Broncos fall to Muskego after Warriors' eight-run first inning

MUSKEGO, Wis. - Union Grove’s comeback hopes never fully materialized Saturday after Muskego broke the game open with an eight-run first inning and went on to beat the Broncos 11-2 at Muskego High School.

The decisive stretch came immediately. Muskego scored its first run on a Lessard single, added another when Shaw drew a bases-loaded walk, then kept the pressure on with RBI singles from Hoeffler and Perlberg. A Union Grove error later in the inning brought home three more runs as the Warriors surged ahead 8-0 before the Broncos could settle in.

Muskego added to the margin in the second inning when Hoeffler lifted a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 9-0. The Warriors finished with nine hits and clean defense, turning one double play and committing no errors. Wendt, Perlberg and Lessard each had two hits for Muskego, while Hoeffler drove in two runs from the No. 8 spot in the lineup. Nicolato handled a team-high eight defensive chances.

Union Grove found its best offensive moment in the top of the fourth. Kevin Brau, batting in the middle of the order, worked a seven-pitch at-bat before sending a home run to left field for the Broncos’ only runs of the day. Brau finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Tucker Katterhagen and Williams added one hit apiece as Union Grove totaled three hits.

On the mound, Muskego starter Kuglitsch earned the win after allowing one hit and no runs over three innings. He struck out six and walked one. Luke Drummond took the loss for the Broncos, working two innings and allowing nine runs, two earned, on four hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Brau followed with a steady relief outing, giving Union Grove three innings and limiting Muskego to two runs on five hits while striking out three and walking one.

Union Grove dropped the nonconference game despite Brau’s fourth-inning swing and a more settled finish on the mound. The Broncos will look to carry that late-game steadiness into their next stretch of the schedule.