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An outstanding spring season came to an end yesterday for the Manitowoc Lincoln baseball team in the WIAA Division-1 Sectional at Oshkosh North. The FRCC co-champions dropped a 3-to-1 decision to Beaver Dam in the semifinals at E.J. Schneider Field. Ships junior righthander Noah Wech suffered the loss despite allowing just 1 earned run in 6 and a third innings. Senior catcher Jackson Cherney drove in Lincoln’s only run with a two-out single in the bottom of the 7th inning, but a groundout with the potential winning run at the plate ended the threat. Coach Bruce Steinbecker’s squad finishes with a program-best 20 wins and 5 losses and a share of the FRCC title. The Hartford Orioles won the Oshkosh sectional crown with a 4-1 10-inning victory over the Golden Beavers.
Meanwhile, two other area baseball teams earned trips to the State Baseball Tournament in Grand Chute. Denmark won a pair of games Tuesday, 5-4 over Notre Dame and then 2-nothing against Chilton to capture the Division-2 Sectional at Winneconne. The (28-and-2) Vikings will look for their 3rd consecutive title when they open semifinal play next Wednesday.
And, the Kiel Raiders punched their ticket to state with a 2-nothing conquest of Amherst in the Division-3 Sectional final at Shiocton. The Raiders (now 24-and-2) edged EWC rival New Holstein 4-to-3 in the semifinals earlier yesterday. Kiel will play a state semifinal game next Tuesday. Teams will be seeded and then tournament pairings are going to be released.
