2007 Game Day - VARSITY BASEBALL (Overall Record 6-15)
May 29 -Regional vs. GB Southwest: De Pere 1 Southwest 9
De Pere ended their 2007 season with a loss to GB Southwest in regional play.
Robert Bowers' two-run double was the highlight of a six-run second inning that put the Trojans in charge at
VandenPlas Field. Ben Chester followed Bowers' double with a run-scoring single. Bowers finished with
three RBIs. Brent Jorgensen drove in the Redbirds' run with a sacrifice fly in the second. Robbie Neuville
gave up three hits in six innings to get the win for the Trojans (10-10).
De Pere 010 000 0 — 1 3 6
Southwest 360 000 x — 9 10 2
WP: Robbie Neuville. LP: Joe Betcher. Leading hitters: SW — Robert Bowers, 2x4; Sean Bielmeier, 2x3.
May 21 - Varsity @ Marinette: De Pere 3 Marinette 6
Cody Uecke had a two-run double to lead Marinette (3-13 overall, Bay) past De Pere (4-12 Bay). Neal
Henrigillis was 2-for-4 for the Redbirds.
De Pere 000 201 0 — 3 6 1
Marinette 040 002 x — 6 6 5
WP: Ryan Kruse. LP: Joe Betcher. Leading hitters: DP — Neal Henrigillis, 2x4; M — Joel Fendrick, 2x3.
May 17 - Varsity HOME vs. West De Pere: De Pere 1 West De Pere 12
Brent Kakwitch drove in four runs as the Phantoms (14-4, 12-3) routed De Pere at Redbird Field in a game
called after five innings because of the 10-run rule. West De Pere took a 5-1 lead in the second inning on a
two-run single by Ethan Turriff, then capped a seven-run third with Bryan Fuss' two-run triple. Fuss also
threw two innings of hitless shutout relief, striking out four.
West De Pere 237 00 — 12 11 2
De Pere 100 00 — 1 3 4
WP: Brandon Byrne. LP: Cal Winters. Leading hitters: WDP — Brock Larson, 2x4; Brent Kakwitch, 2x3; Bret
Linssen, 2x2.
May 15 - Varsity @ Ashwaubenon: De Pere 2 Ashwaubenon 7
Jake Mellen hit a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning to get Ashwaubenon going. Winning pitcher
Michael Robbins threw a complete game, striking out three and walking two for the Jaguars (7-10, 6-9).
De Pere 000 000 2 — 2 8 0
Ashwaubenon 201 301 X — 7 10 1
WP: Michael Robbins. LP: Joe Betcher. Leading hitters: DP — Neal Henrigillis 2x4; Jake DeCleene 2x3. A —
T.J. Pierce 2x2; Josh Roethle 2x3.
May 12 - Varsity HOME vs. New London (DH Game 2): De Pere 5 New London 10
Home team New London scored three runs in the bottom of the first on Redbird error, a hit batsman, two
walks, and a fielder’s choice. De Pere answered with three runs of their own in the top of the second when
Joe Vanden Avond walked, and Neal Henrigillis singled. Nick Rukamp walked Henrigillis singled and scored
on a passed ball. With one out, and Jake Eggebrecht also drew an RBI walk, and Jacob De Cleene drove in
a run with a fielder’s choice. The Redbirds scored again in the 3rd on a walk to Cory Ott, a New London
error on the hold, and an RBI single by Vanden Avond. New London answered with 4 in the 5th on three
hits, two walks, and a Redbird error, which they followed with 3 more runs in the 6th on a hit batsman, a
walk, and two singles. De Pere tried to answer in the top of the 7th when Eggebrecht doubled, and De
Cleene and Jorgensen singled. Brent Jorgensen started the game for De Pere allowing only 4 hits while
walking 7 and striking out three. He was relieved by Nick Rukamp who allowed 2 hits, walked two, and
struck out 1 in the top of the seventh. Jorgensen also went 2x4.
De Pere 031 000 1 — 5 6 2
New London 300 043 x — 10 7 1
WP: Jake Hermsen. LP: Brent Jorgenson. Leading hitters: DP — Jorgenson 2x4; NL — Trevor Haas 2x4.
Strikeout leader: Hermsen 11.
May 12 - Varsity HOME vs. New London (DH Game 1): De Pere 3 New London 8
In De Pere’s home half of the double header, New London scored a run in the first on a walk and a double.
De Pere answered with 3 runs when Brent Jorgensen singled, Matt Rukamp walked, Cory Ott reached on an
error, Joe Vanden Avond walked, and Neal Henrigillis singled. New London tied the game in the second on
a walk and three singles. Still tied at 3, New London scored three more runs in the 6th on two walks and two
Redbird errors. They added two more in the seventh on three more walks. Cal Winters pitched 6 innings
and was relieved by Ryan Gloe. The duo gave up just 5 hits, but walked 8 with two Redbird errors. Neal
Henrigillis also doubled going 2x3.
New London 120 003 2 — 8 6 0
De Pere 300 000 0 — 3 7 1
WP: Mitch Ruesch. LP: Cal Winters. Leading hitters: NL — Ruesch 2x3; Jordan Daun 2x4; DP — Neal
Henrigillis 2x3. Strikeout leader: Ruesch 6.
May 8 - Win over Seymour marks Coach Dennis Riddle's 300th High School Varsity Career Win!!
The win over Seymour marked Coach Dennis Riddle’s 300th career high school Varsity baseball win since
taking over as head coach at De Pere in 1987. Riddle has coached in the De Pere program since the 1979
season. His career includes hundreds more wins over 32 years of coaching youth, high school, and
amateur baseball in addition to his 20-year college and amateur career as a player. He coached for the
North in the WBCA All-Star Classic in 1996 and 2006. The milestone puts him in the company of only 15
active Wisconsin baseball coaches who have reached 300 wins.
May 8 - Varsity @ Seymour: De Pere 7 Seymour 4
The Thunder opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a lead-off double, a hit batsman, and 2
walks. Redbird sophomore pitcher Joe Betcher slammed a solo home run in the top of the fourth, and
Seymour plated three more in the fourth on a double, a walk, a sacrifice, and another single. Betcher then
allowed only three Seymour base runners the rest of the way. The Redbirds erupted for 6 runs in the sixth
when Jacob De Cleene walked, the Hawks erred Brent Jorgensen’s grounder, and De Cleene scored on
Matt Rukamp’s RBI single. Betcher launched a 2 RBI triple scoring Rukamp and Jorgensen. Cory Ott was
hit by a pitch, and Joe Vanden Avond ripped an RBI double scoring Ott. Neal Henrigillis then plated Vanden
Avond with an RBI single, and Nick Rukamp’s sacrifice fly scored Henrigillis. Betcher relieved starter Cal
Winters after two innings. The duo gave up 4 hits, walked 4, hit two batsmen, and struck out 4. Betcher got
the win.
De Pere 000 106 0 — 7 6 0
Seymour 100 300 0 — 4 5 2
WP: Joe Betcher. LP: Michael Matuszak. Leading hitters: DP — Betcher 2x4. S — Ben Braun 2x4.
May 3 - Varsity HOME vs. Pulaski: De Pere 6 Pulaski 12
In the second inning De Pere scored two runs when Joe Betcher singled and Nick Rukamp was hit by a
pitch. Joe VandenAvond drove in Betcher with a single, and Rukamp scored on a Red Raider error. De
Pere scored a lone run in the third when Brent Jorgensen walked, and Betcher drove him in with a double.
In the fourth VandenAvond singled, Jacob De Cleene sacrificed him to second, and Matt Rukamp singled to
drive him in. Jorgensen singled and scored on Cory Ott’s ground out. 5 De Pere pitchers allowed 12
Pulaski runs 14 hits, no K’s, issuing 4 walks.
Pulaski 003 243 0 — 12 14 6
De Pere 021 300 0 — 6 6 2
WP: Wes Vomastic. LP: Brent Jorgensen. Leading hitters: P — Cody Haase 2x5; D.J. Christensen 3x3;
Ethan Drella 2x4; Sam Oskey 2x2; Tyler Schubert 2x5. DP — Joe VandenAvond 2x3; Joe Becher 2x4.
May 1 - Varsity HOME vs. Shawano: De Pere 0 Shawano 4
The Hawks scored 2 runs in the first and two in the third. Joe Betcher took the loss for De Pere allowing 4
hits issuing 2 walks on 4 Redbird errors. Matt Rukamp, Neal Henrigillis, and Joe Vanden Avond each had
singles for De Pere.
Shawano 202 000 0 — 4 6 1
De Pere 000 000 0 — 0 3 1
WP: Chase Quinney. LP: Joe Betcher. Leading hitters: S — Sam Schroeder 2x4; B.J. Christopherson 2x4.
Strikeout leader: Quinney 5.
Apr 29 - Varsity @ Bay Port (DH Game 2): De Pere 5 Bay Port 6
The Redbirds scored on Cory Ott’s ground out in the first after Jacob De Cleene reached on an error and
Matt Rukamp singled. De Pere scored two more in the third when Ross McCormick walked and Matt
Rukamp singled. McCormick scored on Cory Ott’s single, and Rukamp scored on a single by Brent
Jorgensen. The Pirates scored two in the sixth on two walks and an RBI single. In the bottom of the
seventh a solo homer tied the game. De Pere scored two runs in the eighth on doubles by Joe Betcher and
Brent Jorgensen, and a Cory Ott RBI single. Bayport socred 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh on a lead-
off walk, hit batsman, a double, and a single. Cal Winters pitched the first 7 innings and was relieved by
Neal Henrigillis and Ryan Gloe. Winters struck out 4, walked 5, and gave up 3 of the Bayport’s 6 hits on 6
Redbird errors Joe Betcher also had two hits.
Bay Port 000 002 13 — 6 6 3
De Pere 102 000 02 — 5 8 1
WP: Jerrod Jossart. LP: Neal Henrigillis. Leading hitters: DP — Joe Betcher, 2x3. Home run: BP — Drew
Simoens. Strikeout leaders: Mike Ragen, BP, 5.
Apr 28 - Varsity @ Bay Port (DH Game 1): De Pere 1 Bay Port 8
In the first game, De Pere scored in the sixth when Brian Driscoll in for injured Nick Rukamp was hit by a
pitch. He advanced on Jacob De Cleene’s single, and scored on Joe Betcher’s ground out. Bay Port
scored runs in all of the first 5 innings. Brent Jorgensen and Neal Henrigillis shared the mound. The duo
struck out 2, walked 4, and allowed 10 hits. 7 of the Pirate runs were earned. Jacob De Cleene had the
lone hit for the Redbirds.
De Pere 000 001 0 — 1 1 4
Bay Port 123 200 x — 8 10 0
WP: Trevor Gaura. LP: Brent Jorgenson. Leading hitters: BP — Chris Wakefield, 2x4; Ross Zimmerman,
3x3. Home runs: BP — Wakefield, Gaura. Strikeout leaders: Gaura, 8.
Apr 24 - Varsity HOME vs, Marinette: De Pere 5 Marinette 4
Brent Jorgensen singled in the eighth and scored the winning run on a bases-loaded walk to give De Pere a
5-4 victory over Marinette in a Bay Conference baseball game Tuesday. Jacob DeCleene had an RBI
double to score Jacob Egebrecht to tie the game at 3 and force extra innings for the Redbirds (5-5, 3-3).
Marinette (0-7, 0-6) scored four runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead.
Marinette 000 004 00 — 4 6 0
De Pere 020 100 11 — 5 8 2
WP: Brent Jorgensen. LP: Taylor Garceau. Leading hitters: DP — Matt Rukamp 2x4; Jorgensen 2x4; Nick
Rukamp 2x3. Strikeout leaders: Betcher 6; Fendrick 5.
Apr 23 - Varsity @ West De Pere: De Pere 1 West De Pere 14
The host Phantoms posted back-to-back seven-run innings and won a game shortened to five innings.
Brent Kakwitch's three-run double highlighted a big third inning for West De Pere (7-1, 6-0), and Shayne
Jansen and Anthony Cantalupo held the Redbirds to two hits.
De Pere 001 00 — 1 2 5
West De Pere 007 7x — 14 8 3
WP: Shayne Jansen. LP: Ryan Gloe. Leading hitters: WDP — Ethan Turriff 2x3.
Apr 19 - Varsity HOME vs Ashwaubenon: De Pere 11 Ashwaubenon 1
Winning pitcher Joe Betcher went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs to lead the Redbirds (4-4, 2-2) past the
Jaguars (0-5, 0-4) in five innings. Betcher allowed no earned runs, two hits and no walks and struck out
three in a complete game. Brent Jorgensen went 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and Nick Rukamp hit a two-run home
run in the third for De Pere.
Ashwaubenon 000 10 — 1 2 1
De Pere 115 22 — 11 10 0
Apr 17 - Varsity HOME vs Seymour: De Pere 1 Seymour 7
Seymour scored 3 runs in the top of the first on 2 singles and a 3-RBI homer. They plated a single run in
the 4th on 2 singles and three more in the 5th on 3 hits and a Redbird error. Cal Winters took the loss in 5
innings allowing all 7 runs on 8 hits and 3 Redbird errors. Winters walked and struck out 4. Nick Rukamp
relieved Winters allowing 2 hits in the sixth and Ryan Gloe pitched a perfect seventh striking out two. The
Hawk’s Adam Linsmeyer struck out 13 Redbirds. Joe Betcher, Cory Ott, Joe Vanden Avond, and Jacob De
Cleene had a hit apiece for De Pere.
De Pere 000 001 0 — 1 4 3
Seymour 300 103 x — 7 10 0
Apr 16 - Varsity @ Shawano: De Pere 0 Shawano 5
Shawano jumped out to a three run lead in the first on three hits and a Redbird error. They added two
insurance runs in the fifth on a double and a hit batsman, and two fielder’s choices. De Pere left a runner
on in the second and sixth and two in the fifth and seventh. Joe Vanden Avond had two hits, and Matt
Rukamp, Cory Ott, and Nick Rukamp each had a hit. Jacob De Cleene drew two walks. Brent Jorgensen
pitched a complete game, allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits, with three strikeouts, 3 walks, and 2 Redbird
errors.
De Pere 000 000 0 — 0 5 2
Shawano 300 020 0 — 5 7 0
Apr 10 – Varsity @ Pulaski: De Pere 4 Pulaski 2
De Pere scored first in the top of the first when Neal Henrigillis and Joe Betcher walked and scored on a
Pulaski error of Brent Jorgensen’s drive to left, and Cory Ott’s sacrifice fly. The Redbirds scored a run in
the third when Betcher walked, Jorgensen singled, and Ott drove in Betcher with an RBI single. Nick
Rukamp scored in the sixth after reaching on an error, advancing on Ryan Gloe’s ground out, and scoring
on Matt Rukamp’s single.
Pulaski threatened in the sixth and seventh innings. The Raiders plated two in the sixth on two singles, a
balk, and a hit batsman. Winning pitcher Brent Jorgensen walked two in the bottom of the seventh, but Joe
Betcher came on in relief getting the last two outs and the save.
Jorgensen held the Raiders to five hits with two strikeouts. Matt Rukamp and Cory Ott each had two hits for
De Pere. Jacob De Cleene also had a base hit, and with shortstop Betcher turned a 6-4-3 double play in
the Pulaski third.
De Pere 201 001 0 — 4 9 0
Pulaski 000 002 0 — 2 4 2
Mar 30 - Varsity @ Burgin Independent: De Pere 8 Burgin 9
Up 7-2, Burgin scored 7 runs in the 6th, and in the bottom of the 7th Brent Jorgensen scored on Cory Ott’
s double, but with runners on second and third, Burgin issued three straight strike outs for the win.
Cory Ott went 2x4 with 3 RBI’s with a home run and a double. Brent Jorgensen went 2x3 with 2 doubles and
an RBI. Joe Betcher and Craig Hooyman doubled, and Jacob De Cleene had two hits.
Betcher went 5 2/3 and got the loss. Cal Winters finished. The duo gave up 16 hits, struck out 9, and
walked none.
Mar 30 - Varsity @ McCreary Central: De Pere 11 Mc Creary Central 6
Joe Betcher went 3x5 with two doubles, and Cory Ott went 2x4 with 2 doubles; Neal Henrigillis, Josh Honzik,
and Jake Egebrecht had two hits each. De Pere scored 8 runs on 9 hits in the fifth.
Brent Jorgensen got the win giving up 4 runs on 4 hits with 4 strikeouts. Josh Honzik gave up two runs and
got the save.
Mar 28 - Varsity @ North Laurel: De Pere 6 North Laurel 9
Matt Rukamp, Neal Henrigillis, and Joe VandenAvond each had 2 hits, and Brent Jorgensen, Cory Ott, and
Jacob De Cleene each had one. Cory Ott had a double. The Redbirds left the bases loaded in the 5th and
the 7th.
Ryan Gloe gave up 7 hits and 4 earned runs in the first two innings, Nick Rukamp went the next 3 allowing
one earned run on 2 hits, walking and striking out 2, and Josh Honzik struck out one to close out the last
inning.
Mar 27 - Varsity @ Pulaski County Southwestern: De Pere 7 Pulaski 1
De Pere scored 3 runs in the first and fifth, and a single run in the fourth on 6 hits and 7 walks. Neal
Henrigillis went 2x2, and Joe Betcher, Cory Ott, and Nick Rukamp each doubled.
Cal Winters got the win and Ryan Gloe the save. The duo gave up only 2 hits, struck out 4, and walked
three.