Slow start to season for Hornets Baseball

By Derick Kelly

The start of the 2025 season has not been kind to the Wauzeka-Steuben Hornets baseball team as they have started the season 0-3. First up for the Hornets was a trip to Stoddard on Saturday, April 5 to take on Rib Lake. The opponents from the Marawood Conference Northern Division opened the game with two runs in the top of the first inning before scoring three times in the third and twice in the fourth to make the score 7-0 which remained the score for the rest of the game. The Hornet offense was limited to five total base runners in the game -  a fifth inning single by Cody Wagner, a hit-by-pitch of Theodore Millin and three total walks by Clint Mitchell, Bentley Dums and Millin. Cooper Lomas took the loss, allowing five runs on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts in two innings pitched. Dums pitched three innings in relief of Lomas, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts before Mitchell came on in relief to pitch the final two innings, allowing zero runs while scattering one hit and three walks.

Wauzeka-Steuben returned home three nights to host the River Ridge Timberwolves and were held to one hit in a 11-0 defeat in six innings. River Ridge got their scoring started with two runs in the first, one run in the second, two more in the fourth and six in the fifth inning. The Hornets offense was once again limited to one hit, a single by Lomas. They also got two walks by Mitchell and one by Dums and a hit-by-pitch of Lomas. Mitchell got the start on the mound and took the loss after allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts in four innings pitched. Millin finished the last inning, allowing six runs (four earned) on two hits and three walks.

The Hornets returned to the diamond last Thursday, April 10 as conference foe North Crawford came to town. The Hornets not only scored their first runs of the season but also took their first lead of the season in the bottom of the first when a one-out double by Mitchell was followed by a single by Lomas that scored Mitchell. Two batters later, Millin singled with two-outs to drive in Lomas to make the score 2-0 in favor of W-S. North Crawford would answer in the next inning by scoring five runs to take a 5-2 lead they would not surrender. The Hornets would get one run back in the bottom of the second thanks to an one-out RBI single by Cody Wagner that drove in Mason Johnson to make the score 5-3.

The Trojans would respond with a run in the top of the third, two runs in the fourth and one final run in the sixth inning for the final score of 9-3. Lomas suffered the loss on the mound after allowing eight runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts in four innings pitched before Dums pitched the final three innings in relief, allowing one run on three hits and one walks while striking out four. The Hornets offense got a double from Mitchell as well as hits from Brett Wagner, Lomas, Millin and Cody Wagner.

Wauzeka-Steuben traveled to Weston this past Monday night and Brookwood last night before they head to Ithaca tomorrow for a doubleheader.