Last Monday in a home game, the Cowboy baseball team lost 7-2 to Humboldt. Nevan Foss went 2 for 3, while Tyler Stein, Reed Abbas and Caleb Krueger all added a base hit each. Stein had an RBI, with Foss and Krueger scoring the runs. Abbas showed a good eye in drawing two walks, with Kain Nelson getting one free pass to first. Stein and Abbas each stole a base.
Krueger threw just over four innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits with three walks and two hit batters. He also had five K’s. Nelson pitched just over one inning, with two earned on one hit with four walks. Kaleb King also made a brief appearance, allowing one earned on two hits.
“Caleb threw great for three innings and then got a little tired,” stated head skipper Nick Willwerth. “He’s made great strides on the mound this year. He does a really good of keeping the hitters off balance. One bad inning cost us this one. Our margin of error is thin, so we need to play seven full innings in all three phases to win. We’re close.”
The Cowboys hosted Garner-Hayfield/Ventura on Tuesday with the Cardinals leaving town with a 12-0 win. Stein got the only hit, a single, off Card’s pitcher Dalton Graff. Foss, Mateo Martinez, Abbas and Bryce Allen all drew a free pass to first each, with Martinez and Abbas making two steals each and Allen one.
Stein threw five innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with three walks, a hit batter and eight K’s. Ben Oehlert pitched one inning, allowing four earned on one hit with three walks and two batters hit. King pitched on inning, allowing one earned on one hit with a hit batter and a strikeout.
The scoreless trouble continued on Wednesday in a 16-0 loss to visiting Webster City. Chase went 2 for 2 and Krueger 1 for 2 for the only connections. Abbas, Bell and Tamayo all drew a free pass each, with Reed and Caleb stealing a base each. Nelson threw 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven earned on nine hits with two walks and a hit batter. Bjorklund-Strong threw the rest, allowing nine earned on six hits with four walks and a strikeout.
The week concluded with a home game on Friday with Algona, which saw the Bulldogs leave town with a 4-3 win. The home team scored one in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Stein went 2 for 4, with Abbas also 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Martinez, Chase, Foss and Krueger were all 1 for 3, with Mateo and Caleb credited with an RBI each and Mateo and Nevan scoring a run each. Foss drew a walk, while Stein, Foss and Thane Jackson all stole a base each.
Krueger pitched all seven, allowing just two earned on seven hits with one walk and five K’s. While that was not a bad night from him, the offense just couldn’t get the key hits when they needed them to get the much-needed win.
“Another great performance from Caleb on the mound,” said Willwerth. “He’s giving us a chance to win the game every time out, and we haven’t been doing a good job of giving him the run support needed. Top half of our lineup looked really good at the plate. It was good to get Reed going offensively because we’ll need his bat down the stretch. Had a chance in the seventh to win the game and couldn’t get the job done.”
Districts this Saturday
The Cowboys enter Class 2A district play this Saturday at Garner, taking on North Union. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m. The winner of that game will then face Pocahontas Area, which has a bye, on Tuesday, July 14 at 7 p.m. in Pocahontas.
