The Land O’ Lakes League is now in full swing and the three West Bend teams in the Northern division have managed significantly different results. The 7-Up are 2-0 and have scored nine runs while allowing five and the Spirit are 1-1, having scored ten and surrendered nine. The Benders, on the other hand, are 0-4 and have been outscored an incredible 66-to-9. That’s nothing new, though, as the Benders have a combined record of just 3-91 since the beginning of the 2000 season, a historically bad run of ineptitude.

The 7-Up club includes former Brookfield Central standout Brandon Hall, who hit .386/.477/.527 with 20 doubles and more walks (21) than strikeouts (20) this season with Lake City Community College (FL). Hall is also slated to play for the Mat-Su Miners in this summer’s Alaskan League, one of the premiere wood bat leagues in the country. Another notable name on the 7-Up roster is Erik Kraemer, who along with Mike Mueller was part of the historic 1999 West Bend East club that racked up 388 hits in 37 games and won the state title.

I’ll be checking out the 7-Up’s next game on Wednesday at Carl Kuss Field and will hopefully be able to post some thoughts about their matchup with the Thiensville-Mequon Twins.