GREEN BAY, WI. (Nick Witwer) – For the first time since 2019 the Green Bay Blue Ribbons are headed to the playoffs after winning the NEWBL title Thursday night at Joannes with a 10-3 win over the Appleton Legends.
The Green Bay offense started out slow and eventually found themselves trailing 2-0 before an RBI single from designated hitter James Bornick would get things going for the Blue ribbons and put them on the board for the first time.
After giving up a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning, Green Bay was down by two runs again. In the Blue Ribbons half of the inning, a lead-off walk would quickly turn into a run after a throwing error on a ground ball allowed Eason Hurd to score from first base and put veteran Griffin Summers on third with no outs. Summers would score later in the inning as first baseman Eli Frank would come through with a clutch RBI single to tie the game at three runs a piece.
In the eighth inning, the flood gates were open for Green Bay as two straight walks with the bases loaded would give the Blue Ribbons the 5-3 lead. A sacrifice fly from Frank brought in another run before back-to-back singles followed by a double would score the fifth, sixth, and seventh run of the inning giving Green Bay the 10-3 lead and the eventual win.
Offensively for Green Bay, James Bornick finished the day 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk. Eli Frank went 1-4 with two RBIs. Griffin Summers and Carter Kallies both crossed the plate twice. In total, the team finished with ten runs on eight hits and ten walks.
On the mound, Allen Leitner was given the starting nod and pitched a strong seven innings in which he allowed three runs (one earned) and struck out nine batters. Wyatt Fischer got the bump for the last two innings and picked up the win after shutting down the Appleton offense and striking out three additional batters.
The 10-3 win over Appleton now clinches the NEWBL regular season for the Blue Ribbons, giving the team an automatic bid to the Class A State Tournament. The win also gives the team its 25th win, tying last season win total which is the modern era franchise record for wins in a season.
The Blue Ribbons will have a chance to make more history as they go for win number 26 on the season when they travel to Menasha Friday night for a NEWBL matchup with the Macs.
