Florence starting pitcher Trent McLain (8) fires a pitch towards home plate during the Bobcats’ 11-6 win over Niagara at Memorial Field in Niagara, Wis., on Tuesday. McLain finished with 10 strikeouts. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

NIAGARA, Wis. — There was no shortage of runs on Tuesday as the Florence varsity baseball team made the trip to Memorial Ball Field in Niagara, Wis to face the Badgers.

Despite a brisk wind cutting across the field, the Bobcats (4-0) used a dominant performance on the mound from Trent McLain to pick up an 11-6 win over Niagara.

“Niagara’s a good baseball team and they’ve been winning a lot of baseball games early on, we’ve played a few ourselves, so I knew it was going to be a good game,” Florence head coach Kris Johnson said, “… We had some ups and downs, but it’s still early. We’ve got some young kids and so do they. At the end of the day, I think we had some guys that stepped up.”

McLain pitched four innings for the Bobcats and picked up the win. He only allowed two hits while striking out 10.

“He’s been our go-to on the mound, since he’s been a freshman,” Johnson said. “We’ve just been blessed to have his talent from the get-go and he’s a big part of what we do in the field and at the plate. We asked a lot of him and he delivered.”

Niagara’s Aiden Sweig (3) lines up a bunt on Tuesday in Niagara, Wis. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

For the Badgers, slow starts have become commonplace since the beginning of the 2024 season.

“(It was) another slow start for us,” Niagara head coach Brad Richtig said. “That’s been our M.O. to start the season, not good enough. We’re giving up too many walks, errors at inconvenient times.”

The errors reared their ugly head against the Bobcats and that’s something coach Richtig believes has hurt his team despite a 5-1 start to the season.

“We’re trying to teach them how to get through the tough times but not let them keep compounding,” coach Richtig said. “That’s what they’re doing right now. They’re making mistakes and then they make another one and another one. We’re trying to really shut the door on that. It’s early and we know that.”

Even though the season is young, coach Richtig would like to see his seniors step into leadership roles.

The Florence and Niagara varsity baseball teams faced off on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Niagara, Wis. The Bobcats escaped with an 11-6 win over the Badgers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

“At this point in time, what I want to see is I want my senior boys to lead,” coach Richtig said. “I want these kids to learn and listen and take that knowledge and use it. .. We’re going to get there, we just need to keep working hard.”

With two outs in the top of the first inning, Florence started to rally against Badgers’ starting pitcher Blake Holmes. The Bobcats tallied two walks and a single as things began to unravel for Holmes.

A wild pitch to Florence freshman Mason Koski scored McLain as the Bobcats took a 1-0 lead. It would tally two more runs and take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the first.

McLain followed the offensive output with three strikeouts against the top of Niagara’s order.

Neither team would score again until the fifth inning, when Florence increased its lead to 7-0.

The Florence and Niagara varsity baseball teams faced off on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Niagara, Wis. The Bobcats escaped with an 11-6 win over the Badgers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

Down big, the Badgers began to dig out of the hole. They started by drawing four walks off of William Kelley, who replaced McLain on the mound. A deep shot to left field from Christian Hedmark drove in three runs, making it a 7-3 ballgame.

“It shows my kids are in it,” coach Richtig said. “… We’ve been down a few times now, and we’ve just been battling back. Today, we just couldn’t get all the way there.”

Florence notched another run in the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Niagara made another run. Three straight walks loaded the bases for Hedmark. He connected with a pitch and drove in two runs, as the lead was down to 8-6.

However, Bobcats’ freshman Mason Koski worked out of the jam. He pitched 2.2 innings and recorded three strikeouts.

The Florence and Niagara varsity baseball teams faced off on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Niagara, Wis. The Bobcats escaped with an 11-6 win over the Badgers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

“And the game got close too, (Mason Koski) seemed to weather the storm, mentally,” Johnson said. “I give him a lot of credit for that. We asked him to go in and throw strikes and let our defense do their thing. And that’s what he did for us. There was a walk sprinkled in here-and-there, but at the end of the day, he did what we asked him to do. It was enough to get us the win.”

Florence’s offense backed Koski up in the seventh and rattled off three more runs to pick up the 11-6 win.

“With each game, we learn about our strengths and weaknesses,” Johnson added, “And we can little adjustments at practice and little adjustments with the lineup as we move forward, that along with keeping the morale of the team up and keeping guys interested, which I think we have fun when we do it, each day we try to make it fun for them. And I hope that’s the case. I think that’s a big part of being successful moving forward.”

Bryce Leffler led the Bobcats with two RBIs. Kelley, McLain, Koski, Logan Thompson and Matthew Smith each recorded an RBI.

McLain also drew three walks. Kelley was the only Florence player with a stolen base.

The Florence and Niagara varsity baseball teams faced off on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Niagara, Wis. The Bobcats escaped with an 11-6 win over the Badgers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

Hedmark led Niagara with four RBIs. Cody Bath and Mason Richtig each drew two walks while Brayden Bartels led the way with three walks. Hedmark’s double was the Badgers’ only extra base hit.

Florence turns its attention to Northern Lakes Conference action on Friday as it heads to Crandon, Wis. for a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Niagara is back in action today as it welcomes Crivitz to town at 4:30 p.m. Coach Richtig kept his message to the team simple ahead of this Marinette & Oconto Conference clash.

“We told them, ‘Hey, Florence is a great team. Kris Johnson and his staff are fantastic coaches. Their bus is leaving. We’ve got to flush this one and move on.’ That’s all we’re going to do. We’ve got to flush it and move on. We’ve got a huge conference game on Thursday and we need to go win that ball game. That’s the only thing we’ve got to think about from here on out.”

KNIGHTS 12, TITANS 0

NORWAY — The Norway varsity baseball team kicked off its Skyline Central Conference schedule on Tuesday against Stephenson (0-4, 0-2) at Marion Park. The Knights rode dominant pitching performances to back-to-back wins, 12-0 and 10-0.

“Two conference wins and two home wins is always good,” Norway head coach Tony Adams said. “Congratulations to Bryce (Adams) and Cameron (Varda) on their no hitters, pretty exciting. Our versatility on defense will continue to be important as the season progresses. Our pitching rotation is expanding with more to come.”

The Knights are now 4-1-1 on the season and 2-0 in SCC contests.

Game One

Norway sent junior pitcher Bryce Adams to the mound in the first game. He pitched four innings, striking out seven batters and not allowing a hit as the Knights picked up the 12-0 victory.

“We put up crooked numbers in every inning but the score looks better than many of our at bats,” coach Adams said. “Bryce Adams, in his varsity start on the mound, pitched very well and provided us with much needed innings. Our defense continues to play well.”

The Knights recorded five runs in the first innings. They also recorded three runs in the second and four in the third inning.

Landon Amundson and Alex Ortman each recorded two RBIs. Cole Baij, Ian Popp and Landon Amundson each tallied two stolen bases. Cole Baij and Owen Baij recorded an RBI apiece.

Game Two

Not to be outdone, sophomore Cameron Varda also recorded a no- hitter as the Knights secured the series sweep with a 10-0 victory over the Rockets.

Varda pitched four innings while striking out nine and allowing one walk.

“Our offense improved with Landon (Amundson), Cole (Baij) and Bryce (Adams) getting multiple hits,” coach Adams said. “Cameron Varda, in his first varsity start on the mound, pitched very well for us.”

Norway’s best inning in the second game was the third where it recorded seven runs.

Cole Baij and Varda led the way offensively with three RBIs each.

Bryce Adams hit the Knights’ only double in the game and recorded two RBIs.

Bryce Adams and A.J. Gallino combined for four stolen bases.

Norway returns to the diamond on Saturday when it heads to Bonduel, Wis.

First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.

The Florence and Niagara varsity baseball teams faced off on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Niagara, Wis. The Bobcats escaped with an 11-6 win over the Badgers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

The Florence and Niagara varsity baseball teams faced off on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Niagara, Wis. The Bobcats escaped with an 11-6 win over the Badgers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

The Florence and Niagara varsity baseball teams faced off on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Niagara, Wis. The Bobcats escaped with an 11-6 win over the Badgers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)