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O's still OK, gain split
Fall against Lannon but beat Falls
July 7, 1993
Oconomowoc Five O's third baseman Steve Rhoads takes a pitch as Marty Myers makes the catch during a Land O'Lakes Western Division game against Lannon at Roosevelt Field on Saturday.
Baseball fans in general and Oconomowoc Five O's fans in particular weren't disappointed on Sunday and Monday as Land O'Lakes Western Division powers Lannon and Menomonee Falls, respectively, rolled into town.
The result was two outstanding games and a split for the Five O's.
Oconomowoc fell 9-6 to Lannon but then bounced back and edged split season first half champion Falls 3-1.
"This whole weekend was grey hair and ulcers," said Oconomowoc player/manager Jason Brown on Monday. "It's impossible to overstate how big this win was. We're still in the hunt."
The split left Oconomowoc 2-1 for the second half.
On Sunday, Oconomowoc battled to a 5-all standoff through seven innings behind starting pitcher Greg Hackbart, who also went 4-for-4, including a solo home run.
In the eighth inning, however, Lannon's Jim Barwick, the league's MVP last season, ripped a big hole in the O's defense with a three-run homer.
Oconomowoc scraped a run across in the bottom half and then put runners on base in the ninth.
However, the lead runner Steve Smith was hit by a line drive off Erik Olson's bat for the final out.
On Monday, with Oconomowoc's potential pennant chances at stake, starting pitcher Chad Brown was masterful as he slowed the Lakers to a crawl on six hits.
In the second inning, Steve Rhoads bunted for a single and scored as Jeff Ranta rocketed a double to center field before Kevin Brown followed with an RBI lash.
That was all the offense Brown would need, although there were some anxious moments.
In the ninth, Falls put runners at second and third with one out. On an attempted bunt, the lead runner was caught in a rundown and was eventually tagged for the second out.
Then Brown induced Paul Westerman to ground to first base for the final out and the O's celebrated their biggest win in two seasons.
"We were able to keep hitters off balance," said Chad Brown. "There was some great defense behind me and there was a great mental attitude from a team that everyone thought was dead."
The O's next stop on their journey to the top on the division is a July 11 road game at Sussex.
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