After winning its first two games, the one constant for the Verona baseball team is the pitching riches.
Verona rolled by Madison East in a Big Eight Conference game 15-1 in five innings on Monday, April 8, in the home opener at Stampfl Field.
The victory over the Purgolders is the start of a stretch of nine games in 12 days for Verona. The Wildcats will be tested with a busy schedule, but Verona has a stable of pitchers who can log innings. Six different players have pitched in the first two games.
“I think one of our strengths is our pitching depth,” Verona coach Brad D’Orazio said. “It’s a lot of innings to cover. We thought if we could give a couple of guys almost like a bullpen session – 20 or 30 pitches so at least they could stay fresh and be ready for the end of the week.”
Verona (2-0) opened the season with an 11-3 win over Milton on Saturday, April 6, at Milton High School. A trio of Verona pitchers combined to toss a no-hitter against the Red Hawks. The end of the week stretch will include a showdown with Janesville Craig on Saturday, April 13, at Verona Area High School. The Cougars are the defending conference champion.
Verona 15, Madison East 1 (5 inn.)
Verona senior Garrison Codde will play football at Drake University next season, but he showed the excitement he can bring at bat on the diamond.
The Wildcats jumped on the Purgolders with a clutch two-out three-run triple from Codde and cruised from there at Stampfl Field in the home opener.
The Wildcats finished with seven hits, but took advantage of some miscues by Madison East. The Purgolders committed four errors and two pitchers combined walked seven. Six of the seven walks came around to score. Verona finished 7-for-15 hitting with runners in scoring position.
Max Jones set the table in the first inning after reaching on an error. Senior Jack DeTienne walked and senior Nate Novinska then singled to load the bases. Madison East’s Grant Haselow walked senior Owen Davis to score a run. Codde then lined a three-run triple to right to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead.
“It felt good off the bat,” Codde said. “I just tried to hit something hard. It was pretty close to foul. I think the ump could have called it either way. I just hustled it out. I thought if I hustled more, I would be more likely to get the call.”
D’Orazio said it was big to have Codde deliver.
“If you don’t get a pitch you have to be patient,” D’Orazio said. “I thought we did a nice job of putting the ball in play hard and make them make some difficult plays. We haven’t got outside much. Usually, it takes a while for the hitting to catch up.”
Verona had a five-run third. Novinska reached on an error. Davis walked and courtesy runner Aison Jorgenson later scored a wild pitch. Senior Braden Rozga delivered an RBI single and senior Dylan Hesch had an RBI single to right to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. Codde scored on a passed ball and Jones knocked in a run on a groundout to give Verona a 9-0 lead.
Verona put the game away by batting around the order in a six-run fourth. Madison East relief pitcher Sage Kubisz walked three in the fourth and the Purgolders committed three of their four errors in the inning. The Wildcats got RBI singles from Sean Hornberger, Alex Rech and Brady Patten in the fourth.
The Wildcats used three pitchers. Verona sophomore Noah Witkowski started and pitched two shutout innings. He struck out two and surrendered two hits. Patten gave up one earned run in two no-hit innings in relief to get the win. He struck out three and walked one.
“I just wanted to work ahead in the count and throw strikes,” Witkowski said. “I just wanted to get it in the zone.
Junior Caleb Hallmark pitched one shutout inning. Hallmark struck out one and walked one.
Jorgenson scored three runs. Davis walked twice and scored two runs.
Verona 11, Milton 3
The Wildcats showcased their pitching depth with three pitchers combining on a no-hitter against Milton.
DeTienne started and pitched three innings. He gave up three unearned runs that came on three errors by the Wildcats. He struck out eight and walked two. Rozga pitched three shutout innings in relief to get the win. He struck out four. Rech struck out two and walked two in one shutout inning.
DeTienne helped his own cause with the bat, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs. He was a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Novinska went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs. DeTienne hit a solo home run to left in the top of the first inning.
After the Red Hawks scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the first, the Wildcats bounced back. Verona erupted for five runs in the third. Novinska had a two-run single. Patten had a two-run single and Codde had an RBI single to give the Wildcats a 6-2 lead. Davis and Patten each had two RBIs.
