Glenwood splits pair at Battle of the Bluffs tourney

The Glenwood baseball team won one and dropped one as a host site for the Battle of the Bluffs Baseball Tournament Saturday.

The Rams (7-3 overall, 5-2 in the Hawkeye 10 Conference) opened with a 14-0 loss to North Scott before bouncing back for a 4-2 win over Clear Lake in their tournament capper.

With six of his 16 varsity players not available, including four of his top five outfielders, Glenwood coach Bret Elam knew his team’s opener against Class 4A top 10 ranked North Scott might be a tall task.

“We knew it was going to be tough missing who we were but we sleep walked through the game,” Elam said. “We were flat all game. We had some chances early to score some runs and we didn’t get it done and things just snowballed.”

Wyatt Schulz pitched four innings and was credited with the loss.

In game two, the Rams bounced back, thanks to a sterling performance from Dru Little on the mound and at the plate. Little, a senior lefthander, was dominant at times on the hill, getting ahead of hitters and controlling throughout. In all, Little threw just 79 pitches in the complete-game victory.

“Dru was excellent,” Elam said. “It’s probably the best I’ve seen him pitch. He made them (Clear Lake) defensive at the play because he was pitching ahead and in control.”

Little helped his own cause at the plate with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning that proved the game-winner.

Glenwood 7,
Shenandoah 5

Glenwood drew 12 walks and smacked seven hits in a 7-5 Hawkeye 10 Conference baseball victory over Shenandoah last Tuesday.

The Rams used a three run fifth inning rally to blow open a 4-2 game.

“We didn’t swing the bats real well,” said Glenwood coach Bret Elam.

“We were kind of flat to start. I think we showed up just expecting to win and Shenandoah kept fighting. We got luckily and gutted it out.”

Aaron Bertini was 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs.

Wyatt Schulz, Talon Stromgren, Kolton Wilwerding and Drake Harrington each added a hit for Glenwood.

Harrington was credited with the win on the hill after allowing one hit and no runs in two innings of work.

Glenwood 15,
Clarinda 3

Dru Little smacked a home run and drove in three runs for Glenwood in a 15-3 victory over Clarinda last Monday.

Little was 2-for-3 at the plate and added a walk.

“We swung the bats real well,” said Glenwood coach Bret Elam. “We showed up ready to play and everybody got in the game. We got some early runs, got the momentum and didn’t let go.”

Carter Von Essen earned his first win on the hill this season after scattering three hits over three innings. The junior also helped his own cause at the plate with a double to drive in two runs.