Published: May 20, 2014
Mueller’s big day leads 7 UP
Slugger hits 2 home runs, drives in 7 runs
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
Mike Mueller knows he’s not a young guy anymore.
Because of that, it takes him a little bit to shake off some
winter rust and get into a groove swinging the bat for the West Bend 7 UP. It
happened Saturday afternoon.
Mueller went 4 for 5 with two home runs and seven RBIs,
including a grand slam, in leading the 7 UP to an 11-1 victory in seven innings
over the Kewaskum A’s at Regner Park.
Going into the game, Mueller was 2 for 11 with nine
strikeouts (.182 batting average).
“It’s the game of baseball; it’s part of the game,” Mueller
said about his early-season slump. “It has its ups and downs. It’s the fifth
game of the year. It’s just nice to be back playing after that horrible
winter.”
The game featured two of the premier amateur baseball teams
in the state as both had won their respective league championships in the last
five years. The 7 UP won the 2010 Land O’ Lakes Grand Championship and the
Kewaskum A’s won the 2012 Rock River League Grand Championship.
In addition, both teams went into the game riding winning
streaks, the 7 UP had won three straight and the A’s four straight.
The game quickly got out of hand as the 7 UP’s Matt Schubert
was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. Then Cal Jacklin reached on a throwing
error and Schubert scored from first base on the play.
Mueller followed with an RBI single up the middle and later
Jed Justman hit a tworun single to right for a 4-0 lead.
Normally a strong spot for the A’s, the defense wasn’t not
sharp. The A’s committed four errors in the first three innings, leading to
four unearned runs. After three innings, the 7 UP had a commanding 10-1 lead.
“Being able to have extra baserunners was huge for us,” 7 UP
player/manager Brandon Mantz said. “We came up with some clutch hits. Mike was
able to drive the ball and get guys in. Getting out to an early lead was huge.”
The big blow was Mueller’s grand slam in the third inning.
It was the only hit of the inning as the A’s committed two errors.
“We can’t give up extra outs and we did,” Kewaskum
player/manager Jim Ziegler said.
Brad Young was the starting pitcher for the A’s. He picked
up the loss, allowing 10 runs (six earned), just five hits, walked three and
struck out one. Struggling on defense was the last thing Kewaskum anticipated.
“We’re a little bit shortstaffed for the weekend,” Ziegler
said. “I was hoping Brad could eat up some innings for us.”
“We didn’t help Brad out at all,” Ziegler said.
Last summer, Mueller went through a stretch where he was 34
for 60 (.567) with six home runs, 12 doubles and 26 RBIs.
This year, he’s gotten out to a slow start, just like he did
last year. Only last season, he was coming off knee surgery.
This year, he attributed his slow start to old age, with a
smile.
“I’m getting older you know; it takes a couple games to get
going,” Mueller said. “But mostly swinging at pitches outside the zone.”
The 7 UP also got a good pitching performance by Jaime
Paumen, who made his 7 UP debut Saturday. He pitched seven innings, allowing
just one run on four hits. He struck out seven and walked six.
“He stepped up for us,” Mantz said. “We told him to throw
strikes and he did that for the most part.”
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