Grafton ace tosses gem to beat Port

A playoff contest between rivals turned into a bit of a rout thanks to Grafton junior Jacob Aleknavacius.

The pitching ace on May 29 allowed No. 3-seeded Port Washington just two hits in seven innings in a 6-0 victory in Grafton for to give the top-seeded Black Hawks a Division 2 regional title.

Aleknavacius whiffed seven and walked one in 90 pitches.

“Jacob threw an outstanding game. From the opening inning until the final pitch he was really in command,” coach Brian Durst said. “He was very efficient. He just threw an extremely clean game.”

Port’s dugout noticed it as well.

“He threw the ball really well, set the tone in the first inning, throwing eight of nine curveballs for strikes,” coach C.J. Koehler said.

Pirates Xavier Deal and George Klassen were the only two to get hits. The Pirates nearly plated a run in the seventh inning. Klassen had a leadoff single, moved to second on a balk and stole third. From there, Aleknavicius got two strikeouts and a fly out to end the game.

Durst credited his team’s defense as well for “errorless” play the entire game. The Hawks made the routine plays and center fielder Jake Garncarz made highlight-reel diving catches in right center and left center, Durst said.

The Hawks scored early, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and adding two more in the second.

With a 4-0 lead just six outs into the game, Aleknavicius could be aggressive and mix speeds.

“I thought he did a great job of attacking hitters and keeping hitters off balance,” Durst said.

Batting in the No. 3 hole, Tommy Lamb went 2-for-2 with two doubles, three RBI, two walks and scored a run.

“Often times his production offensively gets overlooked by what he does on the mound. Tommy is a complete player and takes a lot of pride in his performance, whether it is offense or defense,” Durst said.

Leadoff hitter Garncarz went 1-for-4 and scored two runs. Colin Indermuehle, batting second, went 1-for-4 with an RBI, double, and scored two runs.

Carson Bernd in the No. 5 spot had two hits in the first two innings and an RBI.

“We did several little things to continue to put pressure on but for the most part as expected, Port Washington was well prepared and very competitive. I hope the Port community understands how well coached their program is and how in good hands their program is. No matter what personnel C.J. has available, his teams are always competitive,” Durst said.

Port was short on pitching after playing a day before and since Klassen, the team’s ace, was nursing a sore back. Ethan Bornhoefer started and went one inning, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk. Rob Ross pitched the next two innings and allowed two unearned runs on two hits.

Marcus Schmit finished the final three innings, allow one earned run on two hits.

One day after a clean game, the Pirates made five errors.

“We had some big plays defensively that kind of hurt us. It’s tough to win a regional final when you have five errors,” Koehler said.

In the regional semifinal a day earlier, Port had its work cut out for it. No. 2-seeded University School of Milwaukee had beaten Milwaukee Vincent, 32-0, in the playoff opener the week before.

The Pirates were up to the task, winning, 9-3.

Klassen started but struggled and just got one out before leaving with back issues. Sophomore Joe Yandry, who had come through for the Pirates before on the mound, came in and threw the final 6-2/3 innings, allow four hits and two walks.

“He had stepped up in the Brown Deer game (5-3 playoff win) and the Cedarburg game (2-1 loss) the week before,” Koehler said.

Port had 14 hits, getting at least one from every player in the batting order.

In the first inning, Nolan Mueller, Beau Fleischmann and Deal each had RBI singles, the latter two with two outs, in helping Port take a 3-0 lead.

University School answered with three runs in their half of the first, and the Pirates took the lead for good in the second. Freshman leadoff hitter Patrick Lippe doubled and Klassen brought him home with a single,

In the third, Ross led off with a single and stole second. Yandry knocked him in with a two-out RBI single.

Port broke it open with four runs in the sixth inning. Eli Buczek had a pinch-hit one-out double. Lippe followed with an RBI single, followed by a Schmit single.

With two men on, Klassen found a way to help his team from the plate instead of the mound. He smashed a three-run homer to right center.

“He just drove the ball the other way and got it out of there,” Koehler said.

The Pirates finished the season 10-19, reaching one goal of winning double-digit games but falling short of the other, winning a regional title. Including the playoffs, Port won three of its last four games.

“We got some momentum going at the end of the year,” Koehler said.

Grafton knocked off No. 4-seeded Kettle Moraine Lutheran, 4-2, in the regional semifinal.

On Tuesday, they lost another heartbreaker to North Shore Conference champ Whitefish Bay, 2-1. The Hawks lost during the season to the Blue Dukes, 3-2 and 4-2.

Grafton finished the season 15-10 overall. The Hawks also peaked late, winning four of their last five.