Fans fasten seat belts for Grafton’s wild postseason ride

One comeback for the Grafton High School baseball team worked in electric fashion last week. A second fell just short and sent the Black Hawks home for the season.

Sam Cameranesi, Nick Schiller and Jack Schmanski came up clutch in a 7-6, 10-inning home Division 2 playoff win against No. 5-seeded University School of Milwaukee on June 4.

Trailing 6-5 in the seventh inning, Zach Plier hit a one-out single and took second on a wild pitch. Cameranesi came up with an RBI single to tie the game.

In extra innings, the Hawks put runners in scoring position multiple times but couldn’t get anyone home, at least not until the 10th inning.

The Hawks got runners on first and second with no outs, and Schiller popped a single to right field. Kevin Quello got on his horse from second base and beat the throw home for the walk-off victory.

“We put another memorable win in the books,” coach Brian Durst said.

The Wildcats took a 6-0 lead through two innings, chasing ace Luke Michalak, who came in with back trouble and didn’t have his best stuff, Durst said.

Elijah Banaag pitched a “crucial” scoreless third inning that allowed Jack Schmanski to get ready to pitch, and he took it from there, allowing two hits and a walk while whiffing seven over the next seven innings.

“He did a great job for us in that game,” Durst said.

The Hawks got on the board with one run in the third, then four in the fourth in sending nine batters to the plate to close to 6-5.

In extra innings, “USM was resilient,” Durst said. “They were bending without breaking. Sooner or later something had to give. As the home team, we were confident we were going to get that run. It was a matter of beating the sunset.”

A day later in the regional final at top-seeded Pewaukee, ranked No. 8 in Division 2 in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association weekly poll, the Hawks fell behind 5-0.

“Pewaukee is an elite team. We knew what we were up against. They’ve been highly rated all year, a senior-heavy team,” Durst said.

Cameranesi kept the Hawks in the game, only allowing a couple of earned runs, six hits and three walks while striking out two in six innings.

A couple of Hawks’ errors led to three Pirates’ runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth.

“Sam worked out of trouble as best he could, navigating a really good lineup,” Durst said.

The Hawks got on the board in the fifth inning. Dylan Bodoh got hit by a pitch, Peyton McKinney singled and back-to-back passed balls plated a run.

The Hawks’ finally knocked the Pirates’ starter out in the sixth inning. Will Heinz was hit by a pitch, and two batters later Plier was hit by a pitch. Cameranesi hit an RBI single, and a second run came in on a throw from left field.

Hudson Miller then singled, and Bodoh followed with an RBI single.

With runners on first and third, Pewaukee pulled its starter. Grafton hit a pop fly for the third out. The Pirates’ reliever put the Hawks down in order in the seventh inning.

“It was another great effort that showed our team’s toughness and resilience. We fought to the end,” Durst said.

“No regrets on the way that game finished. We said to hold our heads high after that game. We gave Pewaukee everything they can handle.”

The Hawks finished 18-11 overall and were 9-9 and in fifth place as the smallest school in the 10-team North Shore Conference.

“Putting up an 18-win season against the competition we play against, it will feel good when we look back on it,” Durst said. “It makes the offseason work and the time the kids put in rewarding.”

Port hangs with KML for much of game

No. 6-seeded Port Washington was playing No. 3 Kettle Moraine Lutheran to a scoreless tie through three and a half innings.

 The Chargers scored one run in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth on just three hits to win, 5-0. Port’s pitchers walked 12 batters.

“Hats off to KML pitcher Nolan Ebert. He pitched an outstanding game,” Port coach Zach Perkins said.

Port had two hits, both by Jack Bunyan.

Sam Hoeft allowed four runs (three earned), two hits and seven walks while striking out seven in four innings. Max Webb allowed one run, one hit and five walks while striking out one in two innings.

Port finished 7-11 and in seventh place in the NSC — its most league wins since 2004 — and 11-16 overall

“I’m extremely proud of our boys for the season we had and battling all season long,” Perkins said.