No umpires, no victories for Grafton

Two slow starts and one surprise no-start  was the story of last week for the Grafton High School baseball team.

Umpires didn’t show up for a home game against West Bend East on April 14, and the Hawks didn’t exactly show out against Slinger on April 16 or against Whitefish Bay last Thursday.

Slinger held Grafton to one hit by Peyton McKinney in an 11-0 victory in five innings.

Ace Luke Michalak walked an uncharacteristic eight batters and allowed six runs and four hits in two innings. Brady Eader allowed five runs, four hits and a walk in one inning.

The Owls were up, 11-0, through three innings.

“Slinger is a really good team but we struggled to throw strikes,” coach Brian Durst said.

A day later, Whitefish Bay held off a late Black Hawks’ comeback in a 13-9 win.

The Blue Dukes went up 5-0 in the first inning and plated four in the ninth. Grafton scored six in the final frame.

Eader had three hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Kevin Quello had a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Zach Plier had a hit, two RBIs and a run scored. Dylan Bodoh had an RBI triple. Sam Cameranesi had a double and an RBI.

The Hawks made four errors. Elijah Banaag allowed nine runs (eight earned), nine hits and a walk while striking out two in four innings.

Durst said he figured the Hawks gave up 20 free bases.

“We had a couple of miscues we haven’t seen yet this year. Our pitching wasn’t sharp, and we’ve had outstanding pitching so far. We have not given up free bases,” he said.

The team finished the week with some “high-energy practices,” Durst said and was ready to put those games behind it.

Grafton, 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the North Shore Conference, hosted Nicolet on Monday, was to host Random Lake on Tuesday, April 22, and West Bend West on Wednesday, April 23. The Hawks play at Hartford on Friday, April 28, and host Port Washington on Monday, April 28.