PCM exacts revenge on Trojans, advances in 2A district tourney

COLLINS — Prairie City-Monroe senior Austin Brown was not in the dugout when the Mustangs lost to West Marshall in the championship game of the Rose Festival Tournament back on June 18.

Brown was attending college orientation at Buena Vista University where he will pitch for the Beavers next season.

On Saturday, in a rematch against West Marshall, Brown was definitely at the game. He started on the mound and befuddled the Trojan bats over six innings and helped the Mustangs get some redemption and advance in the postseason.

PCM broke a 1-all tie with a seven-run second inning and coasted to a 10-3 victory in the opening round of the Class 2A District 13 tournament. The Mustangs get another chance at revenge when they meet Heart of Iowa Conference rival and ninth-ranked Roland-Story on Tuesday in Story City.

Saturday belonged to Brown though, who allowed just two hits over six innings on the bump.

The only hit that caused any damage was a first-inning home run by Brady Petermeier.

After that, the Trojans didn’t crack the scoreboard until the seventh inning when they plated two runs against Brown’s younger brother, eighth-grader Derek Brown.

But even Derek Brown got some redemption. He took the loss in the Mustangs 11-8 defeat on June 18, allowing three earned runs and seven hits in four innings. Saturday, the younger Brown surrendered one hit and one earned run with one strikeout.

At the plate, PCM was led by senior Clay Cooper, who had four RBIs, a double and a run scored.

Freshman Brayton Van Dyke had one hit, three runs and one walk, while junior Braden Phifer finished with one hit, one RBI and two runs.

Sophomore Noah Henkenius drove in two runs, stole two bases and had one hit and one run scored. PCM (12-17) had five hits in the game, but West Marshall (23-7) committed four errors.

The Mustangs’ rematch with Roland-Story begins at around 7 p.m. It’s the second game of a District 13 semifinal doubleheader.

Austin Brown lost 3-2 to Roland-Story earlier this season. None of those three runs allowed were earned though.