Regals Escape, Beat Durant 2-1 In 2A Semifinals

FORT DODGE — It’s hard to beat a team five times in a row.  That was the task that the Durant Wildcat softball team had before them last Thursday in the class 2A semifinals in Fort Dodge.  Waiting for them was RVC rival Iowa City Regina a team they have beaten four times in a row in conference play and seven times in their last 10 regular season games going back to the 2013 season.  The Wildcats own a 6-2 record in RVC play against the Regals.  The two teams have combined to win three state championships in a five-year span from 2011-2015 and are arguably consistent powers in class 2A.  However, the Regals were the team that took advantage of mistakes and got just enough offense to get past Durant, 2-1 in the semifinal.  The Wildcats were seeking a berth in the 2A championship for the first time since 2013.

“They didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves,” Durant softball coach Steve Hopkins said. “We outplayed them in every facet of the game except the score, and unfortunately that doesn’t count.

"We’re swinging at pitches outside of the zone and watching strikes go by. All facets of the game we didn’t do the way we’ve been able to that got us to this point. It’s disappointing because we’re better than that,” said Hopkins.

The Regals were at state for the sixth time in school history and making their fourth state trip in five years.  Regina won the 2A title in 2011 and 2015 and were runners-up last summer.  Regina was led by three 2016 All-Tournament team selections pitcher Sarah Lehman, leftfielder Emma Corkery and first baseman Katie Bracken.  Lehman was the captain of the all-tournament team in 2015.  Regals head coach Jon Prottsman topped the 250-win mark as the Regals coach this past summer.

Durant was making their fifth state trip in six years and sixth in program history.  Durant won the state title in 2013.  Head coach Steve Hopkins won his 300th game in the Wildcats 10-0 win over North Cedar in regional play.

Iowa City Regina got on the scoreboard first with a run in the first inning.  Lead off batter Emily Bonnett was hit by a pitch on the third pitch of the game.  Meyer struck out Corkery for the first out and Jess Hunter for the second out.  Sarah Lehman was hit by a pitch, giving Regina their second baserunner.  Katie Bracken then hit a shot to Wildcat second baseman Aubrey Werthmann who had trouble fielding it and the ball squirted away allowing Bonnett to score from second for a 1-0 lead.  Meyer got Taylor O’Conner to flyout but the Regals led 1-0.

Durant was in position to tie the game in the bottom of the first inning.  Ruby Kappeler led off with a single and advanced to second on a Hannah Happ ground out.  Kappeler stole third to get one base away from scoring with one out.  Aubrey Werthmann then tried to get a bunt down on a squeeze play and missed, and Kappeler was caught stealing for the second out.  Werthmann struck out on the next pitch, ending the inning.

Durant had their best scoring chance in the third inning when they had two runners on base and one out with Kira Schult at second and Ruby Kappeler at first.  Regina then got Hannah Happ to fly out and Lehman got Aubrey Werthman out on strikes.  The Wildcats had runners at second base in the second and fourth innings too, but could not push the tying run across the plate.  

Regina added another run in the top of the sixth inning.  Jess Hunter walked and went to second on a one-out ground out by Bracken.  Hunter then scored on a single by O’Conner to give Regina a 2-0 lead going to the bottom of the sixth.

Durant broke through in the bottom of the sixth.  Werthmann tripled to lead off the inning and after a Cathy Ralfs fly out, scored on a fielder’s choice by Kamryn Meyer to set the score at 2-1 Regals.

Meyer mowed down the Regals in the top of the seventh, striking out two and getting a weakly hit ground out, to give the Wildcats a chance in the bottom of the inning.  There, Lehman got Mallory Warner to pop out on the first pitch of the inning and Regal centerfielder Jess Hunter made a fantastic play on a line-drive by Kira Schult to get the second out of the inning.  Lehman ended the game with her eighth strikeout as Ruby Kappeler went down on strikes.

Hopkins said that his team just couldn’t get a big hit when they needed it.

“We just couldn’t get that big hit we needed once we got someone in scoring position,” Hopkins said. “The softball gods just weren’t looking out for us today. We were just one hit away from turning it around. It just didn’t seem like we could build any momentum,” he said.

Durant outhit the Regals in the game 5 to 2 in the ball game, but only had one inning where they had more than one hit in the inning.  Ruby Kappeler was 2-for-4 and Aubrey Werthmann, Cathy Ralfs and Kira Schult each had hits in the game.

Kamryn Meyer took the loss despite pitching well.  Meyer worked all seven innings and allowed only two hits.  She struck out ten Regal batters and walked two.

Regina’s hits came from singles from Sarah Lehman and Taylor O’Conner.  Meyer kept the Regals first three hitters in the order down in the game.  Regal lead off batter Emily Bonnett (.326 ave, 46 hits, .353 OBP), Emma Corkery (.367 ave., .376 OBP, 51 hits) and number three hitter Jess Hunter (.323 ave., .369 OBP, 42 hits) were a combined 1-for-7 with six strikeouts in the game.

Lehman matched Meyer’s effort with one of her own and pitched well for the Regals, working all seven innings.  She struck out eight and walked one batter.

The Wildcats beat Lehman 2-1 at home in the regular season and Regina coach Jon Prottsmann thought for a moment that the game would be like that, as the Wildcats rallied in the sixth inning of that win.

“We were up one to nothing going to the sixth the first time we played and they got a double and a home run and beat us 2-1 so the sixth inning with their studs coming up I thought ‘we are up one run it’s the bottom of the sixth what’s going to happen here’,” Prottsman said. “This time she just bowed her neck a little bit and said, ‘nah not this time’,” he said.

“She was just better than they were, that’s all there is to it,” Prottsman said of Lehman. “And they are good, but she was better than they were.”

Wildcats Back Up Top Seed With Opening Round Victory

FORT DODGE — The second ranked team in class 2A entering the state softball tournament, and number-1 seed in the 8-team field, Durant Wildcats, put the past behind them and advanced to the 2A semifinals with a 9-0 victory over #11 and 8-seeded Logan Magnolia on Monday, July 17.  The Wildcats were appearing in their third straight state tournament, their fifth in six years and sixth trip in program history.  The previous two trips, Durant has lost in close, one-run ball games, leaving the Wildcats disappointed even though they brought home top-8 finishes.  This year however, was different.  Durant scored runs in five of their six at-bats in methodically getting past their opponents from the Western part of the state.

“We were kind of hoping that the third time was the charm, and for us, fortunately it was,” Durant coach Steve Hopkins said. “The kids are focused and driven, and we’ve had a sour taste in our mouth the last couple of years, and they’re here to prove a point.”

The Panthers were ranked 11th in the final class 2A poll.  Logan-Magnolia was ranked all season, starting the preseason rankings at #11 and getting as high as #9.

“I think if we played this team 10 times, we’d split with them, but today wasn’t the day we were going to do that,” Logan-Magnolia coach Trent Kuhl said.

“I know this group of girls,” Kuhl said. “They weren’t happy with today. They’re going to be willing to give us a good, hard practice tomorrow, and come out and take care of business on Wednesday.”

The Wildcats have outscored their last four postseason opponents 4 to 0 in the first inning and have scored first in each of their last five postseason games this summer.

Sophomore Kamryn Meyer looked liked a seasoned veteran in the pitching circle, flirting with a no-hitter in the game, allowing two hits over six innings of work.  The Wildcats ace struck out eight and walked one batter and did not give up a run.  Meyer was unhittable in the regional games leading up to state, giving up only one unearned run in 14 postseason innings leading up to state.  She also surrendered three hits and struck out 23 opposing batters in that time.  Jenna Lawson pitched in the game too, working a scoreless seventh inning.

Durant finished with 11 hits in the game, reaching the double-digit mark for hits in three of their last four postseason games.  All but one of their regulars in the starting line-up collected a hit.  Cathy Ralfs was 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI’s while Mallory Warner was 2-for-4.  Ruby Kappeler, Hannah Happ, Aubrey Werthmann, Haleigh Carnes, Kelly Alexander and Kira Schult all had hits in the game.  Werthmann and Schult each drove in three runs and Kappeler had one RBI.

Durant swiped six bases in the game led by Alexander with 2 while Kappeler, Meyer, Carnes and Schult each had one.

The ball game was a matchup against two, top-5 hitting schools in class 2A.  The Wildcats entered the game the third best hitting 2A team and Panthers the fifth best in 2A.  Logan-Magnolia had two players in their starting lineup that had earned 2A All-Tournament team honors in 2016 and the Panthers were making their third straight trip to state under coach Trent Kuhl who is in his eighth year.  Those players were senior Jenna Peschel who is a Iowa Central Community College signee and junior Kylan Straight.  The game was a contest of two conference champions too, with Durant winning the River Valley Conference and Logan-Magnolia winning the Western Iowa Conference.

Durant scored the game's’ first run in the bottom of the first inning.  Durant sent five batters to the plate in the inning.  Ruby Kappeler reached base on an error and advanced to third on a Hannah Happ sacrifice bunt.  Kappeler would score on an Aubrey Werthmann sacrifice fly to put the score at 1-0.

Durant added to their lead with two runs in the bottom of the second inning.  Happ led off the inning with a double before the Panthers got Werthmann to fly out.  Cathy Ralfs then blasted a 2-run home run to push the score to 3-0.  The home run was her fourth in as many postseason games and team leading 7th of the season.

Those runs were more than enough for starter Kamryn Meyer.  Meyer and the Wildcats retired the Panthers in order in four straight innings from the second to the end of the fifth with Meyer collecting six strikeouts.

Durant pushed their lead to 6-0 after a 3-run fourth inning.  Durant nearly batted around in the inning and got two scoring hits in the inning.  Ruby Kappeler had a RBI single scoring courtesy runner Abbey Rhoades who ran for Mallory Warner who led off the inning with a single, and a 2-run single by Aubrey Werthmann scoring Kira Schult and Kappeler.  Durant had four hits in the inning with singles coming from Warner, Kappeler, Werthmann and Ralfs.

Durant tacked on two runs to extend their lead to 8-0 after five innings.  Haleigh Carnes and Kelly Alexander each walked to lead off the fifth.  Both would score on a bases clearing double by Schult.  Schult would collect another RBI in the bottom of the sixth when she drew a bases loaded walk.

Logan-Magnolia had two scoring chances in the game.  One in the first when they got a runner to third with two outs.  Kylan Straight walked and moved to third on two ground outs, but Durant got out of the jam.  The Panthers advanced a runner to second in the sixth, but could not score.

The Panthers were one of the top home run hitting teams this season with 29, good for third in 2A.  The Panthers line-up sported five players with over a .400 batting average - Kylan Straight (.546), Megan Wilson (.495), Kenzie Cunard (.431), Jenna Peschel (.442) and Abbie Carlson (.411).  Those batters were the top-6 in the Panther order.  All struggled, as Durant shut the quintet down holding them to a combined 1-for-12 in the game with a Jenna Peschel single the only hit.  Only one other batter claimed a hit and that was number-9 hitter Reanna Rife who was 2-for-2.  As a team, the Panthers entered the game with a team batting average of .394.

Abbie Carlson took the loss after only making it through four complete innings, but she did work into the fifth before being taken out.  She gave up six runs, five earned on eight hits.  She struck out three and walked two.  Carlson saw her record fall to 28-4 with the loss and was the top pitcher in the Western Iowa Conference leading the conference in starts and pitching record, .  Reanna Rife pitched two innings in relief and gave up three runs on three hits.  She walked four and struck out one.

Wildcats Finish 3rd at State Tournament

The Durant Wildcats placed 3rd in class 2A after beating I-35 in the 3rd place game.

By Ryan Stonebraker 
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

  FORT DODGE — The Durant softball team overcame the disappointment of not playing for the class 2A title with an impres- sive victory over Interstate-35 in the third place game at the 2A state tournament last Friday. There, the Wildcats claimed a close, 2-1 win over the Roadrunners to finish the season 33-8. The Wildcats won five of their six postseason games this year, losing only to the eventual class 2A champion Iowa City Regina Regals. The 8th ranked Regals de- feated #9 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 5-4 in 16 innings, tying the record for the longest championship game in IGHSAU history.

  “I have been frustrated this last couple of days,” Hopkins said. “We’re just not men- tally doing things we normally do. We just couldn’t come up with a big hit today and repeated some of the things we did yester- day. But we were able to battle through those things.”
After heartbreaking extra-inning losses the last two seasons at the state tournament,   Hopkins felt his team was better equipped to bounce back this time around. He had even more conviction after a team meeting Thursday night at the team hotel.
  “I think experiencing those made this a little bit easier,” Hopkins said. “You could see the look on their face change a little bit, and you could see they were more upbeat. They did exactly what I hoped they would.”

  The Wildcats game with the Roadrunners was delayed almost 90 minutes due to heavy rain and lightning. Hopkins wasn’t worried though as his team was loose and ready to play.
  “They were playing back and forth between dugouts,” Hopkins said. “That’s how loose they were. I was happy to see it. They were loose and it showed today.”
  The Wildcats ended the season on a high note and claimed a top-3 finish with their win over I-35. The Wildcats and Roadrun- ners have met in each of the last two state tournaments with Durant winning 6-4 in 2015 and I-35 winning 6-5 last season.

  The Roadrunners were ranked third in the 2017 preseason rankings and were ranked in the top-3 the whole year, including spending two weeks as the top ranked team in class 2A. The Roadrunners were ranked #3 in their game with Durant. The Wildcats were ranked #2 and were ranked no lower than #5 all season.
  I-35 is in Truro, Iowa and was making their third straight trip to state and sixth under longtime coach Tim Bogs. Pitcher Carlyn Stanley picked up her 1,000th strikeout earlier this season and needed one-more win to get her 100th career victory. She was 27-4 coming into the game with over 300 strike- outs on the season. The Roadrunners have two players going on to play college softball. Stanley at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa and catcher Shi Major who will play at Graceland. Major hit a homerun and drove in two and had a home run in the 6-5  win over Durant in the consolation round last year at state.

The game featured two of the top pitchers at the state tournament in Durant’s Kamryn Meyer and I-35’s Carlyn Stanley.
Stanley pitched six innings and gave up five hits, two runs and struck out three and walked two. Meyer pitched four and a third innings, carrying a no hitter into the fourth inning. She struck out three, walked three and scattered four hits. Jenna Lawson pitched the final inning and two-thirds in relief and gave up one run on one hit and struck out one batter.
Meyer said that the Wildcats did not want to lose against the Road- runners.
“We knew that we needed redemp- tion after losing to them last year. We did that. I think that coming
in and hitting my spots worked tonight,” she said.
“We knew that we had to bounce back today. We didn’t want to end the season with a loss. We didn’t want to finish fourth,” said Meyer. Durant had five hits in the ballgame by five different players. Kelly Alex- ander had a hit and RBI while Mal- lory Warner, Haleigh Carnes, Aubrey Werthmann and Ruby Kappeler each had hits.
I-35 had five hits in the ballgame by four different players. Major was 2-for-3 with a RBI and run scored while Lilly Miller, Kate Stanley and Slye Richardson each had hits. In last season’s consolation game, Car- lyn and Kate Stanley, Major and Slye Richardson each had two hits.
Durant denied I-35 ace Carlyn Stanley reaching the 100-win mark for her career with the win. Stanley finishes her career with a pitching record of 99-21
The Wildcats had their work cut out for them with the Roadrunners. The first five I-35 players in the batting order batted .400 or over including two batting .500 or better.
I-35 had a tough time with Meyer through the first four innings. Mey- er took a no-hitter into the fourth inning having struck out three and walked one. A Carlyn Stanley walk and teammate Lilly Miller reached on an error and were the only base runners for the Roadrunners in the first three innings. Neither ad- vanced to second base.
Durant had a good first inning getting lead off batter Ruby Kap- peler to third after a leadoff single, but Kappeler would be left stranded. Durant broke through and scored the game’s first run in the second. Haleigh Carnes led off the second with a single and went to second on a groundout by Kelly Alexander. She later scored on an error by I-35 on a two-out hit by Kira Schult to put the score at 1-0. The run was the fifth time in six postseason games that Durant had scored first in the game.
  Durant extended their lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning after sending six batters to the plate. Carnes again got things going with a single, and advanced to second base on a passed ball by I-35 catcher Shai Major. Carnes would come into score on a RBI single by Kelly Alex- ander to set the score at 2-0.
  The Roadrunners broke up Meyer’s no hitter in the fourth inning in sending five batters to the plate.
  Kate Stanley led off the inning with a single and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Josi Wickert. Stanley moved to third on a single by Slye Richardson to give I-35 runners at the corners with one out. Gracie Mc- Cuddin was thrown out at third on a hard hit ball to shortstop by Slye Richardson. Shai Major then singled to make it a first and second situa- tion with two outs. However, Meyer got Riley Morris to fly out to end the inning.
  Durant got a runner to third in the fifth. Mallory Warner smacked a one-out single and courtesy runner Abbey Rhoads advanced to third on an error on a ball put in play by Kira Schult. Rhoades would be left stranded though as I-35 got Kappel- er to ground out and Hannah Happ to fly out.

  In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lilly Miller followed an Olivia Carlson walk with an 11-pitch at-bat that she concluded by singling to left field. Carlyn Stanley then walked to load the bases with one out.
  Durant coach Steve Hopkins pulled Meyer for relief pitcher Jenna Law- son. Lawson then struck out Kate Stanley and induced a groundout by Josie Wickett to end the inning.
Interstate 35 had one last chance in the bottom of the sixth. There, Shai Major changed the atmosphere with a long home run to left to get the Roadrunners back into it, setting the score at 2-1. Major also homered against last year at the state tourna- ment. Lawson settled down and got the next two batters on a flyout and groundout to end the inning.
The game was over though after the sixth and the announcement was made that the game was over, despite there being several minutes remaining before reaching the 1 hour, 30 minute time limit.
  Durant finished the season with a record of 33-8. Durant will say goodbye to four seniors from their team. They are right fielder Kelly Alexander, catcher Cathy Ralfs, second baseman Aubrey Werthmann and third baseman Haleigh Carnes. The quartet left quite a mark on the program. All four had at least 120 hits and 80 RBI’s.
  Ralfs had 206 hits, 152 RBI’s, 46 doubles and 7 home runs. Werth- mann had 168 hits, 130 RBI’s, 33 doubles and 33 stolen bases. Alexander had 134 hits, 100 RBI’s, 34 doubles, 17 stolen bases and five home runs. Carnes had 124 hits, 84 RBI’s, 23 stolen bases and two home runs.
  I-35 finished the season with a record of 27-6. In the past five sea- sons, the Roadrunners have com- piled a record of 126-30 mainly with the help of their six-player senior class.
Durant had two players named to the all-tournament team in senior catcher Cathy Ralfs and sophomore centerfielder Ruby Kappeler.
  Ralfs batted .500 with a big home run in the Wildcats opening round win over Logan-Magnolia. Ralfs said that the key to the game was the leadership that the four Wildcat seniors had. In the game, seniors Aubrey Werthmann, Haleigh Carnes and Kelly Alexander were 3-for-9 with a RBI at the plate. Defensively, Ralfs and Carnes led, not letting the Wildcats be denied of their 33rd win of the year.
  “The four seniors did a good job showing leadership tonight. I think that all four of us split that up well tonight and had a presence on the field tonight. Without that leader- ship, you won’t make it far,” said Ralfs.
  “I know that we wanted to finish tonight. We haven’t always played well after a loss and we wanted to not make tonight’s game another loss. We wanted to take advantage of the opportunity in front of us and finish the highest we could. It’s not the finish we wanted, but it’s the finish we got. That’s what we have to live with, but it is still a happy end- ing for us,” she said.
  Kappeler had another solid three- game run, batting .333 with three stolen bases and was on base a lot.
  “I’m excited to be named to the all-tournament team. I have been working hard to get better this year. I do my part and get on base. I am fortunate to have Hannah (Happ) who gets her bunts down and the hitters behind her to move me along,” said Kappeler.
Kappeler echoed Ralfs comments about knowing that the Wildcats had another game to play and that they didn’t want to end the season with
a loss. Last year, the Wildcats lost their first consolation game after los- ing in the opening round a year ago.
  “Coming back from a loss is hard to shake off. We shook it off easier this year and didn’t hold onto it and coming into today, we didn’t want to beat ourselves. We did and we came out on top,” she said.

  The Wildcats will return five of their nine batters in their regular lineup next year led by Kappeler, Happ and Meyer along with Mal- lory Warner and Kira Schult. Both Meyer and Lawson return in the pitching circle as well. 

2017 State Softball Tournament Section

Regals Rally For Substate Win Over Wilton

SOLON — It was a weird week for Wilton. The Beavers were supposed to play Iowa City Regina last Tuesday, however, a rainstorm forced their substate game to be played a day later. On Wednesday, July 19, the two teams met with a state tournament bid on the line. The Beavers, ranked number 3, had wins over SEISC schools Louisa­Muscatine and Mediapolis while Iowa City Regina, ranked number 9, had wins over SEISC foe Van Buren and RVC South foe Mid­Prairie. In the game, the Regals rallied from a 4­0 deficit to outscore the Beavers 11­3 to take an 11­7 win. The Beavers close out the season 26­7 while Iowa City Regina improved to 27­7.
Wilton starter Collin McCrabb got the Beavers off to a good start getting three of the first Regina batters out via flyout.. Wilton took that momentum and scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Collin McCrabb got a one­out walk and went to second on a single by Jared Townsend. Both advanced a base via stolen base. Both came around to score on a two­run single by Kaleb Timmsen, giving the Beavers a 2­0 lead. Timmsen went to second, but was stranded before scoring.
Wilton dodged peril in the top of the fourth inning. Regina loaded the bases with two outs, but Wilton got out of the jam without letting a run score.
The Beavers added two runs in the bottom of the inning. Jake Lenker got on base with a one­out single. Regina got Cory Anderson to fly out and then Collin McCrabb smashed a two­run homer to sent the Wilton faithful into a frenzy as they saw the scoreboard go to 4­0. Regina responded. In a big way. With seven runs in the fifth. Regina knocked starter Collin McCrabb out of the game in inning. Regina sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning and scored seven runs. Regina got three hits in the inning one each from Jayden Kies, Hunter Liebermann and Evan Suchomel. Beaver pitching gave up three walks and two hit batsmen in the inning. Ryne Schooley had two RBI’s as did Liebermann. Suchomel, Trent Hoogerwerf and Ryan Schott each had a RBI in the inning. Regina led 7­4 after the fifth.
Regina pushed four more runs across in the top of the sixth inning to extend their lead to 11­4. The Regals batted around again in the sixth and had four walks in the inning. Suchomel, Kies each had RBI’s and Schott had 2 RBI’s in the inning on a single.
Wilton tried to rally, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull within four runs, 11­7. Evan Reifert had a two­run single that scored Garrett Bohnsack and Lenker. Townsend then hit a RBI single scoring Cory Anderson who walked to reach base. Wilton got runners to first and third with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but could not cut the Regal lead further.
"Colin hadn't given up any runs through 14 innings in the postseason," Wilton head coach Jake Souhrada said. "A play here or there in that inning and we're probably out of there with nothing. It's baseball. We didn't make the plays, and they took advantage of it," he said.

"We got the 4­0 lead, obviously that felt good," Souhrada said. "We make a mistake in the field there, close play at first, then we had a tough play there on a ground ball that (ended up) in the outfield, and the wheels kind of fell off from there. We walked some guys, they got some hits and pretty soon they have seven runs. It was just one of those things, we couldn't get out of the inning."
Wilton had nine hits in the ballgame. Jake Lenker was 3­for­4 with two runs scored. Jaren Townsend was 2­for­2 with a RBI, stolen base and run scored. Evan Reifert, Kaleb Timmsen, Nolan Leaton and Collin McCrabb each had hits. McCrabb had a two­run home run. Timmsen and Reifert each had two RBI’s and Townsend had a RBI.
Wilton used five pitchers in the game. Collin McCrabb started the game and went four and a third innings. He gave up five runs on seven hits while striking out two and walking four. Cory Anderson pitched an inning in relief and did not allow a run or a hit and struck out one batter. Matt Paustian, Jared Townsend and Nolan Leaton all pitched in relief.
Iowa City Regina had nine hits in the game. Hunter Liebermann was 3­for­3 in the game with 2 RBI’s and a run scored. Schooley was 2­for­5 with a run and 2 RBI’s. Jayden Kies, Ryan Schott, Nick Brandt and Evan Suchomel each had hits. Schott had 3 RBI’s while Suchomel had 2 RBI’s. Trent Hoogerwerf and Jayden Kies each had a RBI.
Ryne Schooley was the winning pitcher to improve to 6­1. Schooley pitched five and one­third innings. He gave up seven runs on four hits. He struck out seven and walked four. Nick Brandt pitched in relief for 1 2/3 innings. He gave up no runs on two hits. He struck out two and walked no Wilton batters.
Wilton will say goodbye to seniors Evan Reifert, Jake Lenker, Kaleb Timmsen, Brady Barrett and Matt Paustian. Two of the top three Wilton hitters and their top three pitchers return next season. 

Beavers Beat Mediapolis To Reach Substate Game

  WILTON — The Wilton Beavers beat Mediapolis 4­2 on Saturday, July 15 to claim the district championship at home. The Beavers won their third straight game and second home postseason game with the win. Wilton beat Louisa­Muscatine 6­0 on July 11 to advance to the district title contest. Wilton and Mediapolis played earlier this season with Wilton sweeping the Bulldogs by scores of 12­5 and 8­4. Mediapolis beat Wapello at Wapello 12­1 to get to the district championship game. Wilton improved to 26­6 while Mediapolis ends the season with a record of 15­13.
  Wilton had two hits in the game, one each from Kaleb Timmsen and another from Jared Townsend. Nolan Leaton, Cory Anderson and Jake Lenker all reached base via walks. Townsend and Evan Reifert each had stolen bases and Reifert, Brady Barrett, Garrett Bohnsack and Brian Stillman each scored runs.
  Cory Anderson started and ran into trouble after two innings. He was relieved by fellow sophomore Collin McCrabb who would get the win. Anderson pitched two innings and gave up four hits, two runs and two walks. McCrabb pitched five innings and gave up one­hit, no runs and struck out three Bulldogs.
  Tim Diewold took the loss after working an inning and a third. He gave up three runs on two hits and walked five. Brennen Breuer pitched four and two­thirds innings in relief and struck out seven, walked two and gave up one­run.
  Levi Eberhardt was 2­for­4 with a run scored and Brock Hilton, Alex Diewold and Blake Osborne each had hits.
  Mediapolis scored twice in the first inning and nearly batted around, sending seven batters to the plate in the inning. Back­to­back one­out singles by Brock Hilton and Levi Eberhart gave the Bulldogs something in the first. Alex Diewold then singled in both runners for an early 2­0 MEPO lead.
Wilton got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second when they scored three runs. Wilton batted around in the inning and had three straight RBI hits from Nolan Leaton, Jake Lenker and Cory Anderson to take a 3­2 lead. Kaleb Timmsen and Jared Townsend each had hits in the inning and Wilton had four players draw walks in the inning off of Mediapolis starter Tim Diewold. The Beavers also knocked Diewold out of the game in the inning.
  Over the last five innings, Wilton pitching retired the Bulldogs in order in three innings and had one inning where only four batters came to the plate.
  Wilton pushed across an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning to set the score at 4­2. Cory Anderson struck out and Collin McCrabb flied out to start the inning. Evan Reifert drew a walk and came around to score on an error. 

Beavers Upset Class 3A #1 Davenport Assumption

  WILTON — A night after suffering their biggest disappointing loss of the season, the Wilton baseball team won their biggest game of the season to date. Last Friday, the Beavers upset top ranked, class 3A Davenport Assumption at home. It was the first time since 2011, a 11­1 loss on June 28, 2011, that the two teams have played. Assumption had their 16­game win streak snapped and fell to 30­3. The other losses for Assumption are Dowling Catholic and West Des Moines Valley, both 4A schools. Dowling is ranked #2 in 4A and Valley is ranked 11th in 4A. Wilton scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the second inning. Jared Townsend led off the inning by lining out. Kaleb Timmsen walked as did Brady Barrett and Tyler Hartman to load the bases. Nolan Leaton was hit by a pitch to plate a runner and credit Leaton with a RBI and 1­0 Wilton lead.
  Jake Lenker struck out for the second out. Then Wilton lead­off batter Cory Anderson singled, scoring Barrett for a 2­0 Wilton lead. Collin McCrabb then took a bases loaded walk to plate a run and push Wilton’s lead to 3­0. Assumption would get out of the inning however, without more damage done, trailing 3­0 after two innings.
  Wilton starter Matt Paustian got out of trouble in the first after Assumption had a runner get to second with one­out. Two ground outs ended the inning without an Assumption run scored. Assumption scored their only run in the top of the third inning. The Knights Nolan Melchert singled in Trent Wallace to set the score at 3­1. Wallace had reached base earlier in the inning. Assumption got a runner to second with two outs in the fourth and no outs in the fifth, but could not plate a run. In the sixth, Paustian struck out Peyton Berthel and Nick Gottilla to end an Assumption scoring threat.
Going to the seventh, Paustian struck out Ben Buetel. Luke Fennelly singled and Trent Wallace flied out for the second out. Melchert singled moving Fennelly to second. Daniel Powers singled past a diving Cory Anderson for a single, but the ball was hit so shallow that Assumption runners could not try for home, loading the bases. Paustian dodged a bases loaded jam with two outs, but getting Daniel Powers to hit s sharp ball to Anderson at third. Anderson stepped on third base for the force out to end the game.
  Wilton left five runners on base in the game with three in the second and one each in the third and fourth innings. Wilton was retired in order in two innings, the bottom of the first and the bottom of the sixth. The Beavers got a runner to first in the third and fifth innings and a runner to second in the fourth inning.
  Matt Paustian kept the Assumption hitters off balanced all night. Paustian scattered nine hits over seven innings of a complete game win. He struck out four batters, walked one and gave up one earned run.
  Wilton had only one hit in the game, a single by Cory Anderson. Anderson drove in a run as did Nolan Leaton and Collin McCrabb. Five Wilton batters reached base via a walk led by Brady Barrett with two. Tyler Hartman, Kaleb Timmsen, Nolan Leaton and Jared Townsend reached base via a walk in the game.
  Nick Gottilla took the loss after starting and working the first three innings. He struck out three, walked six and gave up three runs on one­hit. Ryan Wohlers pitched three innings of scoreless relief of Gottilla and struck out four and walked no Wilton batters.

Assumption was led by Donovan Juarez, Nolan Melchert and Trent Wallace each with two hits. 

Three RVC wins sew up title for Wilton

BELLEVUE ­ The Wilton Beavers claimed the River Valley South Conference title and River Valley Conference overall title with three conference wins last week. The Bevaers had to do it on the road at Wellman in their final conference doubleheader and at Bellevue in a make­up game from an earlier rain out. The wins set the Beavers record at 25­6 heading to the postseason. The Beavers remain ranked #3 in the class 2A Iowa Baseball Coaches Association’s rankings.

Beavers Soar Past Comets
BELLEVUE ­ Having already made a trip to Bellevue once, the Wilton Beavers walked away with a 10­1 victory last Friday, July 7 in Bellevue. There, the Beavers put up 10 runs on 13 hits to take the RVC cross­division match­up. Wilton improved to 5­0 against RVC North teams. The Beavers held three of those teams to one­run, one to two runs and another was shutout. In those games, Wilton averaged 9.2 runs a game in those five wins. The victory clinched the ourtight, overall River Valley Conference title.
The Beavers broke open a 1­0 game which they led, with a 5­run top of the fourth inning to take a 6­0. Wilton added runs in each of the final three innings to get their 10 runs. Wilton scored two in the fifth to extend their lead to 8­0 before getting single runs in the sixth and seventh. Bellevue scored their only run in the bottom of the seventh.
Wilton senior first baseman Brady Barrett was 3­for­3 in the agem with a RBI and run scored. Three others had two hits each. Jake Lenker, Cory Anderson and Nolan Leaton each have two hits. Anderson had 3 RBI’s and Lenker had 2 RBI’s. Evan Reifert, Tyler Hartman, Kaleb Timmsen and Collin McCrabb each had hits in the game.
Cory Anderson was the winning pitcher after six innings of work. He pitched six innings, struck out seven and had no walks. he gave up seven hits. Evan Reifert got an inning of work, giving up one run on one hit and he struck out three.
Trey Daugherty took the loss after working a complete game. He struck out two, walked seven and gave up ten runs. Offensively, Paxton Felderman was 2­for­3 to lead Comet batters.

Beavers Clinch RVC South With Mid­Prarie Sweep
WELLMAN ­ The Wilton Beavers capped off a RVC South season with a RVC South conference title after a doubleheader sweep over Mid­Prairie last Wednesday, July 5. There, the Beavers won by a game one score of 13­6 and a game two score of 14­3. The wins were the third in a row for the Beavers after lowing to West Liberty on June 29.
Wilton fell behind 1­0 after the first inning of game one before their bats came alive. Wilton scored three int he top of the second to take a 3­1 lead. That held until the fifth, when Wilton added four runs to take a 7­1 lead. Wilton led 13­1 after scoring five in the top of the seventh. Mid­Prairie found some offense in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs, but it was too little, too late.
Collin McCrabb was the winning pitcher after five innings of work. He struck out three and walked five. He surrendered two hits. McCrabb won his 10th game against no losses this year

and lowered his ERA to 1.03 in 54 1/3 innings. Cory Anderson and Nolan Leaton pitched in relief.
Wilton had 12 hits off of Golden Hawk pitching. Jake Lenker, Tyler Hartman, Cory Anderson and Jared Townsend each had two hits. Evan Reifert and Kaleb Timmsen each had doubles and Lenker and McCrabb each had triples. Timmsen had a team high 3 RBI’s and Lenker had 2 RBI’s.
In game two, Wilton bolted out to a 14­ lead after five and a half innings before the Golden Hawks scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to set the score at 14­3. Though Mid­Prairie scored runs, the game was ended due to the 10­run mercy rule after five innings.
Jared Townsend was the winning pitcher after a complete game, five­inning effort. He struck out seven, walked seven and gave up two hits and three runs.
Wilton led 3­1after three innings before scoring five in the fourth to take an 8­1 lead and then Wilton piled on six more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 14­1 lead.
Seniors Brady Barrett and Kaleb Timmsen each had two hits in the game. Jake Lenker, Tyler Hartman, Cory Anderson, Jared Townsend, Nolan Leaton and Collin McCrabb each had hits. Timmsen had a team high 3 RBI’s while Hartman and Townsend each had 2 RBI’s.

Fairfield Trips Beavers In Home Finale
WILTON — Sandwiched between two RVC road dates, Wilton hosted Fairfield for their last non­conference game of the 2017 season last Thursday. There, the Trojans led 13­1 after the top of the seventh. Wilton rallied a little, scoring four in the seventh, but would fall 13­5 in the end.
Matt Paustian took the loss after 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three, walked four and gave up six runs on seven hits. Nolan Leaton pitched 2 1/3 innings in relief and gave up seven runs on six hits. He struck out two and walked one.
Wilton did have 13 hits in the ballgame. Jared Townsend was 4­for­4 to lead Wilton. Evan Reifert added three hits and a RBI and Cory Anderson had two hits and a RBI. 

TC Sports July 12th

Postseason Baseball Districts Released

DES MOINES — The postseason for Iowa High School baseball is less than three weeks away as the summer 2017 season keeps accelerating to its conclusion. Late last week, the IHSAA released the district pods for classes 1A and 2A.
Two Conservative teams are in class 2A district 9 ­ Wilton and Tipton. Other district nine teams are Louisa­Muscatine, Mediapolis, Wapello and West Branch. North Cedar is in class 2A district 8. Other teams in that district are Anamosa, Bellevue, Camanche, Cascade and NE Goose Lake.
The Durant Wildcats are in class 1A for the postseason and are in district 9. Teams in the Wildcats district are Calamus­Wheatland, Easton Valley, Lisbon, Lone Tree, Bellevue Marquette, Midland and Prince of Peace.
First round games will take place on Saturday, July 8 at sites to be determined. District winners will play in a substate final. In class 2A, ,the winners of districts 7 and 8 and districts 9 and 10 will play in two separate substate finals at a site to be determined. In class 1A, district winners from districts 9 and 10 will play in a substate final at a site to be determined.
Class 2A
District #7
Teams: Dyersville­Beckman, Clayton Ridge, MFL­Mar­Mac, Monticello, Starmont, Waukon.
District #8
Teams: Anamosa, Bellevue, Camanche, Cascade, North Cedar, NE Goose Lake.
District #9
Teams: Louisa­Muscatine, Mediapolis, Tipton, Wapello, West Branch, Wilton.
District #10
Teams: Central Lee, Columbus Junction, Mid­Prairie, Iowa City Regina, Van Buren, West Burlington.
Class 1A
District #9
Teams: Calamus­Wheatland, Durant, Easton Valley, Lisbon, Lone Tree, Bellevue Marquette, Midland, Prince of Peace.
District #10
Cardinal (Eldon), Danville, Highland, Holy Trinity (Ft. Madison), New London, Burlington Notre Dame, Pekin, Winfield­Mt. Union. 

Second 2A Ranked Team Falls To Wildcats

GOOSE LAKE — For the second time in a seven­day span a ranked class 2A team fell to the Wildcat baseball team. 12th ranked NE Goose Lake fell 2­0 to Durant, who shutout the Rebels on their home field to win their third game in a row and sixth in their last seven. Durant is now 11­3 and will play their next eight games at home.
A 2­run double by Colin Weih in the top of the sixth inning scored both Mason Compton and Leo Callison to give Durant a 2­0 lead, one they were hold the rest of the game. Durant had the only other hit for the Wildcats in the game. Callison and Curtis Lilienthal each reached base via a walk.
Curtis Lilienthal, who has been slowed by injury, pitched a complete game shutout. He struck out three and walked no Rebel batter.
Jon Dobson took the loss after pitching six innings. He struck out three, walked two and gave up two runs. Kyle Dell was 2­for­2 with a walk and Zach Parson, Axel DonDiego and Jacob Reemtsma each had hits in the game.
Wildcats Split With Top­Ranked Beavers
WILTON — The Durant Wildcat baseball team had a memorable victory last Monday in game one of two at class 2A top ranked Wilton. There, the Wildcats beat the Beavers 11­1 handing the Beavers their first RVC loss in 31 games. The last conference loss for the Beavers came on July 2, 2015 in a 3­2 loss at home to Cascade.
Monday, Durant used an 8­run seventh to break open a 3­0 game to claim the 10­run win. The Wildcats scored the games first run in the top of the first. Jake Conley reached base and stole both second and third base to get into scoring position. The senior lead­off hitter broke the school career stolen base record with the two base swipes. He broke the previous record that Chris Turkle had with 78 when he graduated in 1989. Conley had 82 career steals as of June 14. He now sets his eyes on the single season record of 41 set in 1977 by Tom King.
Conley came around to score on Leo Callison’s double to give Durant a 1­0 lead. That lead stood until the top of the fifth inning as seniors Reece Bird for Durant and Evan Reifert of Wilton were locked in a pitchers duel.
Durant pushed two runs over the plate in the top of the fifth. Cole Meidema led off with a single and later scored on a sac fly by Callison to give Durant a 2­0 lead. Mason Compton reached base as well and scored on a Wilton error later in the inning to extend Durant’s lead to 3­0. Durant went to the seventh looking for some more runs and they got them. Eight to be correct. Durant sent 12 batters to the plate in the seventh and had five RBI hits in the inning. Callison had a three­run double while Conley and Curtis Lilienthal each had RBI hits.
The stunned Beavers got something going in the bottom of the seventh, and scored their only run of the game from a Kaleb Timmsen RBI single that scored Evan Reifert.
The Beavers offense struggled in the game as Wilton was retired in order in the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The Beavers only hit in the first six innings came from a Timmsen single in the bottom of the second.
Reece Bird pitched a gem of a game, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing three Wilton hits over that span. He gave up one­run, in the seventh and struck out four batters. Curtis Lilienthal came in with two outs in the seventh to record the last out.

Durant had nine hits in the game led by Leo Callison who was 3­for­5 with 4 RBI’s and two doubles. Colin Weih was 2­for­4 and Mason Compton, Bryce Lafrenz, Reece Bird and Cole Miedema each had hits in the game. Lafrenz had 3 RBI’s and Jake Conley and Curtis Lilienthal each had 1 RBI.
Kaleb Timmsen was 2­for­3 with a RBI and Evan Reifert had a single, walk and stolen base for the Beavers.
Reifert started the game and took the loss despite only giving up one run in four innings. He struck out eight and walked two. Cory Anderson pitched two innings in relief and gave up five runs on five hits and Nolan Leaton pitched one­inning and gave up three runs on two hits.
Hartman’s Hit Sends Beavers To 8­7 Win
A one­out single by Wilton’s Tyler Hartman in the bottom of the seventh inning sent Wilton to an 8­7 game two win. The Beavers salvaged a split with the Wildcats with the win. Early on, it didn’t look like Wilton would win the ball game. Durant continued their hot hitting in the top of the first with five runs on three hits off of Wilton starter Jared Townsend. The Wildcats top two hitters, Jake Conley and Mason Compton, in their order got out to start the game.
Leo Callison walked as did Bryce Lafrenz and Colin Weih to load the bases. Curtis Lilienthal then smacked a two­run single scoring Callison and Weih for a 2­0 lead. Later, Luke Whitlock roped a 3­run double scoring Lafrenz, courtesy runner Jake Willkomm and Lilienthal to push their lead to 5­0.
Wilton responded with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Cory Ander led off the first with a walk and later scored on a Jared Townsend hit. Brady Barrett and Tyler Hartman had a RBI single and double respectively to set the score at 5­3 Durant after one­inning.
Wilton tied the game at 5 with a two run second with the big hit a 2­run home run by Colin McCrabb to centerfield.
Wilton took their first lead of the two games in the bottom of the fourth. Bird struck out Jake Lenker to lead off the inning. Cory Anderson walked and took second on a wild pitch by Bird. Bird struck out McCrabb for the second out. Then Reifert clubbed a two­run home run to give Wilton a 7­5 lead.
Durant did not score again until adding single runs in the fifth and sixth to tie the game at 7. Wilton broke that tie in the bottom of the seventh. Evan Reifert reached base to start the inning and would score on a Tyler Hartman single after the Beavers had loaded the bases.
Wilton had 10 hits in the game led by Jared Townsend who was 3­for­4 with two doubles and a RBI. Evan Reifert, Tyler Hartman each had two hits and Brady Barrett, Kaleb Timmsen and Colin McCrabb each had hits in the game.
Jared Townsend got roughed up early, and lasted 2/3 innings. He gave up five runs on five hits. Colin McCrabb came in and steadied things, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits over the rest of the game. He struck out eight and walked one.
The loss snapped Durant’s three­game win streak. Luke Whitlock took the loss after working 4 1/3 innings in relief of starter Jake Willkomm. He struck out five, walked two and gave up three runs on two hits. Bryce Lafrenz also pitched in the game.
Durant was led at the plate by Jake Conley, Mason Compton and Curtis Lilienthal with two hits each. Lilienthal and Whitlock each had 3 RBI’s in the game. 

Beavers Beat Another MAC Conference School

  DAVENPORT — The Wilton baseball team won another game against a Mississippi Athletic Conference school, beating Davenport North 13­4 last Tuesday. Wilton beat Muscatine on June 20. It was the third MAC school Wilton has played this year. Wilton lost to Davenport Central on June 6.
Wilton was led at the plate by sophomore Collin McCrabb. McCrabb was 4­for­5 and hit for the cycle. He had a single, double, triple and home run in his first four at­bats. He got out in his fifth at­bat. He had two RBI’s and a stolen base as well.
  Wilton broke open a close 1­1 game with a four­run third to take a 5­1 lead and a four­run fourth to take a 9­1 lead. Wilton led 10­1 before a 3­run sixth by North set the score at 10­4. Wilton tacked on three runs in the top of the seventh to set the score at its final, 13­4.
  Nolan Leaton turned in a great game, working five innings and allowing only one run on two hits. He struck out five and walked four. Cory Anderson and Collin McCrabb combined to work the final two innings and struck out five and walked no batters.
  Wilton had 18 hits off of Wildcat pitching. Nolan Leaton and Jared Townsend each had three hits while Evan Reifert, Brady Barrett, Kaleb Timmsen and Tyler Hartman each had two hits. Leaton and Hartman each had 3 RBI’s while Townsend had two.

Beavers Split With Comets
  WEST LIBERTY — The Wilton Beavers split their second to last RVC doubleheader of the season at West Liberty last week. The Beavers won game one, 14­3 and lost game two, 1­0. It was the first RVC loss since an 11­1 loss to Durant earlier this season. It was the second straight ball game last week where Wilton scored over ten runs in a game. The Beavers were to play a home game with Davenport West the night before, but rain cancelled the contest.
  Against the Comets, Wilton trailed 2­0 after five innings. The Beavers put up a run in the top of the sixth to cut the Comet lead in half, 2­1, but West Liberty responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth to take a 3­1 lead after six. Wilton then exploded for a season high 11, seventh inning runs to take a 14­3 lead, one that would hold to the final score.
  Wilton had 11 hits in the game. Jake Lenker was 3­for­4 with a double and season high 4 RBI’s. Evan Reifert, Tyler Hartman and Jared Townsend each had two hits. Townsen drove in three runs and Hartman and Brady Barrett each had 2 RBI’s. Barrett and Nolan Leaton each had hits in the game.
  Colin McCrabb was the winning pitcher after seven innings of work. He struck out 12, walked two and gave up only two hits.
  In game two, West Liberty upset the Beavers with a 1­0 victory. West Liberty scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
  Cory Anderson took the loss after 7 2/3 innings of work. He struck out 10 and walked four. Wilton had seven hits in the game, but had a lot of fly outs in the game. Jake Lenker and Anderson each had two hits. Evan Reifert, Tyler Hartman and Jared Townsend each had hits in the game.
The Beavers will travel to Mid­Prairie Wednesday for their last River Valley Conference doubleheader with Mid­Prairie. The Beavers will host Fairfield on Thursday, July 6 in their regular season finale. 

TC Sports July 5th