BENTON – Jacob Berendes’ Home Talent League debut was a gem.
    The Shullsburg High School junior tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts to help lead the host Shullsburg/Benton Fever over the Wiota Indians, 2-0, in a South Division Night League clash at Swift Park on Thursday, June 7.
    Berendes (1-0) allowed just four runners to reach scoring position all game and did not allow any of them to score as he scattered a pair of hits and two walks over seven strong innings to guide the Fever (7-2 overall, 3-0 NL) to the victory.
    Wiota pitcher Ryan Glendenning (1-2), a former Darlington Redbird standout, just about matched his counterpart pitch-for-pitch on the night, but it was the two unearned runs he surrendered thanks to a two-out error in the fourth inning that proved to be the difference. He also gave up two hits on the night, while walking three and fanning seven for the Indians (4-5, 1-2).
    Each pitcher worked out of a jam in the first inning and the score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the fourth when the Fever struck for a pair of runs. Connor Crotty walked and later scored on an error on a grounder by Tommy Behrens with two down, and then Justin Crotty followed with a RBI-single off the top of the right field fence to plate Behrens for a 2-0 lead.
    The Indians put two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh thanks to a two-out error by the Fever, but Berendes coaxed Brad Solberg into flying out to second base to end the game.
    Will Schwartz went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles to lead the Indians at the plate.
    Trey Laube and J. Crotty each had a single for the Fever.
    Both the Fever and the Indians had their Western Section Sunday League HTL games wiped out due to unplayable conditions following Saturday’s rainstorms. No make-up dates were available at press time.
    The Fever hit the road for a Night League game at Ridgeway on Thursday, June 14, starting at 7:30 p.m., and a Sunday League game at Pine Bluff/Mt. Horeb on June 17, at 1 p.m.
    Wiota hosts Hollandale on Thursday evening, also starting at 7:30 p.m., and then heads to Verona on Sunday, also beginning at 1 p.m.

NIGHT LEAGUE
Wiota………... 000  000  0 – 0  2  2
Shulls/Bent… 000  200  x – 2  2  3
Leading Hitters: W- Will Schwartz 2x2. S/B- None.
W- Jacob Berendes (7IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 12K, 2BB). L- Ryan Glendenning (6IP, 2H, 2R, 0ER, 7K, 3BB).
At Benton, on Thursday, June 7