Newman Catholic defeats Lake Mills to qualify for substate

MASON CITY — After splitting the regular-season series, the Lake Mills baseball team lost 7-1 at No. 1 Newman Catholic Saturday in the Class 1A District 4 final.

“I felt like we had a good opportunity to win the game after how we played them earlier in the season,” Lake Mills senior starting pitcher Paul Scholbrock said. “The first couple of innings we were playing our best baseball of the season, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for us.”

Josh Peters crossed home plate to give the Bulldogs a one-run advantage until a two-out double in the third inning gave Newman Catholic a 2-1 lead.

Newman Catholic extended its lead to six runs in the sixth inning, and it held on for the win.

Early in the game, Lake Mills had quality chances to score on three separate occasions: with the bases loaded, with a runner on third with no outs and with runners on first and second, Bulldogs head coach Jason Blaser said.

“Against a good team like Newman, you have to be able to take advantage of every opportunity,” he said. “But, I’m really proud of the way the guys played. They put forth a great effort.”

Scholbrock led the Bulldogs from the mound by pitching 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven batters, walked six and allowed six hits and three earned runs.

“He pitched really well early,” Blaser said. “He did everything he could to keep us in the ballgame.”

At the plate, the Bulldogs mustered four hits. Along with pitching 2/3 of an inning, junior shortstop Luke Kayser led Lake Mills with two hits in three at-bats.

During the regular season, Scholbrock pitched a two-hitter to lead the Bulldogs to a 1-0 road win over Newman Catholic on June 12. He retired 12 Newman Catholic batters.

“We try not to look at the rankings as a team, because it gets all up in your head,” Scholbrock said. “They put their pants on the same way we do, so we just had to believe we could beat them.”

“We talked about it after the first win — you can’t be satisfied,” Blaser said. “You’ve still got to continue to work hard, and our kids have done that.”

The Knights won the rematch 10-0 at Lake Mills on June 28.

The Bulldogs finished the season with an overall record of 16-14. The Knights improved to 25-6 and will host West Bend-Mallard (14-16) in the Class 1A Substate 2 bracket. The winner goes to state.

Highlights of Lake Mills’ season include two five-game winning streaks in June and a 2-1 record in the postseason. In the first round of the playoffs, the Bulldogs beat Ackley-Geneva-Wellsburg-Steamboat Rock (AGWSR) 10-8. Lake Mills won a pitcher’s duel in the second round with a 2-1 win over an 18-5 North Butler squad.

District: Newman Catholic 7, Lake Mills 1

LM 001  000  0  —  1
NC  002  302  0  —  7

LP — Paul Scholbrock (LM) 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 7 SO; Luke Kayser 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

Lake Mills hitting: Josh Peters 1-3, 1 R; Paul Pins 1-2; Luke Kayser 2-3; Paul Scholbrock 1 BB