Benton’s slam propels CMB
COLLINS — Josh Benton’s grand slam in the sixth inning Wednesday helped Collins-Maxwell-Baxter’s baseball team record its second straight win as the Raiders rallied from a three-run deficit to beat Madrid, 11-5.
“It was an exciting game,” CMB coach Duane Miller said. “We can hit the ball and score runs. And we can play with anyone, but we need to cut down on errors and walks.”
CMB trailed 5-2 after Madrid’s half of the fourth but plated one run in the fourth, tied the game in the fifth and grabbed the lead for good in the sixth after Benton’s first homer of the year came with the bases loaded.
The rally began in the fourth when Dylan Hansen led off with a single and then scored on a Ben Garrison RBI groundout. Hansen then singled with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and then a Madrid error with two outs allowed the Raiders to tie the game.
In the sixth inning, Marcus Schmidt’s RBI double scored Parker Murphy from first. Dan Samson followed with an RBI single to make it 7-5 and then — following back-to-back singles by Michael Gander and Hansen — Benton finished off the Tigers with a bases-loaded blast over the fence in left field.
Benton also got the win on the mound as he allowed three earned runs in the win.
“He does a nice job of controlling the game,” Miller said. “He throws strikes and has a nasty curveball. He relies on his defense to make plays. The fielders need to dp a netter job though.”
The Raiders got on the board first in the first inning as Schmidt singled and then scored on Gander’s sacrifice fly. Madrid tied the game in the second, but CMB regained the lead in its half of the second as Benton walked, took second on a Zach Leonard ground out and then went to third on a passed ball. He eventually scored following an error on the catcher.
An unearned run allowed Madrid to tie the game in the third, and the Tigers eventually took the lead following a bases loaded two-out double in the fourth.
The win against Madrid was the team’s second straight victory after also beating Bondurant-Farrar, 7-4, on Monday. The Raiders are now 6-11 on the season and will play Woodward-Granger tonight in Baxter beginning at 6 p.m.
PCM softball sweeps Roland-Story
MONROE — PCM pushed its win streak to four games Wednesday night with a doubleheader sweep of the Roland-Story softball team by scores of 12-2 and 9-5.
In game one, Bri Zerley led the Mustangs by going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored, while both Kali Umble and Nicole Hayden added three hits. Shelby Feldt was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Stephanie Hayden and Katie Walker each had two hits and two RBIs.
With a 4-1 lead in hand, PCM doubled the margin in the fourth inning with RBI singles from Feldt and Stephanie Hayden, along with a two RBI single from Zerley. Four more runs in the fifth inning came across the plate to end the game due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Haleigh Munson gained the pitching win in game one, while Mackenzie Welch was the game two winner.
In game two, a total of five PCM players had three hits in the win. Zerley was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Feldt, Nicole Hayden, Stephanie Hayden and Umble each added three hits.
PCM jumped on the Norsemen in game two, scoring four runs in the first inning thanks to four RBI singles from Nicole Hayden, Lindsey Vande Wall, Zerley and Kelsey Townsend. The Mustangs cruised from there.
PCM (13-15, 10-5 HOIC) is back in action tonight at home against Woodward-Granger.
L-S softball picks up two wins
NORTH ENGLISH — Lynnville-Sully’s softball team picked up a pair of conference wins Monday and Tuesday over Montezuma and English Valleys.
On Tuesday at English Valleys, the Hawks came away with a 12-8 victory. Catcher Caitlin Cross had a monster night at the plate by going 2-for-3 with four RBIs, a double, a home run and a run scored.
Taylor Van Wyk was 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Tessa Engle was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Jess Kling was 2-for-4 at the plate, while Danielle Samson added two RBIs.
Kling picked up the win in the circle after allowing six hits and striking out five in six innings of work. Brianna James pitched the final inning and struck out one.
On Monday at home, Lynnville-Sully won 11-1 over Montezuma in five innings.
Van Wyk led the Hawks by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a double, while Amelia DeWitt was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Tessa Engle added three RBIs and a triple in the win.
Lynnville-Sully (19-6, 16-2 SICL) is back in action tonight against Sigourney.
Colfax-Mingo edges West Marshall
STATE CENTER — A two-run home run by Brittany Harmison in the top of the seventh inning lifted the Colfax-Mingo softball past West Marshall by a 5-3 score Wednesday night.
Harmison had a hot night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two extra base hits. Devanie Fahrney picked up the win in the circle after allowing four hits, one walk and striking out five.
Colfax-Mingo scored first to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning off of a two RBI double by Brittney Borts. The Tigerhawks made it 3-0 off of a Borts sacrifice bunt that drove in Breanna Trainor.
West Marshall came back with two runs in the bottom of the third inning and one more in the sixth.
“I liked how we got on base tonight, but we had several more scoring opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of,” Colfax-Mingo coach Bryan Poulter said. “Brittney Borts had three RBIs and Brittany Harmison hit the ball hard every time up — good signs of our hitting coming around.”
Colfax-Mingo was supposed to play a makeup game with Colo-Nesco earlier in the day, but the Royals forfeited the game due to injuries. Next up for the Tigerhawks (21-10, 11-4 HOIC) is a game tonight at CMB in Baxter.
L-S baseball takes down English Valleys in eight innings
SULLY — Lynnville-Sully’s baseball team scored four runs in the eighth inning to come away with an 8-4 victory over English Valleys Wednesday night.
Lynnville-Sully held a 3-2 lead heading into the seventh inning before English Valleys took a 4-3 lead after their part of the inning. The Hawks came back with a run in the bottom half of the inning but left the bases loaded.
“It was a pretty evenly played game,” L-S coach Nick Harder said. “English Valleys had a couple of opportunities to win the game as well as Lynnville-Sully. We were very lucky to get out of the game with a win.”
Josh Van Wyk picked up the win on the mound with a complete game outing. He allowed six hits, four walks and struck out 10. He also was 2-for-4 at the plate with three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Dallas Bryan was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two stolen bases, while Kenton Dunsbergen was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Nick Beyer also was 2-for-4.
Lynnville-Sully (9-9. 9-6 SICL) is back in action tonight at home against Sigourney.