GRUNDY CENTER- Grundy Center’s hitters had a feeling that they’d get to Janesville pitcher Jared Hoodjer if they just stayed patient.
Trailing 2-0 heading into the sixth inning of Saturday night’s Class 1A District 11 final on their home field, the Spartans exploded for four runs and eventually held off the Wildcats for a 5-3 victory and a date with Coon Rapids-Bayard in the substate final in Ogden on Tuesday night.
“We kept the energy high. The dugout stayed in it. We stayed in it, and we just knew we had to put at-bats together,” junior pitcher Brayden Sawyer said.
In the opening frame, Grundy Center (18-8), listed as the visitor on the scoreboard due to seeding, nearly got on the board first after Sawyer singled and Patrick Brown III was hit by a pitch. Spartan second baseman Colin Gordon then smacked a two-out single, but Sawyer, who attempted to score from second base, was called out on a tag from Janesville catcher Joey Carlson after a bang-bang play at the plate. The Wildcats (16-6) emerged from the threat unscathed.
Carlson responded with a leadoff single of his own in the bottom of the first, and he was able to move over to third base on a steal and a fielder’s choice grounder hit by his pitcher, Hoodjer. After Sawyer walked Wiley Sherburne with two outs, he attempted to take second, and although Sherburne was tagged out, Carlson made it home before the tag and put Janesville ahead 1-0.
Neither team got much going in the second or third innings, and even after Gordon notched the second of his three hits on the night in the top of the fourth, Hoodjer settled down and retired the side in order afterward.
The Wildcats found a way to manufacture another run in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a Hoodjer single, an error on a pickoff attempt that moved him over to third, and a Sawyer balk that ultimately scored Hoodjer. Sawyer, who allowed five hits and three runs while striking out 10 batters in the complete game victory, found his groove and finished off the side, however.
“I was throwing strikes, and guys were making plays. So I knew if I just kept doing that, it’d keep us in the game,” Sawyer said.
Janesville swapped pitchers with one out in the top of the fifth and put sophomore Peyton Trees on the mound, and after hitting Dayne Zinkula with a pitch, he got Logan Knaack to line out and Sawyer to fly out. Sawyer pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, and the Spartans finally found their spark.
“I knew that we were seeing the ball, hitting the ball and putting the ball in contact, and honestly, when they made that pitching change, it was like blood in the water,” Grundy Center Coach Pat Brown Jr. said. “We just knew right away that we’re going to jump out there, grab a couple of runs and make it close.”
Brown walked to lead off the top of the sixth, and a Trees balk put him on second base before Hoodjer returned to the pitcher’s mound. Gordon hit his third single of the night to put runners on first and third, and a throwing error on a Bryce Greiner grounder allowed Brown to score and bring Grundy Center back to within one.
Tate Ahlberg then chipped in with a key hustle play, reaching base on an infield single, and with the bases loaded, Gordon scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Another infield single, this time from Zinkula, brought the third run across the plate, and Knaack drove in Tate Jirovsky to make the score 4-2 by the end of the frame.
Sawyer allowed one Trees single in the bottom of the sixth but otherwise mowed through the order, and junior first baseman Sloan Klar blasted a deep double to centerfield to score Gordon in the top of the seventh to push the lead to 5-2.
“Sometimes, Sloan and I butt heads, but just knowing how competitive he is, when he went out there and crushed that ball, I was so happy for him,” Coach Brown said. “The kids, they kind of rally around Sloan, and once he had that success, then everybody else just jumped on the Sloan train.”
With their backs against the wall, the Wildcats put up a fight in the bottom of the seventh: Keegan Eastman hit a double to right center, and Rogan Gergen brought him in with an RBI single to make it 5-3. Sawyer ended his night with an emphatic strikeout of Dawson Graham, however, and the Spartans secured their first district title since 2016.
“It feels amazing. We’re going to be prepared. We’re going to be ready (for substate),” Sawyer said.
Gordon led the way offensively for the Spartans, finishing 3-of-5 with two runs scored, and Klar, Greiner, Knaack and Zinkula contributed an RBI apiece. Sawyer tossed a complete game five-hitter with just one walk and 10 strikeouts, outdueling Hoodjer and Trees, who combined to allow five runs (four earned), nine hits and three walks while striking out four.
