With the WIAA summer baseball tournament just a week away, there aren't many teams in the state hotter than Brookfield East.
The Spartans continued their recovery from an 0-5 start by winning four of five games last week to push their overall record over .500 at 15-12.
Brookfield East finished at 11-7 in the Greater Metro Conference, good for sixth place. Winners of nine of their last 12, the Spartans were scheduled to open the Greater Metro Conference tournament at third-seeded Franklin on Monday, July 3.
The semifinals and championship game were to be held Thursday, July 6 at Kapco Park.
Brookfield East opened last week with an 11-1 rout of West Allis Hale on June 26.
In a continuation game from June 22, Brookfield East outlasted Sussex Hamilton for a 4-3 victory on June 27.
The Spartans were limited to just five hits in a 6-2 loss to Franklin on June 29.
Brookfield East fell behind 1-0 in the first inning but plated a pair of runs to go up 2-1 in the second. Franklin answered with two runs in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead. The score remained the same until Franklin added three in the sixth.
Jack Steger started on the mound for Brookfield East and walked three over four innings. Joe Myrold struck out one and walked one in two innings of relief.
The Spartans closed out the conference regular season with a pair of wins, downing Menomonee Falls, 4-2, on June 30 and earning a 3-2 victory in nine innings over Marquette in a suspended game that was resumed July 1.
Brookfield East took a 1-0 lead in the second inning against Menomonee Falls but found itself trailing 2-1 after four innings.
An RBI double by Joe Serbiak tied the game in the fifth. Sam Gauger scored on a throwing error to give the Spartans the lead in the sixth and Jimmy Fisher drove in Will Owen with a single to provide an insurance run.
Danny Butler didn't allow an earned run over six innings, allowing eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts to earn the victory. Owen struck out a pair in a scoreless seventh for the save.
Brookfield East and Marquette had their game suspended in the ninth inning of a 2-2 tie June 27. When the game resumed on July 1, Gauger scampered home with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to leave the Spartans victorious.
The Spartans went up 2-0 in the second on an error and a hit batsman with the bases loaded. The lead held until the Hilltoppers tied the game with a pair of runs in the seventh.
Ben Baker, Gauger and Fisher drew walks to load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth. After Butler hit into a fielder's choice with the force out at the plate, Marquette's Pat Sisk threw a wild pitch with Serbiak at the plate, allowing Gauger to score.
Serbiak allowed just one earned run over 6 2/3 innings before exiting. Sam Tallmadge gave up a run in 1/3 of an inning and Owen threw a scoreless frame. Serbiak then returned to the mound to pitch the ninth inning once the game resumed.
Prior to finishing off the win against Marquette, Brookfield East collected a 6-0 nonconference victory over Plymouth on July 1.
