WarEagles add two more conference wins over the Postville Pirates
By Willis Patenaude
The Clayton Ridge WarEagles won two out of five games last week, with two dominating wins over conference opponent Postville, before dropping the remaining games on the schedule for the week. Sitting at 7-6 in the conference, the WarEagles find themselves in fourth place close behind South Winneshiek for third, but trailing both Kee High and conference leader MFL MarMac by multiple games as the season nears its conclusion.
On June 16, the WarEagles had a double-header on the road against the winless Postville Pirates. In game one, Clayton Ridge jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first inning and continued to pile on runs in the second, third, and fourth innings easily defeating the Pirates 13-0. The WarEagles offense compiled 14 hits, including four doubles and finished with a .500 batting average with several players contributing to the victory.
Leading the way was Carson Ruegnitz with three hits, including a double and two RBIs, along with Owen Hammersland with two hits, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Mason Loan finished with two hits, two runs scored, and one RBI, while Kahn Bolsinger had two hits, two runs scored, four stolen bases, and two RBIs. Griffen Hammersland also had two hits with one run scored and one RBI, with Max Nuehring collecting one hit, one run scored, and one RBI and Kasten Oberbreckling coming up with one hit, two runs scored, and one RBI.
Pitching duties went to Griffen Hammersland, Brock Dudley, and Tate Armstrong, who combined to go five innings allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five.
The second game was an even bigger offensive explosion for the WarEagles, who pounced early, driving in 11 runs in the first two innings and adding five more over the third and fourth inning dispatching the Pirates by the score of 16-1 on the strength of 12 hits, including three doubles and a .500 batting average.
Seth Kregel was a team leader with three hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored, followed by Ruegnitz with one hit, two runs scored, and four RBIs and Jack Scherf with one hit and three RBIs. Loan finished with two hits, two RBIs, and one run scored and Oberbreckling scored three runs with two hits, two stolen bases, and one RBI. Owen Hammersland went 3.2 innings allowing two hits, two walks, and one earned run with three strikeouts and Brody McGuine pitched a perfect third of an inning.
Clayton Ridge was back on the road Tuesday night for one game against the Maquoketa Valley Wildcats. The WarEagles were leading 3-2 entering the fourth inning, but a three run bottom of the fourth by the Wildcats, who added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, put the game out of reach for the WarEagles who lost the game 8-4.
The WarEagles offense put up eight hits, with five walks, and a batting average of .333, but a combination of errors and walks spoiled the quality effort. Dominique Mast finished with two hits, two RBIs, while Mason Loan, and Nuehring combined for two hits, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Mason Loan also had two stolen based, with Owen Hammersland and Isaac Loan nabbing three each. Scherf pitched all six innings, allowing eight hits, five earned runs, three walks, and a .286 batting average. He finished with one strikeout and a 5.83 ERA.
On Wednesday night, the WarEagles welcomed the South Winneshiek Warriors to town and unable to mount any offense, Clayton Ridge was soundly defeated 12-0. The offense collected just five hits with eight strikeouts. Mason Loan had two hits, and Bolsinger, Mast, and Kaden Nehl each had one hit.
The WarEagles used four pitchers in the game, including Nuehring who went 3.2 innings allowing seven hits, five earned runs, and four walks, Griffen Hammersland pitched a third of an inning giving up three hits and one earned run, Colton Hoeger completed 1.2 innings allowing four hits and two earned runs, and McGuine pitched a third of an inning. Combined the group allowed a .438 batting average with a 9.33 ERA.
The final game of the week was on Thursday night versus the Kee Kee Hawks. The WarEagles battled throughout the game and held a 9-5 lead heading into the seventh inning when the Hawks scored four runs before adding another ten runs in the top of the eight inning, handing the WarEagles a 19-9 loss.
The offense put up 11 hits, including one double and one homerun, a solo shot by Bolsinger and finished with a .324 batting average. Ruegnitz finished with two hits and two RBIs and Griffen Hammersland had three hits, with one run scored, one stolen base, and two RBIs. The defense finished with five errors, which led to four runs for the Hawks and the pitching staff accumulated 13.12 ERA and allowed the Hawks to hit .342.
In total, Clayton Ridge sent five players to the mound, with Kregel pitching the bulk of the game at four innings in which he allowed four hits, five walks, and one earned run. Owen Hammersland went 2.2 inning giving up five hits, seven earned runs, and six walks, Mason Loan pitched two thirds of an inning allowing three hits, and five earned runs, while Armstrong pitched a shutout in two thirds of an inning. Ruegnitz was also on the mound, giving up one hit, one walk, and two earned runs.
The WarEagles have a five game slate this week, starting on Monday with a double-header against the South Winneshiek Warriors, followed by a game on Wednesday, June 25th against the Crestwood Cadets with first pitch at 7:00pm. They wrap the week up at home with a double-header on Thursday, June 26th versus the Turkey Valley Trojans with game one scheduled for 4:00pm and game two set for 6:00pm.
