaacson-Krueger nearly matched it, striking out 14 while allowing two runs on five hits.
The Vikings will head to Crivitz for a twinbill on Saturday morning, playing the host Wolverines at 9:30 a.m. before playing Wrightstown at 11:30 a.m. The Wolverines are 9-6 on the season, throttling Wausaukee 20-3 on Monday. The Tigers are 9-5 with a 7-6 win over Marinette in their last game. Coverage of the game will air on 105.1 The GOAT beginning at 9:15 a.m. followed by the first pitch.
