By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
GREEN BAY – Green Bay Preble’s Max Wagner did a little bit of everything in the Hornets two games June 4.
Wagner picked up both wins on the mound and drove in a combined five runs as Preble won a WIAA Division 1 sectional baseball title at Joannes Stadium.
The Hornets came from behind to beat Hortonville 8-7 in the first game and dispatched Kimberly in the nightcap 5-0.
Preble (24-3), which is making its fourth consecutive trip to state, will play Burlington (23-5) in the quarterfinals at 8 a.m. Tuesday, June 11, at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton.
If the Hornets can manage to win their first game, they’d play later that evening at 6 p.m. in the state semifinals.
“It was a hard year for us,” said Wagner, who is a Clemson recruit and a three-time Fox River Classic Conference player of the year. “We had to battle through a lot early in the season when we were playing a little shaky. Hoisting this trophy for the fourth straight year is special.”
Wagner had three hits on the day, including a homer in the opener and a three-run triple in the sectional final. “
“Max was phenomenal today,” said Preble head coach Andy Conard. “He has been like that all year. There’s nobody you’d want on the mound more than him in those situations. We stretched him as far as we could today. He was very efficient all day.”
Wagner’s bases-clearing triple in the third inning against Kimberly gave the Hornets a 3-0 lead.
The ball hit to the right-center gap, was grabbed for a split second by Kimberly’s Michael Alt but came squirting out when Alt crashed into the wall.
“That was definitely a big play,” Wagner said. “Their right fielder made a great play on the ball – I was just glad he dropped it. I was just looking for a pitch to drive and get a base hit.”
Josh Nicklaus had a sacrifice fly in the fifth before Ben Graff added an RBI double in the seventh for the other runs.
In the first game, the Hornets trailed Hortonville 7-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth, but three runs in the bottom of the inning cut the deficit to two.
Preble added two runs in the seventh to tie the game before Connor Shefchik singled home Dominic Mariucci with the winning run in the eighth.
Ryan Stefiuk started on the mound in the opener and went 3 2/3 innings.
Wagner closed out the game with his two innings of relief on 32 pitches.
WIAA rules prevent a pitcher from throwing more than 100 pitches on a day, so Wagner started game two and made it through six complete before Bryce Miller – who also threw in game one – finished up the last inning.
“We had to outlast both of our opponents today,” Conard said. “We got ourselves behind in the first game and faced some adversity. There were four good teams here today, and we knew we’d have to play close to our best baseball to be the last team standing. I can’t say enough about our team. We are excited to move on to state – we belong there.”
The Hornets will be making their fifth overall trip to state.
“It’s hard to get to state one time,” said Conard. “To think you might have the opportunity to get to four – I don’t know if anyone thinks like that. As coaches, you take it year-by-year and try to make the most of your opportunities. It’s such an unbelievable opportunity, and we don’t take it for granted.”