|
|
Olson, offense heating up
July 28, 1993
Mike Michalsky of the Oconomowoc Five O's, shown pitching against Lannon in this 1992 photo, is batting .513 for the O's this season
After spending his high school career in the considerable shadow of Sean Smith, Oconomowoc Five O's rookie catcher Erik Olson got his moment in the spotlight on Thursday.
Olson ripped a three-run homer to break a 4-all tie and the O's went onto a 10-6 win over Rubicon in the first round of the Southern Wisconsin Amateur Baseball Association Tournament.
Oconomowoc started slowly and trailed 4-2.
However, with some baserunning blunders and timely O's defense, Rubicon failed to put the game out of reach.
The O's awoke in the top of the fifth inning as Steve Smith drilled a double to tie the contest. Then Olson's blast put Oconomowoc ahead to stay.
"Tonight we showed one aspect of our game, our hitting," said Oconomowoc player/manager Jason Brown. "We need to pick up another aspect, out pitching."
"We waited a while to wake up and it wasn't a great performance but it was the kind of effort where a good team finds a way to win."
The Oconomowoc Five O's resumed its second half of the Land O'Lakes Western Division split season pennant chase on Sunday on a blazing hot field.
However, O's starting pitcher was hotter than the temperature as he blazed 11 strikeouts into the scorebook during Oconomowoc's 17-3 victory over Pewaukee.
"Pewaukee got us the first time around, so it shows how well our team is coming around," said Oconomowoc player/manager Jason Brown. "Kevin pitched great and today we showed there isn't an easy out in our lineup."
The win improved Oconomowoc to 3-1 for the second half, one game behind first place Lannon.
Brown dominated the Pirate hitters, carrying a shutout into the sixth inning.
The O's hitters were pretty warm also, cooking up 20 hits, including a home run and triple from each Ron Meunier and Mike Michalsky.
Grag Hackbart continued his torrid hitting pace, going 3-for-5 while Steve Smith contributed a 3-for-6 effort.
After a scoreless first frame, Oconomowoc put two runners on in the second inning before Meunier launched his left field blast.
The Michalsky, who is currently carrying a .513 batting average, followed with a dinger to right field.
The O's added two more runs before the end of the inning and a rout was on.
From the leadoff spot, Meunier reached base five times to ignite an offense that had all nine starters either score or drive in a run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
