March 29, 2024

Brown, Hill help PCM baseball split series with CMB

PRAIRIE CITY — Collins-Maxwell/Baxter baseball coach Max Seeman put his ace Brady Stover on the mound for the Raiders’ first meeting with rival Prairie City-Monroe back on June 1.

That game resulted in a 2-1 victory for CMB.

Wednesday, PCM coach Shaun Hudnut returned the favor to the Raiders when he put Mustang ace Austin Brown on the hill.

Brown helped PCM earn the season split against CMB when he tossed all seven innings, allowing three hits, no earned runs and one walk with six strikeouts during a 2-0 Mustang win in Heart of Iowa Conference play.

Junior Ryan Hill had two hits and one walk at the plate to lead PCM, which scored one run in the first and one run in the third.

That’s all the Mustangs would need as Brown improved to 5-1 on the season. His earned run average is now 1.26.

The victory helped PCM move to 6-7 in conference play. The Mustangs (8-14) pulled within a game of CMB, which is now 7-6 in the HOIC. Both teams are in the same Class 2A district and both teams now have eight wins on the year.

Sophomore Noah Henkenius had one hit, one run and one RBI at the plate for PCM, while junior Sheldon Speers had one hit and freshman Preston Van Wyk scored a run. Brown, a senior, walked once, and senior Clay Cooper walked and had an RBI.

Stover had a double for the Raiders (8-8), while junior Creighton Caple and senior Brad Ritter also each had a hit.

Junior Brady Kemp started and had his best outing of the season for the Raiders. Despite the loss, Kemp allowed three hits and one earned run and three walks over five innings. Ritter pitched in the sixth inning and surrendered one hit.

CMB hosts Ballard at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, while PCM hosts East Marshall at 7:30 p.m. Friday.