PRAIRIE CITY — Junior Noah Henkenius threw six shutout innings on the mound, and sophomore Preston Van Wyk had two of the Mustangs’ five hits at the plate and the Prairie City-Monroe baseball team downed Greene County, 1-0, in the season opener for both teams during Heart of Iowa Conference play.
Henkenius allowed two hits, one walk and one hit by pitch and struck out one in his first start of the season. Freshman Derek Brown finished off Henkenius’ win with two strikeouts in the seventh to earn the save.
“Noah threw it well,” PCM coach Jeff Lindsay said. “He pitched to contact and kept his pitch count down. Then Derek gave us a great change of pace in the seventh inning.”
Van Wyk had a one-out single in the second, stole second and third and then scored the game’s only run on a wild pitch.
Henkenius and seniors Braden Phifer and Noah Clark all had one hit.
“We put the ball in play and had some other scoring opportunities,” Lindsay said. “We put the bat on the ball and played very good defensively.”
PCM loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth but lined into a double play. The Mustangs also had runners on second and third with 1 out in the fifth but failed to score.
Greene County’s best opportunity against Henkenius came in the sixth inning. The Rams put runners on first and second with no outs, but Henkenius forced three straight pop outs to get out of the jam.
The Mustangs (1-0 overall, 1-0 in the HOIC) play South Tama County at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Tama.
SOFTBALL
PCM 7,
Greene County 6
MONROE — Senior Jayci Vos had four hits, two runs and two steals at the plate, and senior Kayla Jennings struck out 15 batters in the circle during the Mustang softball team’s season opening victory over the Rams.
Vos was 4-for-4 on the night at the plate. Jennings had two hits and one walk and she earned the win in the circle. Senior Brooke Nicholson also had two hits and a run scored.
“It felt like a first game,” PCM coach Scott Bridges said. “This was the first time I had my entire team and it was for a game.”
PCM led 1-0 after three innings. Greene County tied the game with a single run in the fourth and then scored five runs in the fifth off three PCM errors.
The Mustangs rallied with a six-run sixth inning. They had three hits and three walks at the plate.
Jennings got out of a jam in the seventh when she struck out the final batter of the game with Rams on first and second.
“I was proud of the way we came back and didn’t quit after they took the lead from us,” Bridges said. “I feel good about the game. This was a big win for us.”
The Mustangs host Roland-Story at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Monroe.