Substate game next for Wildcats

 IOWA CITY — The Durant Wildcats are looking to return to the state baseball tournament
as they sit one game away from punching their ticket to the event at Principal Park in Des Moines. The Wildcats last went to state in the 2003 season.
 Last week, the Wildcats beat Northeast, state ranked Camanche, and Iowa City Regina.
 The Wildcats improved to 11-4 with the win and will play Monticello Tuesday in a Class 2A substate final. The Panthers are 6-7 and lost to Durant 4-3 on June 29.

Durant walks over Regals, 15-5 in six innings

 IOWA CITY — The Durant baseball team collected their third win in a week’s time in grand fashion
on July 18 at Iowa City Regina. The Wildcats won their sixth game in a row, scoring their most runs in a game this year in a 15-5, six-inning win. The Wildcats lost to Regina 5-4 to open the season back in mid-June. Durant will play another River Valley Conference team, Monticello, Tuesday, July 21 at Maquoketa with the winner advancing to the state tournament.
 Brendan Paper was the winning pitcher and pitched three innings. Paper struck out three and walked five while giving up three runs on three hits. Ethan Gast pitched three innings in relief. Gast struck out four, walked four and gave up two runs on three hits. Durant had 12 hits in the game led by Ben Orr who was 3-for-3 with three RBI’s and a run scored. Jake Willkomm also was 3-for-4 with three RBI’s. Drew DeLong had a pair of singles and drove in three runs. Other Durant hits came from Nolan DeLong, Logan Callison, Aydin Flockhart, and Ethan Gast.
 Durant trailed 1-0 after the first inning, but scored three times in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. Regina tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs in the third inning. Durant grabbed a 4-3 lead after four innings. The Wildcats put the game away with a 7-run fifth where they took an 11-3 lead while collecting four hits. Regina scored twice in the sixth to cut Durant’s lead to 11-5, but Durant dashed hopes of Regal comeback in their half of the sixth, scoring four runs and ending the game by the 10-run mercy rule after six innings.

Wildcats Topple 8th Ranked Indians, Move To District Final Game
 CAMANCHE — The Durant Wildcats advanced along the Class 2A tournament trial on Tuesday,
July 14 with a 3-0 win over Class 2A No. 8 Camanche. The Indians end the season 10-5. The Wildcats exacted a measure of revenge on the Indians who beat Durant 8-6 less than two weeks ago, 8-6 on senior night. It was the second straight night that Durant won, the second straight night Durant recorded a shutout, and second straight night that the win came over a River Valley Conference North foe.
Durant scored the first of three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. It would be more than enough to sideline the Indians.
 Nate Dierickx pitched a one-hitter in the win and recorded ten strikeouts. He walked two batters. The only hit he gave up was to Brayden Lodge. Mason Byrns reached base twice via a walk each time. Lodge, Mason McManus and Logan Shaw pitched for the Indians.
 The Wildcats had eleven hits in the game and had four players with multi-hit games. Jake Willkomm, Aydin Flockhart, Ben Orr, and Drew DeLong each had two hits. Nolan DeLong, Drew DeLong, and Ethan Gast all had RBI’s. Nolan DeLong, Lucas Callison, and Ethan Gast each had hits in the game.
 The Wildcats had two times in the game where they had the bases loaded only to come up without
scoring runs. Durant added a run in the fourth inning to extend their lead to 2-0. Durant’s
final run came in the top of the sixth on a Camanche fielding error.

Wildcats Get 7-0 Shutout win Over Northeast In Postseason Opener
 DURANT — The Durant Wildcats opened the post season with a 7-0 shutout win over Northeast
on Saturday, July 11. The Wildcats scored all seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to claim the victory. Durant has won three straight games over Northeast, but the Rebels hold an 8-4 advantage in the last 12 meetings between the teams dating back to 2013. Durant beat Northeast 4-0 in their second game of the season on June 18.
 Early on, the game was a pitcher’s duel. Durant got an outstanding start from sophomore Ben Orr who spun a three-hit shutout. He struck out six and walked one batter. Durant had eight hits in the game. Nolan DeLong and Ben Orr each had two hits. Drew DeLong, Logan Callison, Aydin Flockhart, and Jake Willkomm each had hits. Drew DeLong had 2 RBI’s and Callison, Flockhart,
and Willkomm each had RBI’s in the game.
 Northeast had three hits in the game, one each by Cade Hughes, Dakota Stevenson, and Dane Johnson. Dakota Stevenson started and took the loss after working 5 ⅔ innings and gave up four runs on five hits while striking out two and walking three. Two other Rebels also pitched in the game.