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HARTFORD – Hartford Union baseball coach Russ Grundy could only shake his head at the though of 10 walks and three hit batsmen that put Milwaukee Lutheran runners on base all day Tuesday night.

The Orioles and starting pitcher Jim Steffanich found a way to do their best Houdini impersonation and get out of those jams early on to build an 11-2 lead in the fourth inning before having to hold on to dear life to take an 11-8 Wisconsin Little Ten Conference victory at West Side Park.

“It was very uncharacteristic of Jim,” Grundy said. “They’re a very good hitting team and you can’t give them extra opportunities by putting people on base.

“You’re up 11-4, you shouldn’t be nibbling around the strike zone.”

The Orioles’ bats gave Stefanich a lift in the bottom of the first inning with four runs, starting the inning off with five straight singles.

Through the first three innings, the Orioles senior right-hander allowed the Red Knights to load the bases twice on just one hit thanks to four walks and two hit batters. Milwaukee Lutheran had just one run to show for itself as Stefanich came back with five strikeouts in the first and third innings.

After the Red Knights (6-3, 9-4), ranked No. 9 in this week’s Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Division 2 poll, made it a 5-2 game in the top of the fourth, the Orioles (5-2, 8-3) busted the game open with six runs, fueled by Austin Krueger’s based-loaded triple.

“The top of our order hit well,” Grundy said. “Mark Cadena provided a spark for us. He laid down three bunts and reached on all of them.”

Milwaukee Lutheran did start to nibble away at the 11-2 deficit with a pair of runs in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Even after trailing by nine, they somehow managed to put the tying run into the on-deck circle before Matt Schmirler finally shut the door on the game.

“You give away that precious gift of momentum, you can’t give momentum a shove in the direction we did,” Milwaukee Lutheran coach Bob Heinkel said of digging the early hole that proved to be too much for his team.

Notes: The teams will play at Milwaukee Lutheran as part of the home-and-home Wisconsin Little Ten Conference schedule. … Milwaukee Lutheran leadoff hitter Adam Walker went 2 for 5 while No. 2 hitter Jack Jorgenson went 3 for 4 with two triples and three runs scored. … The first five spots in the Hartford batting order each had two or more hits.

MILWAUKEE LUTHERAN…...001 122 2—8 10 3

HARTFORD UNION……………410 600 x—11 14 1

Pitching: ML—Matt Scasny (L) 4 IP, K, BB, 11 H, 8 R, 6 ER; Jack Jorgenson IP, 3 K, BB, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER; C.J. Selner IP, 3 K; HU—Jim Steffanich (W) 5 IP, 6 K, 9 BB, 2 HB, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER; Matt Schmirler (S) 2 IP, BB, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER.

Leading hitters: ML—Jack Jorgenson 3-4, 2 3B, 3 R, RBI, R; Adam Walker 2-5, 2B, RBI, R; HU—Mark Cadena 3-3, 2 R, 2 SB; Ben Bissett 3-4, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2B; Jordan Stephans 2-4, 3 R; Jim Stefanich 2-4, 2 R, RBI; Cody Kling 2-4, R.