Long ball cripples Mustangs in 2A district semifinals

ALBIA — The offensive punch that left Prairie City-Monroe’s baseball team earlier this season made a valiant comeback late in the season.

And the bats stayed hot Tuesday against top-seeded Davis County.

Both Mustang squads scored plenty of runs in a Class 2A District 11 semifinal, but Davis County plated six runs off three homers and advanced to Saturday’s championship game following a 9-6 win over PCM.

Saban Goodson hit home runs, drove in three and scored three times, while Bryce Vinyard was 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs scored at the top of the lineup as Davis County improved to 23-7 on the season.

PCM (9-17) collected nine hits at the plate but struggled to slow down the home team on the scoreboard.

“We are really proud of where we came from at the second and third week in the season,” PCM coach Shaun Hudnut said.

“We were at a low point after a rough stretch, but they scratched and clawed their way back to get some confidence and be in position where we can play with a team like Davis County.

“We felt like we were close for awhile and we felt pretty good coming into district play. We thought we could play with any of these teams. We just came up a little short tonight.”

PCM junior Clay Cooper came into the game hitting a team-best .461. Cooper had two more hits against the Mustangs. His RBI single in the first made it 1-0 and another RBI hit in the fifth helped PCM close to within 7-6 following a four-run fifth inning.

Cooper reached on an error and scored in the fourth.

Hudnut said his three-year starter in center field was more relaxed and comfortable with his role this season. He hit .350 in the lead-off spot as a freshman but the average dipped when he was moved to the middle of the lineup as a sophomore.

“He has quick hands and understands situations and what he needs to do with each at-bat,” Hudnut said. “He is one of those guys that just does everything for us. We have been very fortunate and blessed during my time at PCM to have had a four-year starter in Hutch Burns and now a three-year starter in Clay Cooper in center field.”

Trey Lindsay went 2-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base in his final game in a Mustang uniform. He’ll move on to William Penn next season.

Another senior, Chase Keuning, had two hits in his final game. Keuning (0-2) also started on the mound and took the loss after allowing seven runs — five earned — on six hits in four innings. Freshman Noah Henkenius threw the final two innings, giving up Goodson’s second homer with Vinyard on base in the sixth.

Primarily a reliever, Keuning was making his second start of the season.

“We asked Keuning to do something different tonight,” Hudnut said. “He pitched pretty well overall, but he made a few mistakes that turned into home runs. (Henkenius) was the same way. He got one ball up and they hit that one out, too.”

PCM started the game with three straight singles but only scored one run after running into a double play at second base.

Davis County quickly countered with two runs in the bottom of the first. Goodson’s first blast came in the third and Davis County got another run on two PCM errors. Another error allowed Davis County to put the lead-off batter on base in the fourth and Vinyard crushed a three-run homer two batters later.

PCM scored an unearned run in the fourth and then rallied with a four-run fifth. Connor Warrick walked and then Lindsay hit a one-out single. Austin Brown’s RBI double made it 7-4 and then Cooper closed the gap to 7-5 with an RBI single. Keuning kept the momentum with another double and Ethan Thomas’ RBI groundout made it a one-run game.

“We have been getting back to the basics with our swings,” Hudnut said. “It took some time to build our confidence back up after starting 1-9. We hit the ball well late in the year. The guys made some great adjustments.”

Only one other PCM hitter would reach base in the final two innings tough. Goodson put an exclamation point on the win with his fifth homer of the season.

“They hit three big home runs that accounted for most of their runs,” Hudnut said.

Davis County ace Jacob Jones came into the game with an earned run average of 1.63. He allowed five earned runs on nine hits in seven innings on Tuesday but improved to 8-2 on the year.

Davis County faces second-seeded Albia for the district title Saturday. The Blue Demons defeated Pella Christian, 5-1, in the other 2A District 14 semifinal.