Grafton blanks shorthanded Port twice

It’s not often a baseball team reaches the trifecta, but that’s what Grafton High School pulled off Monday night at Nicolet.

The Black Hawks won, 12-1, to move to 7-1 on the season.

“Great pitching, great defense and great hitting — rarely do you see all three of those in the same game,” coach Brian Durst said.

Jacob Aleknavicius only needed 44 pitches to cruise through four innings, and Colin Indermuehle threw 11 times for a clean fifth inning.

At the plate, Aleknavicius went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI. Zach Merkle was 1-for-2 with a double, two RBI, two walks and scored two runs. Tommy Lamb was 2-for-2 with a double and one run scored. Nathan Woolf had a hit and two RBI.

A seven-run second inning put the game on ice, and four runs in the fifth ended it.

“This was the first game I saw our bats consistently hit up and down the lineup. Even our outs were well hit,” Durst said.

Last Thursday, the Black Hawks scored two runs in the sixth inning to take the lead for good in a 5-4 comeback win over non-conference foe University School of Milwaukee on a cold day.

With two outs and nobody on base, Josh Merkle singled and stole second. Jake Garncarz walked. Indermuehle and Carson Bernd then each hit RBI singles to give the Hawks the lead.

Sam Bulgrin started and allowed four runs (one earned) in four innings. He walked three and allowed two hits. Josh Merkle went the final three, allowing one hit and one walk while whiffing one.

Zack Merkle was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Woolf and Indermuehle were each 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The Hawks fell behind 1-0 in the first inning but came back with three in their half in a tight battle.

Spring break doubleheader goes to Hawks

The Grafton vs. Port Washington game on April 15 was postponed due to weather. With more precipitation in the forecast for their scheduled rematch on April 18, the rivals were able to play a doubleheader on April 16.

Lamb took the hill in the opener and shut down the shorthanded Pirates, allowing one hit while whiffing 11 and walking no one in a 10-0 win in five innings.

“He did a really nice job of keeping Port off the bases and working quickly,” Durst said.

Zack Merkle provided the biggest offensive spark, a three-run home run that cleared the scoreboard in the fourth inning.

“He hit it well,” Durst said.

Lamb and Woolf each had two hits.

The Pirates were still missing some players who are ineligible and others who were on trips for spring break. Grafton only had one player on vacation.

“It was a rivalry game, and we just didn’t come at Grafton like we should have,” Port coach C.J. Koehler said.

Marcus Schmit started and went 3-2/3 innings. Joe Ollman then went one inning before the Hawks reached the 10-run mark, ending the game via the mercy rule.

The second game didn’t get much closer — just enough to go seven innings. Grafton won, 9-0.

Aleknavicius started and went six innings, allowing four walks while striking out one. Carson Chopp pitched the final inning, walking one batter.

“To have all three pitchers throwing strikes for the day and keeping hitters off balance while our offense did the rest of the work — it’s a really good formula for success right now,” Durst said.

The Hawks plated three runs each in the fourth and seventh innings to pull away.

Garncarz was 1-for-3 with a double, four steals, three runs scored, two RBI and two walks. Bernd was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks and a run scored.

Hard-throwing George Klassen started for Port and went 3-2/3 innings. His fastball eclipses 90 mph.

Pirate Joe Yandry had two hits.

On Monday, the Pirates lost at Whitefish Bay, 11-1, in six innings.

Schmit went the first four innings and allowed two runs on two hits, whiffing three and walking one.

“Marcus Schmit threw a great game for us. He was getting ahead of hitters, mixing speeds in different counts,” Koehler said.

It took three more pitchers to finish the game. The Blue Dukes broke open a 2-1 game with an eight-run fifth inning.

Port scored in the fourth. Klassen walked and stole second. A Nolan Mueller grounder moved him to third, and Beau Fleischmann came through with an RBI single.

Grafton, 7-1, was to host Hartford on Tuesday and Nicolet on Wednesday. The Hawks play a doubleheader at Slinger on Saturday and host Homestead on Tuesday, April 30.

Port, 4-6 and losers of five straight, was to host Whitefish Bay on Wednesday, play at Cedar Grove-Belgium on Thursday, host Hartford for a doubleheader on Saturday and play at West Bend West on Tuesday, April 30.