March 29, 2024

Mustangs win Rose Festival tournament

STATE CENTER — The Prairie City-Monroe baseball team got big performances by a quartet of freshmen Saturday during the annual Rose Festival tournament.

The Mustangs used three freshmen pitchers to claim the tournament title during wins over Grundy Center and West Marshall.

PCM advanced to the championship game for the second straight year following a 7-1 win over Grundy Center, and then the Mustangs rallied to down host West Marshall, 3-2, in the title game.

PCM and West Marshall met in the championship game for the third time in four years (the 2015 season was rained out), and the Mustangs avenged an 11-8, eight-inning loss from last year by scoring all three of their runs in the final two innings.

The Mustangs trailed 2-0 after West Marshall (16-4) plated its final run in the top of the sixth inning. PCM tied the game in the sixth with a pair of runs and then walked off with the tourney title in the seventh inning.

In the sixth, senior Braden Phifer collected an infield single and then sophomore Brayton Van Dyke reached on an error. Both runners moved up a base on senior Noah Clark’s sacrifice bunt.

Senior Ethan Thomas made it 2-1 with an RBI groundout and then senior Ryan Hill tied the game with an RBI double.

The Mustangs won the game in the seventh when sophomore Olin Meinders walked and then scored on a wild pitch.

Freshman Trevor Bistline earned his first career varsity win after tossing 2 1/3 innings of relief. He allowed one run on two hits. Junior Brady Fagen started on the mound and allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

The win by PCM snapped West Marshall’s six-game win streak.

Sophomore Reed Worth had two hits, including a triple. Hill and Thomas both had one hit and one RBI, Van Dyke had one hit, one run and one stolen base and Phifer had one hit and one run.

Two freshmen pitched in PCM’s 7-1 win over Grundy Center (2-13). Dane Owens started and allowed one unearned run on two hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 5 2/3 innings pitched. The win improved his record to 2-1 on the season.

Freshman Colten Johnson was called into finish the game. He allowed no runs on one hit with one walk in 1 1/3 innings.

The Mustangs jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first and then went up 4-0 after two innings. They added one run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth.

Freshman Derek Brown got his first at-bats of the season as the game’s designated hitter. He finished 2-for-2 with a walk, one run, one RBI and a stolen base.

Van Dyke finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, junior Noah Henkenius scored twice, walked once and stole a base and Worth had one run, one RBI and one steal.

PCM starts a light week with a home game against Collins-Maxwell/Baxter at 5:15 p.m. Monday in Prairie City.