March 28, 2024

L-S baseball ends season after loss to ACA

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ST. MARYS — The Lynnville-Sully baseball team struggled with walks during the early stages of its Class 1A District 12 semifinal game against Ankeny Christian Academy on Thursday evening.

In the final inning, the Hawks struggled with miscues.

When it was all said and done, ACA ended Lynnville-Sully’s season with a 15-5, five-inning win.

“We didn’t pitch our best game. That’s pretty simple,” L-S baseball coach Scott Alberts said. “We made three changes, and it didn’t play out as we expected.”

Senior Elijah Collins started and finished the game on the mound. In between, sophomores Blaize Kuhlmann and Bray Noun Harder tried to slow the Eagles down.

That was easier said than done though as second-seeded Ankeny Christian (18-8) recorded 12 hits and walked nine times in the win. The Eagles batted around in both the third and fifth innings, and junior Tate Dingman ended the game with a two-out, walk-off, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth.

“We knew they would dink and dunk, and we had the outfield playing where we wanted them, but they still found gaps,” Alberts said. “Once they got things going, it’s hot and you’re running around, and it’s hard to find a grip on the ball, too.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but it was tough. Our dugout faced the sun the whole night. We just couldn’t get any relief from the heat. It’s part of the game. We just didn’t do enough to win tonight.”

The Hawks scored first in the game, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom the second. Junior Evan Squires, sophomore Slater Young and senior Cody Gibbs hit consecutive singles. Gibbs’ hit was an RBI base hit, and the ball got passed ACA right fielder Colin Muir. That allowed Young to score from first.

After Ankeny Christian took the lead with a four-run second and a five-run third, L-S battled back with a three-run fourth inning.

Young and Gibbs were once again in the middle of it. They started the frame with back-to-back singles and both runners scored when sophomore Skyler Jannenga smoked a two-run triple. The final run of the game for the Hawks came across when Noun Harder got a one-out RBI single.

ACA’s ace pitcher Jayce Goergen, who was brought into the game after Jannenga’s triple, got out of the jam when he induced consecutive fly outs.

The Hawks had nine hits in the game. The 6-7-8-9 spots in the lineup — Squires, Young, Gibbs and Jannenga — were a combined 7-of-11. Squires, Young and Gibbs all had two hits and Young scored two runs.

“You hope from game to game that different parts of the lineup can pick you up,” Alberts said. “We certainly had that tonight with the bottom of our order. They gave us opportunities to be in the ball game.”

While walks hurt the Hawks in the first four innings, it was errors in the fifth that helped the Eagles end the game early.

Ankeny Christian sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth and scored six runs to score the walk-off victory. In the frame, the Eagles had only three hits, but three errors made things worse for L-S.

“We got down big and could have folded, and a couple weeks ago we would have,” Alberts said. “We’ve made huge strides in mental growth. The kids kept fighting.

“That last inning, they broke loose and we made some terrible errors. But I was proud of the way the kids the fought.”

Collins started the game, threw the first two innings and took the loss. He came back into the game in the fourth. In all, he allowed 12 runs — six earned — on 11 hits while walking five and striking out one.

Kuhlmann got one out — a strikeout — in the third but walked two, hit one batter and gave up one hit. Noun Harder finished the third but walked two, including one with the base loaded.

Eighth-grader Malachi Johnson earned the win on the mound and finished with three hits, three runs and three RBIs at the plate to lead the Eagles. Dingman had two hits, two runs and four RBIs.

Ankeny Christian plays in the district championship game against sixth-ranked Martensdale-St. Marys at 7 p.m. Saturday in St. Marys. The host Blue Devils (34-6) defeated North Mahaska 15-5 in five innings in the other semifinal game on Thursday.

The Hawks retire at 10-13. The loss ended the careers of four L-S seniors — Collins, Gibbs, Carson Dunsbergen and Corbin James — and ended Alberts’ first season as head coach.

“Elijah and Carson come to my mind first,” Alberts said. “It’s the pitcher and catcher combination. They took an open minded approach, which is tough to do with a new coach.

“Corbin was a great center fielder. And he really came alive at the plate at the end of the season. I wish I had more time with him. Cody did a nice job helping the team move forward. He was coming out and attacking baseball the way we asked him to. For the four seniors, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Alberts took over the baseball program in February. He’ll now get a complete offseason with his players. And the former L-S assistant softball coach won’t have as much of a learning curve in year two.

“This has been a learning experience for me. There was a learning curve. The game is different than softball,” Alberts said. “It took some time to get used to that. I had a great staff working with me and helping me. Going into the offseason, we have to get better with our offense. We have to be stronger with our bats one through nine. And I believe we’ll do that.”