Rams take two from Cyclones on road
The Glenwood baseball team went on the road and earned a key sweep of a big rival Thursday.
The Rams smacked 27 hits and got just enough pitching to overcome six errors to sweep Class 3A, No. 4 ranked Harlan 7-4 and 12-11 in Hawkeye 10 Conference baseball in Harlan. The sweep is believed to be the Rams’ first of the Cyclones since 2010.
“Every time you play Harlan, you better be ready to play because beating them means something most of the time,” said Glenwood coach Kurt Schultz. “They always play decently and they’re well coached. I think the kids were pretty excited for this one.”
In game one, Glenwood (7-6 overall, 5-2 in the conference) scored two runs in the top of the first and never trailed in the 7-4 victory over the Cyclones (12-3).
Colton Schutte threw four solid innings, striking out six and scattering two hits and two earned runs to earn the win.
After an inning of work by Chad Fisher, Pierce Harrington came on to pitch two scoreless innings to close out the victory.
“Colton threw well,” Schultz said. “He threw a lot of pitches because he had some walks but they also did a good job fighting off pitches so we knew the fourth (inning) would be his last. Pierce came on and did a really nice job throwing two of his better innings this year.”
Game two saw both team’s bats come alive to the tune of 30 combined hits in the Rams’ 12-11, eight-inning victory.
The Rams’ go-ahead run in the top of the eighth came after they scored six runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Eli Bales’ sacrifice fly drove in what turned out to be the game-winner in the eighth.
Cade Van Ness was instrumental in the game two victory. The senior belted a home run and drove in two runs at the plate and they came on in relief of Michael Radford to strikeout eight of the 10 batters he faced in three innings of work to earn the win.
“Michael threw pretty well and had four strong innings before went to Cade,” Schultz said. “Cade had pitched a couple other times this year and this was by far his best outing. He threw strike after strike and they had a really tough time with him.”
The Rams belted 16 hits in game two, including four for extra-bases.
“We came to swing the bats,” Schultz said. “We’ve been working on our hitting and facing the off-speed stuff. They threw a lot of off-speed stuff at us. When you’re setting on a fast ball and you get off speed, it can disrupt your timing. And I thought we did well with that and kept battling."
Of Glenwood’s 27 hits in the two games combined, 14 came from the bottom half of the line up.
“In the last week, that lower half (of our lineup) has really started to step up and we have several kids we can count on to get a hit for us here and there. Who knows, we may even juggle the lineup to improve our consistency. We’ll see what happens.”
Schutte, Kaden Wray and Andrew Holiday each had four hits in the twin bill.
Rams 0-2 at
Battle of the Bluffs
Glenwood’s hot-hitting continued into Saturday’s Battle of the Bluffs Baseball Tournament but it wasn’t enough in a par of losses.
“Saturday games are tough,” Schultz said. “They’re more ‘fun’ type games but you want to win them and we didn’t get it done.”
The Rams dropped an 8-7 “pitcher’s duel” decision to A-D-M in the opener before going down 9-4 to Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the capper. Glenwood combined for 21 hits in the two games but could never quite get the key hit they needed when given the chance.
Against A-D-M, the Rams dug themselves a 7-0 hole before rallying to within a run and then loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh. But could get no closer.
“It was tough,” Schultz said. “We fought back and we just didn’t get it done.”
Schultz didn’t think the disappointment of the close game one loss affected his team in game two, but he does admit they looked tired in the 9-4 loss to the Warriors.
“We weren’t as focused,” Schultz said. “We got a lot of guys on base and guys in scoring position but we couldn’t get them in. It was frustrating. We’ve had a little bit of a problem with that this year. We seem to get runners on with two outs and can’t get that hit we need.”
Eli Bales took the game one loss on the mound after allowing seven hits and five earned runs. Pierce Harrington scattered seven this and three earned runs in four innings to earn the game two loss.
Cade Van Ness went 5-for-8 and drove in three runs in the two games. Michael Radford and Bales each added three hits.
Glenwood 2,
Creston 1
Andrew Holiday and Ethan Fisher combined on the mound to out-duel Creston in a 2-1 Hawkeye 10 Conference victory last Tuesday in Glenwood.
Holiday started and struck six while allowing five hits and no earned runs in 5 1/3 innings before giving way to Fisher. Fisher came on to pitch the final 1 2/3 innings to earn the save.
Eli Bales recorded two hits and Fisher and Colton Schutte each drove in a run for Glenwood.
Creston’s Keegan Smith was credited with the loss after allowing two hits and one earned run.
Glenwood 5,
C.B. Thomas Jefferson 4, 10 innings
Cooper Silvius’ walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning completed the comeback for Glenwood in a 5-4 victory over Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson last Monday in Glenwood.
The comeback actually started for the Rams (5-4 overall, 3-2 in the conference) in the bottom of the seventh when they rallied back from a 4-1 deficit to send the game into extra-innings.
In the 10th, the Rams moved runners to first and second to set up Silvius. And the senior left-fielder delivered a shot to right centerfield to score Michael Radford from second and secure the win.
The Rams recorded 14 hits in the win but could muster just one run through six innings. Andrew Holiday was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Michael Radford added three hits of his own. Ethan Fisher, Cade Van Ness and Silvius picked up two hits each.
Eli Bales came on in relief of starter Pierce Harrington to earn his first win of the season. The senior allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings of work. For the game, Glenwood struck out 19 Yellowjackets batters while committing just one error on defense.