Lomira baseball is back in the driver's seat of the Flyway.
Lomira, the No. 5 team in Division 3, won both games of their doubleheader against No. 2 Laconia on Thursday afternoon from Taylor Park in Rosendale.
Josh Steger and Weston Poth were the stars of the day for Lomira. Steger started and helped the Lions get the 6-0 win in the first game; Poth came in in relief of Steger in game two, which was a 4-3 Lomira comeback win.
Steger pitched four innings of one-hit shutout ball in game one, striking out seven batters. He also provided the big moment offensively with a three-run home run in the top of the third inning, which gave Lomira a 4-0 lead.
Dalton Zingsheim replaced Steger in the fifth inning of game one, which allowed Steger to start game two. Zingsheim allowed two hits in three innings.
Game two was a different story than the dominance of the first game, which coach Tom Cole said he was excited to see for a change.
"In the second game we got down and it was almost better to see us compete and work our way back into a lead," Cole said. "There is no quit in these guys, they are fun to coach and just an impressive win."
After hardly being able to touch Steger in the first game, Laconia (15-2 overall, 10-2 in Flyway) jumped all over the senior pitcher in game two.
Sawyer Schultis hit a leadoff home run on the third pitch of the game. Two batters later, Colton Hagner hit a two-run shot off Steger and the Spartans looked to be in control.
Enter Weston Poth.
The junior came on and pitched five relief innings, allowing just a single hit and striking out six.
"I just know that [Steger] and I put in a lot of work and a lot of hours," Poth said. "When it comes to it, when I get put into the game, I just know I got to go out there and dominate just like he does."
Poth's performance allowed Lomira (15-2, 11-1) to chip away at Laconia's lead, scoring a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to complete the comeback.
Cole said Poth was ready for the opportunity.
"Weston has been unbelievable all year," Cole said. "He was ready for that challenge. He told me before the game that he wanted to shut the door and he did. It was impressive."
Poth accounted for three of the four Lion runs; he had an RBI on a deep sacrifice fly in the fifth and he scored twice.
"I just try to tell myself to relax and I'm just out there having fun so it's really nice when you get to have a game like that," Poth said.
One of the game's critical plays came in the top of the sixth when the Spartans tried a squeeze play with one out to tie the game. Jack Rens was unable to get the bunt down and Keeton Grade was tagged out at home on the play.
With the sweep, Lomira has sole possession of first place in the conference.
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