WarEagles nab two wins to climb to 5-4 in the conference
Jack Scherf started game one of the WarEagles’ June 9 doubleheader versus MFL MarMac. (Photo by Bruce Thein)
By Willis Patenaude
It was an eventful week for the Clayton Ridge Central WarEagles that saw the team go 2-2 and climb to 5-4 in the conference.
The week started out with a double-header versus the MFL MarMac Bulldogs on Monday night. In the first game, the Bulldogs jumped out to a three-run lead in the top of the first inning, and though the War Eagles countered with two runs in the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs started piling on the runs three more in the third and seven more in the fifth inning, handing the WarEagles a 14-3 loss.
The WarEagles offense put up decent numbers, including a .300 batting average with six hits and just three strikeouts, but the flurry of singles couldn’t advance the runners across home plate. Kahne Bolsinger had two hits with one run scored, and Max Nuehring, Carson Ruegnitz, Seth Kregel, and Kasten Oberbreckling all had one hit, while Kregel and Griffen Hammersland scored the other two runs.
In the field, the WarEagles committed six errors, resulting in nine Bulldog runs and an overall fielding percentage of .760. Jack Scherf was on the mount for four innings and fell victim to the errors, surrendering 13 runs with just five of them earned, while allowing four walks with two strikeouts. Mason Loan pitched two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout and Myka Bries pitched one-third of an inning giving up a run and a walk.
In game two, the final score was a bit closer, with the WarEagles losing 14-7, but the Bulldogs put up 11 of those runs in the first three innings and despite the offenses best efforts, which included nine hits, nine walks, and a .346 batting average with seven stolen bases, the WarEagles pitching couldn’t shut down the Bulldogs offense, which finished with 11 hits, including a home run, eight stolen bases, and a .367 batting average.
Multiple WarEagles had two hits, including Loan and Oberbreckling. Loan also had two RBIs, while Dominique Mast and Brody McGuine each had one. Other hits were collected by Nuehring, Mast, Scherf, and McGuine, with Nuehring scoring two runs, with Loan, Bolsinger, Kregel, Scherf, and Oberbreckling, scoring the others. Loan also stole two bases and Nuehring stole three.
On the mound, Owen Hammersland went five innings, giving up nine hits, 12 runs, ten earned runs, and six walks. Brock Dudley pitched two innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs. The duo combined for a 12.00 ERA.
The WarEagles would return to the win column on Tuesday night on a trip to play the Turkey Valley Trojans. The game got off to a slow start; with the Trojans taking a 1-0 lead after the completion of three innings, but the WarEagle bats came alive in the top of the fourth inning for four runs, followed by three more runs in the fifth and three more in the seventh inning as the WarEagles took the win by the score of 11-4.
The big bats for the WarEagles were Oberbreckling who finished with two hits, including a homerun and two RBIs, while also scoring two runs. Owen Hammersland also hit a homerun for four RBIs while scoring a run, and Mast collected two RBIs on one hit. Isaac Loan got in on the action with one hit, one RBI, and two runs scored and Nuehring finished with two hits, including a double and one RBI.
The WarEagles also ran circles around the diamond with ten total stolen bases, with two by Bolsinger, Oberbreckling, Isaac Loan, and Griffen Hammersland and the defense limited the errors to just three which led to just one unearned run. Nuehring pitched six innings, holding the Trojans lineup to a .125 batting average, while only allowing three hits for four runs, three earned and striking out nine. Griffen Hammersland went one inning, striking out two.
The winning continued on Thursday night at home versus the North Fayette Valley TigerHawks in a game the WarEagles were down early, trailing 2-1 after the top of the second inning, but in the bottom half of the second, the WarEagles touched home plate four times and added five more runs to clinch the win 10-4.
The WarEagles lineup finished with a .300 batting average with nine hits, including two doubles and four walks. Leading the charge were Nuehring, who finished with three hits, three RBIs, and three runs scored and Mast, who also had three hits and three RBIs. Mason Loan scored three runs while never getting a hit, reaching base on a walk and two errors, while stealing four bases. The WarEagles stole eight total bases throughout the game.
Pitching for the WarEagles was Kregel, who went six innings giving up six hits, four runs with two earned, and one walk while striking out six. Griffen Hammersland went one inning allowing two hits and getting one strikeout. Combined they finished with a 2.00 ERA.
The WarEagles have a five game schedule this week, starting with a double-header on Monday against the Postville Pirates, followed by another road game on Tuesday against the Maquoketa Valley Wildcats. They’ll finish the week at home with a game on Wednesday, June 18th versus the South Winneshiek Warriors starting at 4:00pm, followed by a game on Thursday, June 19th versus the conference leading Kee Kee Hawks starting at 4:00pm.
