Crestwood boys earn split with Comets; beat Kee; edged by TV
Wed, 07/04/2018 - 12:29pm
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By:
Nate Troy Sports Editor
CRESCO - It took some time, but the Crestwood baseball team got the job done.
In game one of a doubleheader against Charles City on June 26, Hunter Bye crushed a game-winning walk-off single to score Frank Hrdlicka with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Crestwood to a 4-3 win. The victory was the Cadets’ first Northeast Iowa Conference victory of the season.
In game two, Charles City scored six runs in the first inning and held off the Cadets for a 12-6 win.
Playing at Turkey Valley on June 27, Crestwood rallied from a five-run deficit to take a 9-8 lead in the sixth before the Trojans came back to earn a 13-10 win.
Competing against Lansing Kee at home on June 28, the Cadets grabbed a 7-2 lead in the fourth and held off a late surge by Kee to notch a 7-5 win. The victory improved Crestwood’s record to 4-19.
The Cadets will play at Mason City Newman on July 6 at 7 p.m. and close the regular season at Waterloo West on July 9 at 7 p.m.
Cadets 4, C.C. 3 (G1)
Crestwood’s Hunter Bye delivered the game-winning single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to drive in Frank Hrdlicka to give the Cadets a 4-3 win.
Charles City grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning before Crestwood tied the game with two runs in the fourth. Shane Vokaty ripped a double to drive in two runs.
Crestwood scored one run in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Gabe Grabau executed a perfect squeeze bunt to drive in Frank Hrdlicka from third.
Charles City tallied one run in the sixth to tie the game at three-all before Hunter Bye had the game-winning hit.
“Charles City is a good team, and we knew both games would not be easy,” Cadet Coach Gary Steffen said. “We did a good job of manufacturing runs. Carter Henry, Frank Hrdlicka and Gabe Grabau all pitched well.
“It was great to get our first conference win. Our defense played well, and we got the hits when we needed them. Our team is coming closer together,” Steffen said.
Shane Vokaty finished with one double and two runs batted in. Colter Bye had one hit and one stolen base. Frank Hrdlicka posted one double and two runs scored.
Jon Henry had one hit. Reid Wiley scored one run. Hunter Bye and Gabe Grabau each had one hit and one RBI. Matthew Slifka posted one hit and one run.
Grabau was the winning pitcher. He tossed one inning in relief, allowed no hits and no runs. Starter Hrdlicka went four innings, allowed four hits, two earned runs, one walk and struck out three. Carter Henry tossed four innings, allowed five hits, one earned run, two walks and struck out three.
Score by innings
C.C. 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 3
CW 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 - 4
C.C. 12, Cadets 6 (G2)
In the second game, Charles City raced to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and held off a late charge by Crestwood to win, 12-6.
“Our pitchers, Matthew Slifka and Reid Wiley, struggled to find the strike zone,” Steffen said. “We brought in Ashton McConnell to pitch later on, and he did a good job of throwing strikes. One positive from this game was that we kept fighting throughout the game.”
Shane Vokaty tallied two hits, including one double, and one RBI. Colter Bye and Jon Henry each had one hit and one run. Frank Hrdlicka had three hits and two runs.
Hunter Bye posted two hits and one run. Gabe Grabau had one RBI. Kade Munkel and Ashton McConnell each scored one run.
Matthew Slifka was the losing pitcher. He faced seven batters, allowed four hits, six earned runs and two walks. Ashton McConnell tossed four and one-third innings, allowed five hits, three runs (two earned) and walked one. Reid Wiley went two and two-thirds innings, allowed two hits, three earned runs and walked four.
Score by innings
C.C. 6 0 3 2 1 0 0 - 12
CW 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 - 6
TV 13, Cadets 10
If you’re a fan of offense, the game between Crestwood and Turkey Valley on June 28 was for you.
Turkey Valley took an 8-3 lead after four innings before Crestwood’s offense came alive to score five runs in the fifth to tie the game at eight-all.
The Cadets added one run in the top of the sixth to take a 9-8 lead, but the Trojans bounced back with five runs in the bottom of the sixth to grab a 13-9 lead. Crestwood scored one run in the seventh before the Trojans recorded the final out to earn the 13-10 win.
“It looked like we were not ready to play right away,” Steffen said. “We struggled to make plays on defense, and we took a step back against Turkey Valley.
“On the plus side, we hit the ball well and scored 10 runs. We need to clean up our mistakes on defense and play with more consistency.”
Carter Henry had two hits, two runs, two RBI and one stolen base. Shane Vokaty posted one hit, two runs, two RBI and one stolen base. Colter Bye had two hits and three RBI.
Frank Hrdlicka had one hit and one RBI. Hunter Bye posted one run and one stolen base. Gabe Grabau had two hits and two RBI. Matthew Slifka, Bryden Juelsgaard and Reid Wiley each scored one run. Kade Munkel had one hit and two runs.
Jon Henry was the losing pitcher. He went two and one-thirds innings in relief, allowed three hits, four earned runs, four walks and struck out two. Starter Gabe Grabau pitched three innings, allowed seven hits, seven runs (three earned), five walks and struck out one. Matthew Slifka pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowed three hits and two runs (no earned runs).
Score by innings
CW 1 0 1 1 5 1 1 - 10
TV 0 5 2 1 0 5 x - 13
Cadets 7, Kee 5
Crestwood rallied from a two-run deficit to take a 7-2 lead and then held on late to nip the Kee Hawks, 7-5.
The Cadets tallied four runs in the third and added three runs in the fourth. Kee plated three runs in the seventh before Cadet pitcher Bryden Juelsgaard got the final batter to fly out to end the game.
“After the game against Turkey Valley, I challenged our guys and we played well against Kee,” Steffen said. “Our starting pitcher, Kade Munkel, had not thrown in a couple weeks, but he threw a gem against Kee. He was right on with his pitches and he pounded the strike zone. Kade gave us what we needed, and Bryden Juelsgaard did a good job closing the game.
“Offensively, we put the ball in play and executed a couple nice bunts to set up four runs in the third. Our guys were dialed in and really focused. We had a good team effort with everyone doing their job. After the game, I told our guys we need this kind of effort in every game. It was a great win against a very good Kee squad,” Steffen said.
Matthew Slifka posted two hits and two runs. Shane Vokaty had one run and one stolen base. Carter Henry tallied one hit, one run, two RBI and one stolen base.
Colter Bye had one hit, one run and two RBI. Jon Henry recorded one hit and had two RBI. Reid Wiley had one hit and one run. Hunter Bye tallied one hit and one run.
Kade Munkel notched the win. He went five and one-third innings, allowed six hits, two earned runs, one walk and struck out nine. Bryden Juelsgaard went one and one-third innings, allowed one hit, three runs (no earned runs), one walk and struck out one.
Score by innings
Kee 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 - 5
CW 0 0 4 3 0 0 x - 7