After a rainy morning and some doubt if the game could be played, the Five Os defeated Hartland 5-0 to take sole position of first place with one week remaining in the regular season. The hero of the game was starting pitcher Luke Nelson. Nelson threw a complete game shutout and also went 3 for 5 at the plate. Luke also managed to dish Brian Henschel, one of the league's top two hitters, an 0 for 4 day at the plate.
Oconomowoc first struck in the bottom of the 5th with some fireworks. Right fielder Mike Mitchell led off the inning with a line drive home run over the center field fence. Josh Fenzl followed with an infield single and then was bunted over to second by Tim Schlosser. Luke Nelson singled Josh over to third and then with two outs, Derek Nelson singled him in. The rest of Oconomowoc's runs came in the bottom of the 8th when Derek Nelson led off the inning with a single. Steve Rhoads bunted him over to second and then back to back walks to Sean Smith and Pete Schlosser loaded the bases. Mike Mitchell then doubled down the left field line to score two and then Josh Fenzl added the fifth and final run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Luke improved his record to 6-1. In the game he walked 1, struck out 6 and allowed only 5 hits. At the plate, Oconomowoc was led by Luke Nelson who was 3 for 5 and Mike Mitchell who was 3 for 4. Mitchell was a triple away from the cycle. Tim Schlosser and Derek Nelson both had two hits each. The win puts Oconomowoc at 25-7 overall and 15-4 in the LOL West. If they beat Brookfield next Saturday, they take first place. The worst they can finish is in a 3 way tie for first place in which case they would get second place. Five Os player/manager Jeff Rhoads has an outside chance at winning the batting title again in 2006. Currently he is 40 points behind catcher Dean Haase from Lannon. Rhoads won the LOL West batting title in 2005 and 2000.
The Five Os next game is next Saturday against Brookfield. They host the Bulldogs at Roosevelt at 2:00 pm. After that they begin the LOL West playoffs and the Tri County playoffs.
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