By Craig Marx, Editor

At the Antigo Dugout Club’s youth baseball tournament this past weekend, one particular local team triumphed in the long run. With the weekend’s contests spanning from ages nine to 15, the Antigo 12U squad capped its season with a first-place finish, posting a 4-0 record for the tourney.

The 12U team began the tournament with a 14-7 win over Wittenberg-Birnamwood on Friday evening. Connor Kolz went 3 for 4, including a home run and a pair of singles. Henry Berger crushed a grand slam in his 2 for 4 outing.

Casey Smith had two singles in the first game while Austin Schedlbauer had a triple. Cordell Umland, Malik Brisby, and Zack Zupon each recorded a base hit.

Smith helped lead the 12U team to a narrow victory in their second game, hitting a walk-off, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Appleton East 4-3 on Saturday. Smith, Schedlbauer, Zupon, and Ryan Zima each had two hits for the game.

Later on Saturday, Antigo’s 12U club defeated Wisconsin Rapids 12-3. Brisby went 3 for 3 with a double, while Schedlbauer had a homer. Smith and Kolz both had two hits, with Zima, Henry Berger, and Weslyn Ebel each recording hits against Rapids.

The championship game on Sunday featured a much-anticipated rematch against Witt-Birn and was taken by Antigo 11-10 in extra innings thanks to a walk-off base hit from Schedlbauer in the bottom of the eighth.

Schedlbauer finished with two hits in the 12U team’s title winning game, while Berger provided another grand slam. Ebel had a double while Zupon finished with a pair of singles. Zima and Brisby provided a base hit apiece.

Special thanks to Lon Ebel for all the information and assistance.