Last Saturday night in Garner, the Cowboys earned an advance to a date with Pocahontas Area this week with a 12-7 win over North Union. They plated two runs in the fifth for a 3-2 lead, then added four in the seventh only to see the Knights tie it and create an extra inning. The red & block then claimed it with five scores.
Several players swung heavy lumber in this game. Mateo Martinez was 2 for 6 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored. Cael Chase was 2 for 4 with a double, one RBI and one run across. Caleb Krueger was 3 for 5 with a double, two RBI and crossed once. Tyler Stein was 2 for 5 with one RBI and one run scored. Reed Abbas was 1 for 6 with two RBI, Nevan Foss 1 for 4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored.
Preston Gardner went 1 for 4 with an RBI and crossed the dish for three runs. Bryce Alen scored two runs and Andrew Bell one run. Stein and Martinez had two steals each, with Abbas, Krueger and Ben Oehlert at one each. Stein, Foss, Allen and Gardner all took one walk apiece.
Stein was credited with the win, going 2.2 innings with no earned runs on a four-hitter. He allowed three walks, hit one batter and had three K’s. Krueger threw 6.1 innings, allowing two earned on six hits with two walks and three K’s.
“It’s always good to get a postseason win, but it wasn’t pretty,” stated head skipper Nick Willwerth. “We tried our best to give it away. Credit to the guys for refocusing and getting the job done. They (Knights) had all the momentum, and we stemmed the tide and turned the tables in our favor. You don’t usually get many second chances in baseball, or life for that matter, and we capitalized on ours. We also did a good job of adjusting each time through our lineup offensively, which was needed after maybe some of the worst at-bats I’ve seen in my five years here. Martinez busted this open with a two RBI double, and brought our offense to life. He has been so fun to watch this year, and he has really matured in terms of leadership and production. He’s starting to become an alpha out on the field and it has been great to watch it unfold. I can’t say enough good things about him this entire year. On we go to the next round.”
Prior to that game, they lost a nail-biter 4-3 at Hampton-Dumont/CAL. Stein and Abbas both went 2 for 4, with Reed smacking a double on both and getting two RBI while scoring one. Tyler crossed the dish twice. For being just a freshman, Gardner has shown a lot of potential this year and doubled himself in his only connection. Martinez, Foss, Krueger and Nelson all reached on base hits, with Caleb using a keen eye to draw two walks and Foss one. Abbas and Foss each picked off a bag.
Stein threw five innings, allowing one earned on a three-hitter with five walks, one hit batter and four K’s. Damien Bjorklund-Strong pitched two innings, allowing one earned on one hit with two walks and a strikeout. Kaleb King also saw action, allowing one earned on two hits.
“Stein looked the best he has in his career on the mound the last two innings,” said Willwerth. “Our pitching was been very solid this year, and that is a testament to both the kid’s work ethic and coach Allen’s guidance. He does a great job of teaching the nuances of pitching, and not just getting up there and throwing. Reed’s bat is starting to heat up, which is a great thing for our offense. Our bats went quiet in the middle of the game, and so we need to do a better job of building our leads versus just being satisfied with a one or two-run lead. In other words, get on your offense and stay on your offense. Another one-run game. We had our chances, but just couldn’t find a way to close the door.”
They traveled to Buffalo Center and defeated North Iowa 8-2, doing it on only six singles by Stein, Abbas, Chase, Krueger, Nelson and Gardner. Stein and Chase both drove in two runs each, with Foss, Nelson, Allen and Gardner credited with one RBI apiece. Krueger and Nelson showed great patience in drawing two walks each, with Abbas, Chase and Gardner all getting on free pass apiece. Abbas, Martinez, Tamayo and Oehlert all stole a base.
Foss took the win on the hill, allowing two earned on nine hits with two walks, a hit batter and one strikeout over five innings. King threw two frames, allowing no earned and no hits with a walk and a strikeout.
“It was good to finally close out a game like we should,” said the coach. “Foss did a great job of locating around the zone all night, and our defense played very well behind him. King did a great job of coming back and closing out the game after the one in Hampton. Those two freshman stepped up and helped save the rest of our staff for the district game later in the week. Biggest factor in this game, and something we’ve been missing most of the year, is that we were able to get production out of the bottom third of our lineup. They were able to set the table for the top half guys, and allowed us to break this thing open in the fifth. Allen tied a state record with four hit-by-pitch in one game while at bat. It should be noted he also played the JV game and got hit twice in that one.”
They were edged out by West Fork 6-5 in a Wednesday home game. Abbas swung the big lumber, going 2 for 3 with a two-RBI homerun. Chase was 3 for 4 with a run scored, Foss 2 for 4 with a run, Kruger 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored and Gardner went 2 for 4 and crossed the dish once. Stein, Martinez and Nelson all reached on base hits, with Tyler anf Kain credited with an RBI each. Nick Carpenter also crossed once. Stein and Nelson drew a walk each.
Krueger threw 4.2 innings, allowing no earned on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. Bjorklund-Strong pitched the rest, allowing two earned on five hits with three walks and three K’s.
“Another game that came down to the last plate appearance,” said the skipper. “We had plenty of opportunities to win this game and couldn’t get the runs across when needed. Also had a couple of base running errors that cost us. Just dumb, dumb mistakes that essentially gave away the game. The top half of our lineup did a great job barreling up the ball all night, and they had great at-bats the entire game.”
