Onalaska clinches playoff spot

The Onalaska Wildcats will return to the playoffs in 2024. Photo by Clay Lilley

By Clay Lilley
Enterprise contributor

Onalaska Wildcat baseball has clinched a spot in the postseason after a sweep of the New Waverly Bulldogs. These two teams have become bitter rivals in recent years and finished first and second in district last season.

Game 1 Tuesday night added to the rivalry, with the Wildcats taking down the Bulldogs 4-2. Coach Cody Pinkert gave the ball to Thad Lilley, who struggled a little early, but finished strong, going six innings giving up two runs on five hits and allowing two walks, and striking out eight.

New Waverly scored first in the second inning off two doubles, making it 1-0. The Wildcats struck back in the bottom of the second inning. Brayden Topkins started it off with double down the left-field line and Grant Thornton reached on error by Bulldog catcher, Korbin Wale, with a dropped third strike thrown into right field. Brody Hoover hit a sacrifice grounder, scoring Topkins and advancing Thornton to third. Jarrett Purkerson got an infield single on a ball off the knob of his bat that scored Thornton, giving Onalaska a 2-1 lead.

Lilley loaded the bases in the third inning then hit a batter to tie the game, 2-2. The Wildcats took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning with a two-out walk from Thornton, a line drive up the middle by Hoover, then an RBI-single to right field for Purkerson, putting the Wildcats back on top.

Onalaska scored again in the fourth inning, after Wyatt Reyes reached on another error by Wale. He stole second base, then third base, and scored on a throwing error by Wale. With that, the score was 4-2 Onalaska.

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Lilley didn’t allow a runner on base after the third inning, getting three up and three down in his final three innings of work. Lilley was saved in the sixth inning, when Reyes made an incredible catch on a laser hit to deep left field. Off the bat, it didn’t look like he would get to it, but he didn’t give up. Running full blast with his back to the infield, Reyes dove, and in full body extension, made an outrageous over-the-head catch.

Pinkert brought in Purkerson to pitch the seventh inning to secure the win for the Wildcats. Things got a little tense for Purkerson when the first two batters reached base on errors, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. However, Purkerson got the next three batters to pick up a save and give the Wildcats a 4-2 victory.

The win clinched a playoff berth for the Wildcats for the second year in a row. But, the Wildcats got another huge win in Game 2, beating New Waverly 2-0. Topkins took the ball for the Wildcats and pitched an incredible complete game shutout, going seven innings, throwing only 89 pitches, allowing only five hits, no walks, and struck out two. Topkins has been great in his last six games for the Wildcats, throwing 26.1 innings and allowing only six runs on 18 hits, six walks, and striking out 24 batters.

Scoreless until the top of the fifth inning, the Wildcats were batting with two outs and the bases loaded and Reyes up. With an 0-2 count, he hit a line drive to left, scoring Conner Ruiz from third and Purkerson from second, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

The Bulldogs threatened in the seventh, putting runners on first and second with no outs, then first and third with one out. Topkins got a pop up to Thornton for the second out and a strike out to end the game.

With the win, Onalaska clinched third place in district. He said, “All the credit for the success over the past two years goes to the team,” Pinkert said of consecutive playoff appearances with 15-plus wins. “They’re doing things never done in this baseball program and they have done their best to create excitement and pride in the Wildcat community.”

The current District 23-3A standings includes Anderson-Shiro Owls (11-2) in first, Tarkington Longhorns (11-2) second, Onalaska Wildcats (10-3) third, Coldspring Trojans (7-6) fourth, Shepherd Pirates (6-7) fifth, New Waverly Bulldogs (5-8) sixth, Trinity Tigers (2-11) seventh, and Crockett Bulldogs (0-13) eighth.