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May 22, 2008

Prep baseball: Three local teams head into postseason with top seed

By Mark Massoglia
mark.massoglia@cwnews.net

Daily Tribune Staff

The WIAA playoffs are underway in a number of prep sports and Friday the area's baseball teams begin postseason action.

Three teams, Nekoosa, Assumption and Adams-Friendship all earned No. 1 seeds, received a first-round bye and won't play until Tuesday.

The bye is a welcome bonus for the Papermakers, who are 13-3 and ranked 10th in the state by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association.

"I'd rather have the practice time and rest," Papermakers coach Travis Zellmer said. "We've had a lot of games and we need a little break to get hungry for the game again."

Having the bye will also give Zellmer a chance to scout the Papermakers' opponent. He plans on going to watch the Colby-Altoona game, but isn't going to change what his team does at this point in the season.

"I want to see some of their hitters, but I really don't care who we play," Zellmer said. "If we play to the best of our ability we can beat anyone, but if we don't, anyone can beat us. We just need to take care of ourselves."

The Royals are in the same position as a year ago, waiting to see who they will play in the second round.

"It's nice to be awarded for having a good regular season," said Royals coach Mike Schulte, whose team is 14-4 entering the playoffs.

Assumption reached the sectional tournament for the first time last year and it is a team goal again this season.

"That is one of our expectations, but we don't want to think too far ahead. We've got to win the first one next Tuesday before we think any farther down the road," Schulte said. "The kids know we're only as good as we play that day and you have to be on in the tournament. If we play well, we're a good team, but we need to stay focused to make a run in the playoffs."

For teams like Port Edwards, which play in the first round, there is no choice but to be ready.

"It's a mixed bag as far as playing right away or having a bye," Port coach Tim Miller said. "We've been busy the past two weeks, but we won't be sitting around getting rusty either. I think the biggest factor for us is we're playing at home in front of our fans."

Because of the Memorial Day holiday, teams like Port Edwards and Pittsville, another team that plays in the first round, will have their ace back for a second-round game.

"It's nice to be able to get your pitchers back between the first and second round, but after that it's about pitching depth," Miller said. "Teams that ride one pitcher tend to struggle the rest of the way in the playoffs."

So do teams that aren't at their absolute best.

"You have to fine tune everything," Zellmer said. "You need to be flawless in the playoffs because it's one and done."