Bay Port’s Carter Highline threw five innings of no-hit ball in the Pirates 6-2 FRCC win over Manitowoc Lincoln May 10 (Rich Palzewic photo).
RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
SUAMICO – Carter Highline pitched five innings of no-hit ball, Jake Berg continued his hot hitting and Call Verlanic made a run-saving catch in the Bay Port baseball team’s 6-2 Fox River Classic Conference victory over Manitowoc Lincoln May 10 at Bay Port High School.
Highline’s no-hitter ended in the sixth when the Ships got two hits and two runs, but Verlanic’s sliding catch in center field with two outs preserved a 4-2 lead.
The Pirates tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth to seal the game.
“We beat a good Manitowoc team,” said Bay Port head coach Mike Simoens. “I was really happy with how Carter pitched. He did an excellent job and we got some clutch hitting in a few of those innings.”
Simoens made a two-out trip to the mound with the bases loaded in the sixth to chat with Highline and the Pirates leading 4-0.
“I told him it was probably his last batter and that he needed to give it everything he had to get us out of the inning,” Simoens said. “He did that, but unfortunately the Manitowoc kid put a good stick on the ball to score two runs.”
A batter later Verlanic made his sliding catch.
“I don’t think Call got a great read on the ball,” Simoens added. “It was a big swing from the batter – he froze and maybe took a step back. I’m not sure if anyone else would have gotten to that ball, though. With Call’s speed he closed on the ball and made an athletic play.”
Two days after scoring three runs and knocking in four, Berg had a three-hit night in Bay Port’s 10-hit night.
Brett Stanzel and Bobby Tilot also had two hits, while Verlanic, Logan Donart and Josh Shackelford each had one.
“I’ve just been seeing good pitches to hit and early in the count I’ve been seeing fastballs,” said Tilot. “I’ve been jumping all over those pitches because I don’t want to fall behind in the count and have to start guessing at the plate.”
Berg knocked in Grant Maus with an RBI single in the third, before Tilot plated Josh Shackelford with a liner up the middle to make it 2-0.
After Berg belted a one-out double to left in the fifth, Stanzel singled to put runners at the corners. Verlanic walked, setting the stage for a Tilot two-RBI double to bump the lead to 4-0.
Stanzel and Verlanic had back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth to close the scoring.
Highline gave up just three hits, while walking three and striking out five.
Box Score
Manitowoc: 000 002 0 – 2 4 0
Bay Port: 002 022 X – 6 10 1
ML: Pitching – Broecker (LP), 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 5 SO; Eberhardt, 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 0 SO.
BP: Leading hitters – Berg 3X3, Stanzel 2X3, Tilot 2X4; RBI: Berg (1), Stanzel (1), Verlanic (1), Tilot (3): 2B: Tilot, Berg; Pitching – Highline (WP), 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 5 SO; Shackelford, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO.