Spirits advance to championship rounds with 6-1 victory over Appleton | By Craig Larsen

June 29, 2025 – West Bend, Wi – The West Bend Spirits punched their ticket to Sunday’s 2025 Wisconsin Amateur Baseball Classic championship rounds Saturday afternoon, defeating the Appleton Legends 6-1 in the second of two victories that highlighted a wonderful day at the ballyard for the Spirits.

After earlier defeating the Hartford Hawks 7-5, the Spirits needed to beat Appleton to advance, and they did so in convincing fashion behind a dominant pitching performance from youngster Kyle Becker and a clutch sixth-inning rally that broke open what had been a close contest.

“What a day for our organization,” said an elated Spirits manager Willie Mueller after the victory. “Two wins against two quality outfits like Hartford and Appleton to advance to the championship rounds – that’s special right there. The guys really stepped up when it mattered most.”

Becker was masterful from start to finish, tossing a complete game seven-inning gem while allowing just two hits and one earned run. The right-hander struck out seven batters and walked three, facing 28 batters in his debut performance on the hill for the Spirits. He faced the minimum through five innings.

“Kyle was locked in out there today,” Mueller said. “Two hits over seven innings in his first game on the hill for us and in a must-win game. The moment was not too big for him, and he wanted the baseball. He mixed his pitches well and kept their hitters off balance all afternoon. His two-seamer ran all day against some Division I college talent.”

The Spirits broke through first in the fourth inning when Camden Hoier and Colyn Lessila opened the frame with back-to-back singles. After a fielder’s choice moved Hoier to third, Easton Oliver delivered the game’s first run with a clutch RBI single, giving West Bend a 1-0 lead.

West Bend doubled their advantage in the fifth when Ben Hurt Haller crushed a solo home run to left field, his lone hit of the game but a crucial one that extended the lead to 2-0.

“We knew we had to be patient against Blake Wallenfang,” Mueller explained. “His reputation is widely known. We stayed with it and finally started putting some good swings together.”

Appleton managed to cut the deficit in half in the sixth inning when Nick Terrell worked a leadoff walk and came around to score on Cooper Brown’s RBI double to center field. Brown’s extra-base hit was the first of just two hits Appleton managed against Becker all afternoon.

The Spirits answered immediately, exploding for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach and secure their advancement. Drake Grod reached on an error to start the rally, then Tyler Morrison delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to left field. Brandon Niedfeldt followed with another run-scoring single to center, pushing the lead to 4-1.

With the bases loaded after Ben Hurt Haller drew a walk, Quinn Zills came through with the biggest hit of the day – a clutch three-run single to center field that cleared the bases and gave West Bend a commanding 6-1 advantage.

“Quinn needed that for himself, as much as we needed that for the team. Quinn has been in one of those funks where he’s barreling everything, but guys are making gold glove plays or they are right at somebody,” Mueller said. “With everything on the line like that he put a good swing on it, and he delivered. If we are going to get to where we want to get come August, we need Quinn to be there.”

The victory sends West Bend to semifinal number 2 of the championship rounds, where they’ll face the Greenville Stars at high noon. In the other semifinal, the Kewaskum A’s will square off against the Hartford Hawks, who advanced via tiebreaker over the Sussex Cardinals at 10 a.m. Winners of the two games will meet at 2 p.m. right at Carl M. Kuss Memorial Field in West Bend.

“It’s pretty special to have three Washington County teams in the championship rounds,” Mueller noted. “Both host teams – us and Kewaskum – advancing along with Hartford shows the quality of baseball in our area. But now the real work begins because all of us hate losing, especially to one another.”

The Spirits finished with nine hits on the afternoon, led by Lessila’s 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Zills drove in three runs despite managing just one hit, while Haller’s solo homer highlighted a 2-for-2 day that included a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

West Bend played flawless defense behind Becker, committing no errors while turning key double plays to help their ace work out of trouble. The middle infield combination of Zills and Lessila turned in solid performances throughout the crucial victory.

For Appleton, the tournament ends with offensive struggles as they managed just two hits against Becker. Brown led the way with his RBI double, while Ian Plaster collected the Legends’ only other hit. Nick Terrell was active on the basepaths, stealing two bases and scoring the team’s lone run.

Blake Wallenfang took the loss for Appleton, surrendering five hits and one earned run over four innings of work. Carson Steinbeck and Austin Wendt followed out of the bullpen, combining to allow four runs over the final three innings.

“This team has been building toward something all season,” Mueller concluded. “Today showed we can perform under pressure. Now we get to test ourselves against arguably the best team in the state in Greenville. That’s exactly where we want to be. Win and advance.”

The Spirits now turn their attention to Sunday’s semifinal preparation as they look to continue their championship run in what has become a memorable tournament for West Bend and Washington County baseball.

Box Score

West Bend Spirits 6, Appleton Legends 1

Game Info:

• Date: Saturday, June 28, 2025

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

• Weather: Sunny – 83 degrees

• Records: West Bend Spirits (10-3), Appleton Legends ()

Line Score

WP: Kyle Becker (1-0) LP: Blake Wallenfang ()

APPLETON LEGENDS

• 2B: Cooper Brown

• HBP: Evan Olson, Tate Hartlaub

• SB: Nick Terrell 2

• E: CJ Filipek

• HBP: Blake Wallenfang

• Pitches-Strikes: Blake Wallenfang 66-42, Carson Steinbeck 34-21, Austin Wendt 43-26

• Batters Faced: Blake Wallenfang 17, Carson Steinbeck 5, Austin Wendt 8

WEST BEND SPIRITS

• HR: Ben Hurt Haller

• HBP: Ben Hurt Haller

• WP: Kyle Becker

• HBP: Kyle Becker 2

• Pitches-Strikes: Kyle Becker 92-51

• Batters Faced: Kyle Becker 28