FRVC baseball: Lincoln dedicates victory to Brady Johnson

Heavy-hearted Ships beat Southwest after friend passes away

By Paul Keup
Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — On April 28, Lincoln High School pitcher Matt Wilke walked off the field after throwing a complete-game victory, and he was welcomed with a high-five from Brady "Buster" Johnson.

As special as that gesture was then, it means even more now.

Brady, the 11-year-old son of Ships' athletic director John Johnson, passed away five days later.

The tragic news touched the Lincoln baseball team, which talked about Brady on the bus ride home from Denmark on Friday.

"We talked about how lucky we are to play the game of baseball, and we wanted to do something special for the family," said Ships' head coach Bruce Steinbecker, whose team attended Brady's funeral Sunday in Sheboygan. "We want to win some games for Brady Johnson and his family."

Wearing black armbands with 'Brady J.' written in white, the Ships topped Green Bay Southwest, 2-1, on the strength of Wilke's pitching and Casey Meyer's two-run homer in a Fox River Valley Conference contest on an overcast Tuesday afternoon at Citizen Park.

"Mr. Johnson and his son mean a lot to us," Wilke said. "We will wear these (armbands) the rest of the season to show our support for their family. This means a lot to get a win for a special kid like that."

His teammates felt the same way as they turned in an error-free performance to win their eighth game in the last nine.

"The team wanted to honor him," third baseman Kevin Brunmeier said. "It was our way of showing support for the Johnsons."

And they got the win for Brady.

Meyer put the Ships on top for good with a two-out, two-run homer in the second inning against pitcher Ryan Sullivan after Lincoln's Jacob Woolsey reached on an error.

With no warning track at Citizen Park, Southwest center fielder Nick Bacon didn't know how close he was to the fence, and he ran into the fence at full-speed. The low fence seemed to hit him in the torso area, Trojans coach Jon Jagler said, and Bacon was motionless for a few moments before getting up and staying in the game.

In the end, the error hurt even more.

"It started with an error," Jagler said. "It's tough to see (Sullivan) lose after making one mistake after an error."

Wilke, meanwhile, faced just two over the minimum after four innings thanks to a nice curveball and solid defense.

Brunmeier picked up a hard shot on the hot corner to lead off the fourth, and catcher Tyler Tanck followed with a tough catch in foul territory.

Southwest came back to load the bases with one out in the fifth, but the Ships' defense preserved the lead again.

Bacon hit a hard grounder in between second and first, but Lincoln senior second baseman Ben Matthies scooped up the ball to his left, spun, and threw to shortstop Casey Meyer to start a 4-6-3 double play.

"We had our chances," Jagler said. "We hit a rocket to their second baseman, but he made a great play. That took the momentum and put it back in their hands."

The Trojans (6-9 overall, 3-8 FRVC) did get one tally in the sixth, but Wilke got Sullivan to fly out to left on the right-hander's 103rd offering of the day to strand two runners.

Chris Casper pitched the seventh for the save, and Lincoln (10-5, 8-3) got the win despite being outhit, 6-5.

"We're not hitting the way we should, but the defense has been really strong," Wilke said. "That takes the tension off my shoulders."

Wilke improved to 5-2 — all in conference games — even though the offense has been averaging about four-five hits and three-four runs lately.

But the defense has done its part.

"No one has scored more than six runs on us all year," Steinbecker said. "We're winning a lot of close games, and we're doing the little things to win."

Which keeps the momentum going.

"It helps our confidence a lot," said Brunmeier, who had a sacrifice bunt and a single. "We need to hit a lot better, though. Two runs isn't going to win every game, but this helps us stay positive and work hard."

So does the tribute to Brady Johnson.

"This helped me put things in perspective," Steinbecker said. "Baseball is just a game. It's an unfortunate, tragic thing, and it has made everybody on the team closer."

NOTES: The Ships swept the regular-season series with the Trojans. … Lincoln's five hits were by Max Steimle, Matthies, Casper, Brunmeier, and Meyer. … Southwest's Mike Lange and Robbie Neuville each were 2-for-2. … Sullivan finished with three strikeouts and no walks. … Wilke struck out six with three walks and one hit batter. … Lincoln visits Green Bay Preble at 7 p.m. Thursday at Joannes Park