Middleton Cardinals top undefeated Janesville Craig, 2-1

JANESVILLE, Wis. (WMTV) - The Middleton High School baseball team handed Janesville Craig their first loss of the season on Tuesday night at Riverside Park.

It was scoreless through three innings until Cardinals’ Jason Morgan had an RBI single to give Middleton a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

In the sixth Middleton would extend their lead, Jackson Rademacher stole home to give the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage.

Noah Schmitt kept the Cougars at bay for nearly seven innings, he’d give up an RBI double to Janesville Craig’s Denver Huges for their lone run of the game.

Senior Hayden Hellenbrand would work his way out of a jam in the seventh, striking out back-to-back batters and fielding the final out to leave the bases loaded to secure the 2-1 Middleton victory.

“We didn’t have a great start hitting but we found a way to manufacture just enough runs,” Head Middleton Baseball Coach Brent Jorgensen said.” It all comes back to the grit and resiliency factor and trusting what we were doing and trusting that we could find a way to be successful no matter what it looked like.”

“People have been doubting us for awhile so I think this was a statement win,” Hellenbrand said. “We got a little excited, running out of the dugout is an awesome memory that I’ll remember forever, those guys running out and hitting me on the side and everything like that.”

Up next the two teams will meet again for the final game of the regular season, Thursday at 5 p.m. at Middleton High School.

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