Kewaunee 8, Branch 9
June 27, 2009

BRANCH — Chris Wettstein drew a bases-loaded walk with one out to cap off a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning as Branch dealt Kewaunee its first loss of the season with a 9-8 victory in Shoreland League action on Saturday.
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Kewaunee (7-1 in the Shoreland), which had beaten Branch eight days ago, used a seven-run third inning to take the lead and then broke a 7-7 tie with a run in the ninth to regain the advantage.

Luke Kiel started the bottom of the ninth by getting hit by a pitch before a single by Peter Liermann and Mike Brey getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases. The Chiefs got the first out of the inning at home on Justin Otto's ground ball, but the Blaze tied the score when Ryan Lindner reached on an error.

Wettstein then drew four straight balls off Aaron Sinkula to allow Brey to trot home with the winning run.

Wettstein finished 2-for-4 with a pair of walks, while Josh Lemke also had two hits and two walks in the game. Paul Smith was 3-for-4 and drove in four runs in the win.

Smith's double scored Lemke in the first inning as Branch grabbed the early lead, but Kewaunee sent 12 batters to the plate in the third inning, tallied six hits and chased starter Dereck Klein before the end of the inning.

Lemke and Smith registered RBI-singles in the fifth, while Smith added another RBI-single in the seventh that cut the Chiefs' lead to 7-4.

Branch then tied it in the seventh when walks to Brey and Lindner around a single by Otto loaded the bases and Wettstein and Lemke drew back-to-back walks. Smith then smacked a sacrifice fly to tie the score.

A.J. Lorrigan allowed just two hits and fanned eight over the final 6 2/3 innings to record the win for Branch, which has won three straight games to even its Shoreland League record at 3-3.

Alex Gerdman and Jerry Charles each had two hits to pace Kewaunee.

The Blaze will be back in action today as they host the Manitowoc Heat at 2 p.m.

For box score, click here.