Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Baseball team tops South O'Brien for first WEC win
Jonathan Ortiz attempts to tag out a Gehlen Catholic runner at home. The runner was ruled safe on the play.
Senior Nick Bronstad made his first pitching start of the season against Gehlen Catholic on June 3.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's baseball team entered the Memorial Day weekend having lost back-to-back games, but the post-holiday schedule began with a convincing 11-4 win over South O'Brien at Paullina.
The Hawks set the tone with two runs in the first inning. They added four in the second on a two-run single by Jacob Cates and RBI singles by Keith DeBoer and Keaton Graves.
"I was really happy with how we bounced back from a rough end to the week before," Hawk coach Jeremy Gloden said. "We took advantage of some walks and errors. That allowed us to run the bases and put extra pressure on their defense."
Ethan Diehm singled in a run in the third inning to increase the margin to 7-0.
South O'Brien scored twice in the fifth inning, but the Hawks came back with three runs in the sixth. Nick Bronstad singled in a run and Tyson Tessum added an RBI on a groundout. Cates added a run-scoring double in the seventh for H-M-S's final run.
South O'Brien scored twice in the seventh to close out the game.
Jordan Ortega pitched 6-1/3 innings to earn the win. He allowed two hits, walked three and struck out eight. Tessum recorded the final two outs.
"Jordan did a nice job on the mound and the defense was there to back him up," Gloden said. "We had a few hiccups in the last inning but were able to secure the win in the end."
Cates led H-M-S with two doubles, a single and three runs batted in.
• vs. Trinity Christian
Too many missed opportunities hampered H-M-S during a 5-4 loss to Trinity Christian, on June 1 at Hull.
H-M-S stranded 11 baserunners overall, including three in the second inning, a runner at third base in the third, and three more in the seventh after cutting the deficit to one run.
"That especially hurts in a one-run defeat. We had our chances but couldn't find that key hit," Gloden noted.
Trinity Christian scored once in the third and fourth innings, two in the fifth and another in the sixth. H-M-S rallied in the seventh, scoring runs on singles by Keaton Graves, Jonathan Ortiz and Keith DeBoer, and a passed ball. But the Tigers were able to hang on for the win.
H-M-S had six hits, including two each by Trenton Vollink and Graves.
Jacob Cates pitched six innings, allowing four hits while striking out five.
"The other thing that hurt us was miscues in key situations," Gloden noted." Credit to Trinity. They took advantage of the extra opportunities that we gave them."
• vs. Gehlen Catholic
Gehlen Catholic took the early lead and then sealed the outcome with a big fifth inning to hand H-M-S a 15-0 loss. The game was played June 3 in Hartley.
The Jays scored three runs in the first inning but were held scoreless the next three thanks to a pair of double plays. But the tide turned in the fifth as Gehlen Catholic sent 17 batters to the plate and scored 12 runs despite only having three hits.
"Free bases and errors continue to haunt us," Gloden noted.
Nick Bronstad pitched "pretty well" in his first start. He allowed four hits and 12 runs. Tyson Tessum finished the game on the mound, allowing three runs.
Jonathan Ortiz and Bronstad had the only hits for the Hawks, who only advanced one runner as far as second base.
"Their pitcher really commanded the strike zone and we were unable to get anything going offensively," Gloden noted.
The Hawks (2-5, 1-2) play at Unity Christian on June 10 (11:30 a.m. start) and a rematch with Gehlen Catholic on June 15 at Granville. In between, H-M-S hosts Remsen St. Mary's (1A No. 1) on June 13 and Emmetsburg on June 14.
