Hinckley’s masterful return leads Spirits past Bulldogs, 5-1 | By Craig Larsen

June 21, 2025 – West Bend, Wi – Under the cathedral dome of a Wisconsin summer evening, where the air hung thick as honey and the lights of Carl M. Kuss Memorial Field painted shadows long as prairie grass, Gavin Hinckley authored a redemption story written in fastballs and painted corners.

The right-hander’s resurrection was complete—11 strikeouts on just four hits over a complete game nine-inning masterpiece that erased the memory of two weeks’ worth of doubt and delivered the West Bend Spirits a thoroughly satisfying 5-1 victory over the visiting Brookfield Bulldogs, putting them firmly back into the race for the Suburban Division title.

This wasn’t just another Friday night in small-town America. This was Hinckley rising from the ashes of injury, silencing both the internal and external whispers that had followed him like storm clouds since he’d walked off the mound against Hartland clutching his shoulder.

The specter of that June evening—when their ace had left in apparent agony—had haunted the Spirits dugout for 14 long days. Now, as Hinckley carved through the Bulldogs’ lineup with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker, those fears evaporated into the humid night like smoke from a summer barbecue.

“There were some sleepless nights after that Hartland game, I’ll be honest,” said Spirits manager Willie Mueller, who watched his ace pitcher work with efficiency despite the recent injury scare. “When Gavin left the mound, we all feared the worst. To see him come back and pitch like this—it’s pretty special. The hot, humid conditions tonight actually helped loosen him up, and you could see his confidence in the shoulder grow with each inning.”

Through eight frames, Hinckley was Michelangelo with a baseball, needing just 84 pitches to sculpt his masterpiece. He faced 32 batters and got ahead in 27 of those at-bats. Only one walk escaped his command, a testament to the surgical precision that has made him a crown jewel of the Spirits’ rotation for half a decade.

The movement of the game came in the second inning, when Mike Ferri’s grounder turned into a double play that snuffed out Brookfield’s rally faster than a candle in a prairie wind.

“The shoulder wasn’t an issue. It felt good from the first warm-up pitch,” Hinckley said after the game. “The hot weather actually helped me stay loose, and once I got into a rhythm, I knew I was going to be alright and I’m back to where I need to be to help this team get to where we want to be.”

The offensive fireworks began in the third inning with the kind of chaos that makes baseball beautiful. Colyn Lessila reached first when a dropped third strike danced away from catcher Thomas Otto. Ben Hurt Haller followed with a sharp single, suddenly putting two runners in scoring position with opportunity knocking.

Enter Caleb Horvath, who stepped into the box carrying the weight of the moment on his shoulders. His line drive double to left field was a thing of beauty—two runs crossing home plate, giving West Bend a 2-0 cushion that would prove to be all Hinckley needed.

“I have a soft spot for Caleb. He plays the game hard, the way they used to play it. You can plug him anywhere and he can contribute,” Mueller said. “When we need a big hit, he seems to find a way to come through. That double really opened things up for us, and it gave Gavin all he needed on the mound tonight.”

The Spirits continued building their masterpiece brick by brick. Camden Hoier drove home the first insurance run in the fifth with a single that found center field, plating Brandon Niedfeldt to stretch the lead to 3-0. But the coup de grâce came in the seventh, when Hoier returned to the plate with runners on second and third.

The ball found grass instead of leather, threading through the infield like hope through despair, bringing home both Lessila and Niedfeldt to push the advantage to 5-0. Hoier’s three-RBI performance was a clinic in clutch hitting, each at-bat a small masterpiece of patience and precision.

“So happy for Cam right now,” Mueller said. “He’s being patient, working counts, and when he gets his pitch, he’s not missing it. That’s what you want from your cleanup hitter. The sky’s the limit for him and he knows it.”

Behind Hinckley, the Spirits defense played like a well-oiled machine, turning leather into gold with every smooth play. The double play in the second was just the beginning. The Spirits defense epitomizes each fielder knowing exactly where to be and when to be there, then executing basic fundamentals.

“Our defense has become our calling card the last three seasons,” Mueller said. “When you’re playing clean, fundamental baseball behind a pitcher like Gavin, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win most nights. The guys knew how important this start was for the team, and they made sure to give him all the support he needed.”

The Bulldogs managed to scratch across a consolation run in the ninth when Ross Krist’s grounder brought home Brady Burrill, but by then it was merely a footnote to Hinckley’s novel. Thomas Otto had provided their most consistent threat with a 2-for-3 performance, but sustained rallies proved elusive against Hinckley’s mastery.

This victory carried extra sweetness, washing away the bitter taste of their June 8th humiliation at McCoy Field—a 15-5 defeat that had felt like a public flogging. That afternoon, Parker Sniatynski’s grand slam had been the final insult in a seven-inning mercy rule beating that left the Spirits questioning everything they thought they knew about themselves.

“This is the standard we want to play to every game,” Mueller reflected. “When we execute like this, we can compete with anybody. The key is maintaining this level of focus and intensity as we head into the stretch run. What happened in Brookfield was a learning experience—sometimes you get beat by a better team on a given day. And what happened against Hartland with Gavin’s injury was a scare we hope never to have to go through again. Tonight showed our guys we can overcome adversity and play with anyone.”

The contrast was stark—two weeks ago they’d collected 10 hits but couldn’t string together meaningful rallies. Friday night was different. Seven hits became a symphony of situational excellence, each at-bat building upon the last like verses in a perfectly crafted song.

“We talked about that after Gavin got hurt, and again after the Brookfield game,” Mueller noted. “We had guys who could hit, but we weren’t putting together quality at-bats in key situations. Tonight was different—we got the big hit when we needed it, and that’s what separates winning from losing at this level. Having Gavin back healthy makes everything else easier.”

Sunday brings another chance at redemption when the Spirits travel to McCoy Park to face Brookfield’s other team, the Blue Sox. It’s a chance to continue building momentum while exorcising whatever demons still lurk in that visiting dugout.

For now, though, this night belongs to Hinckley and the art of the comeback. Under Wisconsin’s summer sky, where the humidity hung like a warm embrace and the lights created magic from ordinary moments, he reminded everyone why baseball remains America’s most beautiful game—a sport where redemption is always just one performance away.

Next Game: West Bend Spirits (7-2) at Brookfield Blue Sox (1-4), Sunday, June 22, 12:00 p.m. at McCoy Field, Brookfield, Wisconsin

Box Score

West Bend Spirits 5, Brookfield Bulldogs 1

Game Info:

• Date: Friday, June 21, 2025

• Location: Carl M. Kuss Memorial Field at Regner Park – West Bend, WI

• Weather: Mostly Sunny – 82 degrees

• Records: West Bend Spirits (7-2), Brookfield Bulldogs (6-1)

Line Score

WP: Gavin Hinckley (2-0) LP: Michael Sullivan (0-1)

BROOKFIELD BULLDOGS

• 2B: Thomas Otto, TJ Roberts

• HBP: Dan Barwick

• E: Ross Krist, Thomas Otto, Mike Ferri 2

• HBP: Mike Sullivan

• Pitches-Strikes: Mike Sullivan 116-73, Devin Fish 24-12

• Batters Faced: Mike Sullivan 32, Devin Fish 5

WEST BEND SPIRITS

• 2B: Caleb Horvath

• HBP: Ben Hurt Haller

• SB: Alex Pluta, Colyn Lessila

• HBP: Gavin Hinckley

• Pitches-Strikes: Gavin Hinckley 123-86

• Batters Faced: Gavin Hinckley 32