A controversial no-catch and a late comeback help Menomonee Falls head back to state

GERMANTOWN - The question was short and simple: “Did he catch it?”

The answer and its implications were not so straightforward.

Dayne Fuiten laced the go-ahead double in the bottom of the sixth inning, right-hander Alex Heitman dominated in relief and Menomonee Falls punched its ticket to the summer baseball state tournament with a 5-3 sectional final win over Germantown on Monday night at Germantown High School.

Falls (26-7), which won state titles in both 2015 and ‘16 will face top-ranked Pius XI in a state semifinal at 11:35 a.m. Friday at Kapco Park in Mequon.

Fuiten’s winner, however, came with plenty of controversy.

With one out in the sixth and Falls pinch-runner Brett Tamblingson on second after Brennen Beck hit a game-tying double, Fuiten sent a fly ball deep to left-center field. Warhawks centerfielder Ben Brandenburg ranged to his right and tried to make a diving catch at the warning track.

As Brandenburg landed, the ball popped out of his glove and back into the air. Moments later, the Germantown senior, lying on his back, stuck his glove up with the ball inside to indicate that he had caught the ball on the rebound. However, an umpire immediately ruled no catch, allowing Tamblingson to come around and score to give the Indians a 4-3 lead.

So, did he catch it?

“I truly don’t know if he caught it on the rebound or not,” Falls head coach Pat Hansen said. “What I do know, though, is the next thing I saw is the umpire give the safe sign, so I run my guy from second. I’d have been curious that if they did call him out, how do I run the bases then?”

Germantown head coach Jeff Wolf went out to argue the play as a pair of fans donning Homestead and Nicolet gear out past the outfield fence, feet away from the play, continued to signal that Brandenburg caught the ball. Both men, as well as a pair of Indians fans, later told a reporter that it was a clean catch.

“Apparently the umpires didn’t see it,” Wolf said. “When you have three umpires, you hope that’s why you have them, so they can see it. I know it was out there a ways, but obviously that’s a huge part of the game. I don’t want to take anything away from Falls. They came back, tied the game and took advantage of their chances.”

Fuiten came around to score on a wild pitch and throwing error by Warhawks catcher Colin Sackett for what would be the game’s final run.

That gave Heitman more than enough of a cushion going out for the seventh, as he retired the side in order. The senior took the mound during the second inning in relief of his brother Ben, a junior, who allowed the first three batters of the inning to reach base as Germantown (21-11) took an early 2-0 lead.

The elder Heitman took control of the game against a powerful Warhawks lineup, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks in six innings to earn the win. As the final batter of the game flied out to center field, Heitman, who suffered a torn labrum last season, flipped his glove high in the air in a triumphant moment.

He then found himself at the bottom of a pile.

“I wasn’t worried about our team scoring runs, so I just had to come in, throw strikes and get out of there with the least amount of runs possible,” Heitman said. “We all believe in each other. We said it from Day 1, ‘We’re going to state, we’re going to state.’ We never doubted it and now we’re going to state.”

The lone blemish on Heitman’s line was an RBI single by Colten Thomas in the top of the sixth that gave Germantown a 3-2 lead. 

With left-hander Justin Knodl in a groove on the mound and having won back-to-back playoffs game on a walk-off hit, the Warhawks started to feel like perhaps a trip to state was meant to be.

“It sure felt that way,” Wolf said. “Justin was cruising. He really settled in and pitched well. We felt pretty good.”

Instead, it will be the Indians making the trip to the final state summer baseball tournament, where they will look to become just the second team to win three state championships in a four-year period.

“It’s fun to end summer baseball this way,” Hansen said. “It is special. I mean this with my whole heart, that is special, but it’s more special to celebrate it with these kids.”