BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune,com

WAUPUN, Wis. — Larned Legion baseball coach Chad Erway left the ballgame in Isiah Perez’s capable hands.
Perez retired the final two batters with the bases loaded to preserve a 5-3 victory Thursday over Viroqua, Wis. at the Central Plains National Regional. Perez struck out nine batters and stranded nine baserunners in scoring position.
“It’s a big win and a good thing to get that first win,” said coach Erway. “We’d love to ride that energy into the next game.”
Larned (19-11) plays in Friday’s 3 p.m. winners bracket game against Menasha, Wis. (28-4). Radio coverage is scheduled at greatbendpost.com (106.9-FM). The game was delayed when Thursday's final game was postponed.
The Blackhawks loaded the bases in the sixth and seventh innings. Perez struck out Kory Vold and retired Zach Drake on a forceout to shortstop Landon Erway to secure the victory. Perez struck out Zach Trautsch with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
“You have to want to be there, and I’m used to it,” Perez said. “When I get myself into a jam, I definitely want to get out of it.”
Barton Community College signee Perez often finishes games with his mix of fastball, slider and changeup.
“I stay calm and trust in my defense,” he said. “I had my slider and changeup working today. They’d watch eight curveballs and they’d hit the fastball on the ninth pitch.”
Tommy Crandall and Tyler Crandall singled to start the seventh. Andrew Kleiber’s sacrifice fly sliced the lead to 5-3. The suspense built when Jacob Huebsch singled and Andrew Frost walked to load the bases with one out.
But Perez steadied himself and recorded the final two outs.
“Izzy is used to being the closer,” coach Chad Erway said. “His emphasis was throwing off speed pitches for strikes early in the count. They were good fastball hitters.”
Larned (19-11) nearly squandered a 5-0 lead after one inning.
The first seven Larned batters reached base after leadoff hitter Evan Skelton misread a pop fly and was forced out. Gage Skelton reached base and Landon Erway and Isiah Perez singled to load the bases.
Gage Skelton scored on Jonathan Herter’s infield hit. Tyler Stelter’s single drove home Erway and Perez for a 3-0 lead. Alex Barger’s double brought home Herter for a 4-0 lead. Carson Smith’s sacrifice bunt scored Stelter for a 5-0 lead off Viroqua starter Zach Trautsch.
“I liked our approach. We hit some balls right on the nose,” Erway said.
Viroqua started to catch up to Perez in the middle innings. Kory Vold’s single scored Tyler Crandall and Jacob Huebsch in the fourth inning after a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases. Perez worked out of fifth-inning trouble by retiring Tommy Crandall, Tyler Crandall and Andrew Kleiber after two walks.
The Indians scratched out three hits after the first inning off reliever Tyler Crandall, who changed speeds and threw strikes in the zone.
“We kept the good baseball rolling,” Erway said. “We’re happy for the good times.”
Larned captured the Class AA Central Plains Regional in 1999, beating Nekoosa, Wis. 7-3 in the finals at Pratt.
• GLENWOOD-LOWRY, MINN. 7, SOUTHERN NEVADA 1 — Glenwood-Lowry’s Austin Ver Steeg pitched seven innings and delivered three hits and an RBI. Matthew McIver drove in two runs and Colin Richards had three hits. Michael Gruber and Justin Amundson drove in runs.
• MENASHA, WIS. 3, MINNEAPOLIS GIANT VALLEY 1 — Pitcher Nate Mentzel pitched 52/3 innings of shutout baseball to beat Giant Valley 3-1. Tyler Nelson had three hits, scored two runs ansd drove in a run.
In the first, Chris Van Handel’s single scored Nelson. Dalton Knaack’s groundball scored Nelson in the fifth inning, Nelson singled home Zach Parks in the third inning.

FRIDAY
• WAUPUN, WIS. 2, VALLEY CITY, N.D. 0 — Waupun pitcher Brenden Bille struck out 10 batters in a four-hit shutout. Caleb Sauer’s single scored Drew Behling after a fifth-inning double. Sauer scored on Reece Homan’s hit-and-run base hit in the seventh inning. Valley City’s Nate Rodriguez was a hard-luck loser.

• VIROQUA, WIS. 7, GIANT VALLEY, MINN. 0 — Viroqua starter Jacob Huebsch (8-1) threw six shutout innings in an elimination game to shut down Giant Valley, Minn. Andrew Kleiber drove in three runs with two hits. Tommy Crandall doubled twice. Viroqua’s Zach Drake, Anders Frost and Kory Vold drove in runs.

Viroqua’s Zach Drake, Anders Frost and Kory Vold drove in runs. Tommy Crandall doubled twice.
• SOUTHERN NEVADA 6, VALLEY CITY, N.D. 1 — C.J. Dornak struck out 10 batters and Southern Nevada cruised past Valley City, which wasted Thursday in a rainout. Andrew Rangel scored on an error to start a three-run fifth. Roger Riley and Brendan Thorpe delivered RBI singles. Dominik Tavares forced home Riley on a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Andrew Rangel had three hits. Jathan Sibal drove in a run and Wold added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

LARNED 5, VIROQUA, WIS. 3
LARNED AB R H BI
Evan Skelton 2 0 0 0
Gage Skelton 4 1 0 0
Landon Erway 4 1 3 0
Isiah Perez 4 1 1 0
Jon Herter 4 1 1 1
Tyler Stelter 3 1 2 2
Alex Barger 3 0 1 1
Carson Smith 1 0 0 1
Mason Schartz 3 0 0 0
TOTALS 28 5 8 5
VIROQUA AB R H BI 
Zach Drake 5 0 2 0
D. Burckhardt 2 0 1 0
Zach Trautsch 3 0 0 0
Tommy Crandall 4 1 1 0
Tyler Crandall 3 1 2 0
Andrew Kleiber 3 0 0 1
Jacob Huebsch 4 1 3 0
Anders Frost 2 0 1 0
Kory Vold 4 0 1 2
TOTALS 30 3 11 3
Larned 500 000 0 — 5 8 0
Viroqua 000 200 1 — 3 11 3
2B—Barger, Drake, Tyler Crandall. S—Smith 2. SF—Kleiber. HP—E. Skelton, Tyler Crandall. SB—Erway, Tyler Crandall. WP—Perez 3. CS—Drake, E. Skelton. E—Vold 2, Drake. LOB—Larned 6, Viroqua 13. 
Larned IP H R ER BB SO
Perez 7 11 3 3 5 9
Viroqua IP H R ER BB SO
Trautsch 1 5 5 5 1 0
TyCrandall 6 3 0 0 0 7

GLENWOOD-LOWRY, MINN. 7, SOUTHERN NEVADA 1
GL 050 000 2 — 7 12 0
SV 000 1000 0 — 1 7 2
Ver Steeg and Amundson. Spencer, Spaur (4) and Martin. W—Ver Steeg. L—Spencer.

MENASHA, WIS. 3, GIANT VALLEY. MINN 1.
GV 000 000 1 — 1 3 0 
Menasha 100 011 x — 3 6 0
Retzlaff, Huyck (6) and Evenson. Mentzel, Davidson (6) and Medrano.

WAUPUN, WIS. 2, VALLEY CITY, N.D. 0
Waupun 000 010 1 — 2 9 0
Valley City 000 000 0 — 0 4 0
Bille and Zuehlke. Rodriguez and Huschke. W—Bille. L—Rodriguez. 2B—W, Behling; VC, Rodriguez.

VIROQUA, WIS. 7, GIANT VALLEY, MINN. 0
Viroqua 200 122 0 — 7 7 1
GV 000 000 0 — 0 3 3
Jacob Huebsch, Collin Burckhardt (7) and Kleiber. Alex Evenson, Wolpert (5), Wong (7) and Justin Evenson. W—J. Huebsch, 8-1. L—A. Evenson. 2B--V, Tommy Crandall 2, Trautsch.

VIROQUA, WIS. 7, GIANT VALLEY, MINN. 0
Viroqua 200 122 0 — 7 7 1
GV 000 000 0 — 0 3 3
Jacob Huebsch, Collin Burckhardt (7) and Kleiber. Alex Evenson, Wolpert (5), Wong (7) and Justin Evenson. W—J. Huebsch, 8-1. L—A. Evenson. 2B—V, Tommy Crandall 2, Trautsch.

SOUTHERN NEVADA 6, VALLEY CITY, N.D. 1 
SN 001 030 2 — 6 10 1
VC 000 001 0 — 1 3 2
Dornak and Riley. Bjork, Johnson (6) and Huschka. W—Dornak. L—Bjork. 2B—SN, Rangel.

CENTRAL PLAINS REGIONAL
THURSDAY’S GAMES
At Waupun, Wis.
Larned 5, Viroqua, Wis. 3
Glenwood-Lowry, Minn. 7, Southern Nevada Blue Sox 1
Menasha, Wis. 3, Minneapolis Giant Valley, Minn. 1
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Waupun, Wis. 2, Valley City, N.D. 0
Viroqua, Wis. 7, Giant Valley, Minn. 0
Southern Nevada 6, Valley City, N.D. 1
Game 7—Larned (19-11) vs. Menasha, Wis. (28-4)
Game 8—5 p.m.—Glenwood-Lowry, Minn. (19-3) vs. Waupun, Wis. (25-6)
Game 9—7 p.m.—Southern Nevada (24-13) vs. Loser Game 7
SATURDAY’s GAMES
Game 10—10 a.m.—Viroqua, Wis. (32-19) vs. Loser Game 8
Game 11—Noon—Winners Games 7, 8
Game 12—2:30 p.m.—Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11
Game 13—5 p.m.—Winners Game 10, 11
SUNDAY’s GAMES
Game 14—1 p.m.—Winners Games 12, 13
Game 15—3 p.m.—Winner Game 14 vs. Loser Game 14 (if needed)