CG-Belgium survives for a sweep

It was one dominant victory and one nail-biter that took a highlight-reel catch for the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School baseball team in a doubleheader sweep at Sheboygan Lutheran on Monday.

After a 10-0 victory, the Rockets didn’t score until the fifth inning of the nightcap, but built an 11-2 lead.

That led coach Tom Race to pull one of his top pitchers Brad Katte and save him for later this week.

Katte had thrown well, allowing two runs on three hits, whiffing four and walking one through five innings.

Tyler Kraus came in, and Lutheran got going.

A walk, error, hit, passed ball, two more hits and arm soreness led Race to put in Zach Zimpelman.

But the hitting continued.

With the bases loaded and two outs, a deep fly was clocked to center field.

Bryce Morgan got on his horse.

Race didn’t think his senior would get to it.

But Morgan made an over-the-shoulder catch to end the game.

“He robbed the kid,” Race said.

“The kid hit the ball hard. I thought it was over his head.”

If that ball drops, Race said he figured three runs would have scored and the Rockets would have lost.

The Rockets scored five runs in the fifth inning to take control of the game.

Kraus had a triple, and Paul Simmelink and Jacob Bohlmann each had a double.

They added six runs in the sixth, aided by seven passed balls and three errors.

The Rockets won the first game, 10-0, behind Jason von Heimburg.

The senior pitcher allowed one hit in six innings, whiffed six and walked none.

His defense turned two 4-6-3 double plays.

At the plate, von Heimburg had a triple.

Simmelink went 1-for-2 — “he’s just tearing up the ball,” Race said, and Zimpelman had a double and Chris Mueller had a hit.

On Saturday, the Rockets lost at Pewaukee, 11-1, in five innings.

The Rockets plated one run in the first and threatened in the second with runners on first and second.

A bunt, however, got popped up and Zimpelman, who had a huge lead at second base, got doubled up.

“Then the wheels came off,” Race said.

Katte pitched well, but the Rockets made a couple of errors and Pewaukee hit well.

Race was pleased that the Rockets got to face Western Illinois recruit Parker Heidorf for a couple of innings.

“It’s just valuable at-bats for those kids,” he said.

Last Friday, Jason von Heimburg had his best stuff going against Oostburg in an 8-0 home victory.

Von Heimburg went 4-2/3 innings and allowed two hits while whiffing eight and walking two.

“He was on,” Race said.

Kraus went 2-1/3 innings and allowed a hit and a walk while whiffing three.

Mason Noll went 2-for-4 with a triple and RBI, and von Heimburg had two hits.

Cameron Kirst and Morgan each had a hit.

On June 6, the Rockets lost to Sheboygan Falls, 10-0. Katte had a rough outing, and the Rockets only managed three hits, including a double by Kirst.

The Rockets (7-4 in the Big East Conference and 7-7 overall) play at New Holstein on Thursday, at Whitefish Bay on Saturday and at Random Lake onMonday for a doubleheader.
Young Ozaukee team still learning

Ozaukee avoided its fourth straight shutout by scoring three runs in a 12-3 loss in the second game of a doubleheader against Oostburg on Monday.

Oostburg won the first game, 8-0.

On Friday, the Warriors lost, 10-0, to Random Lake, and on June 6 lost, 23-0, to Plymouth.

“It’s a young team. Right now our bats got a little tight on us.

They did seem to loosen up at the end of the last game,” coach Steve Kowalkowski said.

The team, he said, knows it’s a rebuilding year.

The team has no seniors and one junior.

“We’re getting some solid hitting from Simon Bares.

Brent Hoffmann has continued to hit well and pitch well. Mitch Weyker has been a very versatile player in filling some roles,” he said.

Ozaukee (1-8) was to host Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah for a doubleheader on Wednesday, Sheboygan Lutheran on Thursday and play a doubleheader at New Holstein on Monday.