Franklin ruins state hopes of two South Shore teams

It has only been four years since Cudahy last made the WIAA state baseball tournament, but anything less than that is less-than-satisfactory season for Mike Lessard.

South Milwaukee had the same goal in mind, but the Rockets have waited much longer - they haven't advanced that far since 1996.

While one of those schools can only make it every year - they play in the same sectional - each believed it had a legitimate shot.

One team, however, that had been defeated by both Cudahy and South Milwaukee during the regular season stood in their way: the Franklin Sabers.

First, Franklin eliminated Lessard's second-seeded Cudahy Packers, 7-4, in the sectional semifinals Saturday, a game that was delayed twice and then moved to Sheridan Park after massive flooding made the field at South Milwaukee High School, the host of the sectional, unplayable.

Then, in the sectional finals Sunday, the Sabers ended John Galewski's South Milwaukee Rocket's season with a 4-3 victory - all the more disappointing in that fourth-seeded South Milwaukee had upset the top-seed, Oak Creek, 5-4 in the sectional semifinals one day earlier.

"There were no magic words that I was going to say that would make them feel better," Galewski said. "It's going to hurt. Somebody's got to lose and it's not easy to take."

The somber mood was the same for both teams after the defeats, but it could have been different since they each jumped out to early leads against the Sabers.

Split decisions for Rockets

South Milwaukee got off to its quick start when it scored two runs off four hits in the top of the first.

"The first inning was nice, but I've been around a lot longer to know that it's a seven inning game and there are going peaks and valleys," Galewski said.

The big blow against the Rockets was when the Sabers scored three runs on five hits in the fourth inning off junior starter Joe Pendzich.

South Milwaukee responded by scoring a run in the fifth when Sammy Oliden's single plated Luke Maldonado.

But the rally ended when senior Jake McKinney, who had one of the RBIs in the first, hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Still, Galewski said he felt his team had another run in them.

"We never feel like we're out of the game, especially with a one-run game," he said. "We've had a lot of last-inning dramatics."

But there would be no dramatic ending this time, unlike in the team's semifinal game.

South Milwaukee entered the game on a nine-game winning streak and was fresh off an impressive victory over Oak Creek in which it scored two runs in the sixth to pull ahead for the one-run win.

McKinney, one of the six seniors on the team, hit two doubles and had two RBIs to lead the offense, while the combined pitching performances of sophomore Matt Merriman and Aaron Kobza kept the hot-hitting Knights in check for much of the game.

Leading the Pack

Cudahy starting pitcher Joe Jagler did the same against the Sabers in his game, as the Packers were ahead 3-1 lead after four innings.

But the Sabers tagged Jagler for three runs in the fifth off junior Jay Dirienzo's bases-clearing double. Lessard sent Jagler out for the sixth, but it was more of the same, as the Sabers tacked on three runs, all with two outs.

"(Jagler's) our guy, so we're going to ride him as far as we can," Lessard said. "There was no doubt in our minds. He gives us the best chance to win. We're talking about a couple plays going our way, and we're talking about a different ball game."

The Packers, the Woodland Conference Blue Division co-champions, added a run in the bottom of the sixth to trim the deficit to three and had the tying run at the plate in the seventh before Jagler struck out to end the game.

It was the fourth consecutive year the Sabers have eliminated the Packers in postseason play.

"They keep sticking it to us," Lessard said. "I did feel like we were going to stage a comeback. I guess we ran out of innings."