CMB wins district title, upsets No. 9 Norsemen

STORY CITY — The superlatives to describe Brady Stover’s efforts on the mound during the Class 2A District 13 tournament are running thin.

Every time Stover pitched, another superlative was used. Saturday was no different.

Facing Class 2A No. 9 Roland-Story on its home field, Stover threw all nine innings of a 3-0 Collins-Maxwell/Baxter upset. He struck out 19 batters and allowed just one hit for the second straight game, and the Raiders are one game away from their first-ever trip to the state baseball tournament.

“I’m so happy right now. I’m shaking. I can’t explain this one,” said Stover, who now has 112 strikeouts in 51 innings this season.

“I feel great. I have never been as focused as I am right now. I am throwing strikes and just doing what I do,” Stover said.

Stover said his left arm felt good after the nine-inning performance Saturday. But after 138 pitches, it may not feel that great come Sunday and Monday.

The Raiders’ reward for winning the District 13 championship is a berth into the 2A Substate 7 championship game at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Stover wants to pitch in that game, too.

“Adrenaline is the best medicine right now. (My arm) will probably be sore tomorrow, but I want to pitch every game for my guys,” Stover said. “This is a big opportunity for this program.”

CMB (13-11) faces Ogden (20-11) in the substate final Tuesday. Stover struck out 15 in a 5-3 win over then-ranked Ogden in the district semifinal last season. CMB coach Max Seeman said Stover pitching Tuesday is possible, but it will likely be a gameday decision.

“I know he wants to pitch,” Seeman said. “We are going to take care of him as much as we can the next two days, and it will be a gameday decision probably. We’ll see how he does when he warms up.”

CMB stranded seven runners on base in the game. The first six came in the first five innings, but sophomore Travis Lindemoen broke the scoreless tie in the ninth with a two-out RBI single and then junior Spencer Gauch made it 3-0 with a two-run single to the gap in left-center field.

“I was in the dugout praying for my teammates before I came up to bat,” Lindemoen said. “I never expected God to give me that chance to bring in the winning run. I feel great. I am already ready to go face Ogden.”

The Raiders came into the district tournament as the three seed. They knocked off second-seeded Des Moines Christian, 3-0, in the semfinals. Another upset over a Roland-Story (29-11) squad that had been to three straight state tournaments moves CMB within one game of playing in its first.

“It’s kind of unbelievable right now,” Seeman said. “I was hoping it would be a close game, and I was hoping it wouldn’t go more than nine because that’s all (Stover) could throw.”

The Raiders had plenty of chances to score before it got to extra innings. They stranded at least one runner in each of the first five innings.

Junior Brady Ross was left on third base after reaching on an error in the first inning, junior Tucker Maxwell doubled with one out but was stranded on second in the second and Ross reached on an another error in the third but was left on first base.

In the fourth, senior Brad Ritter walked and then went to third on a Maxwell single. Ritter was erased on the bases though when he was thrown out at home on a Nate Bishop fielder’s choice.

All of those opportunities came against Roland-Story starter Tyler Hovich, who entered the game with an earned run average of 0.91. The final five innings were thrown by sophomore Zach Shadlow.

Shadlow gave up a one-out double to Stover in the fifth but did not allow another base runner until the ninth.

Ritter and junior Creighton Caple both reached on infield singles to begin the frame. After Shadlow retired Maxwell and Bishop, Lindemoen strolled to the plate with the chance to give the Raiders a lead.

Lindemoen came into the game with just 12 at-bats on the season. He was batting Saturday because of injuries to junior Hunter McWhirter and senior Aric Broderick.

Lindemoen went 0-for-3 in his first three at-bats but came through when it mattered most. He poked a single just over the head of Nathan Weaver at second base.

Ritter came around to score in what turned out to be a close play at the plate.

“I was ready to go back out there and catch nine more pitches from Brady,” Lindemoen said. “I knew when we scored the one run that it was over.”

The runs didn’t stop there. Gauch followed Lindemoen’s RBI with a two-run single to left-center field. That made it 3-0 and gave Stover plenty of support for his final inning of wok.

“I was just so happy from what Travis did that I just tried to keep it going and put the ball in play somewhere,” Gauch said. “I had so much adrenaline running through my body after his hit that I just used that in my at-bat.”

Already at 126 pitches, Stover walked back to the mound in the ninth. The first out resulted in a 1-3 putout. He ended the game with strikeouts against the Norsemen’s two best hitters — Hovick and Shadlow.

“I know that we start off slow usually. We get hot at the end of the game,” Stover said. “I continued to believe in the guys that we would find a way to get some runs. That was a clutch hit for Travis.”

Seeman had thoughts of pulling Stover in the eighth when he walked two. Stover stranded those two runners at second and third though when he fanned leadoff hitter John Barclay for a fourth time in the game.

“In the eighth, I was getting a little worried. The pitch count was getting up there and he walked two, so I wasn’t sure how the control would hold up,” Seeman said. “He’s the type of kid that if I would have pulled him, he would have been more mad at that than if I left him in and we lost. He’s a kid who wants the ball, and he can keep us in any game we play when he pitches.”

Stover walked four in the game but allowed just one hit — a single to Colby Gray in the second inning. Stover is now 6-0 on the season with an earned run average of 0.41. He has allowed three earned runs in 51 innings.

The Raiders did not allow a run in the three district games. Stover tossed 21 of the 23 innings and struck out 49 batters. He got plenty of help from his defense against the Norse, too.

Lindemoen erased two Stover baserunners by throwing them out on attempted steals of third base. Bishop made a few nifty plays at shortstop, and CMB won the game despite using somewhat of a makeshift lineup.

Broderick, the regular starting third baseman, is done for the year after having knee surgery. That moved Brady Kemp to third base, Gauch to left field and McWhirter to second. McWhirter also is playing through an injury that limits his mobility.

“Everyone did a nice job of keeping their calm and keeping their composure,” Seeman said. “We got some good plays from our defense, too. It was a total team effort, and having (Stover) on the mound is a big help.”