Mustangs eliminate C-M in extra innings

COLFAX — The Class 2A District 12 quarterfinal baseball game between Colfax-Mingo and visiting PCM on July 7 had a little bit of everything.

Big-run innings. Shut-down pitching. And tons of drama.

“It was crazy,” PCM head coach Jeff Lindsay said. “It was a complete roller-coaster of not only physical-being, but emotionally. It was unfortunate that anybody had to lose that game.”

The Mustangs did come out of the game as the victor, beating the Tigerhawks 9-7 in eight innings.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning, junior Olin Meinders stepped up to bat. The score was tied at 7-all, and Colfax-Mingo junior pitcher Zarek Hill had just struck out the two batters before him.

Hill put two strikes on him early, but Meinders kept fouling off pitches until he delivered. Eventually, the junior outfielder brought two runners in on a single to center field.

“After those first two pitches, it kind of just boiled down to see ball, hit ball,” Meinders said. “I just had to keep battling and not over-think it.”

Meinders’ two RBI single turned out to be the game-winning hit for the Mustangs. But just an inning earlier, Tigerhawk freshman Zach Steenhoek found himself in an identical situation.

Steenhoek, the last batter in the rotation, was down 0-2 in the box with two outs and a tying runner on third. The Tigerhawks were down 7-6.

He hit a line drive just out of reach of the third baseman’s glove, scoring one run and forcing extra innings.

“I was very nervous, super nervous,” Steenhoek said. “But it a was great moment in my baseball career so far. The biggest hit I’ve ever done.”

Steenhoek’s hit kept the Tigerhawks alive for one more inning. Before that, neither team could put runs on the board after the first couple innings.

Colfax-Mingo started sophomore Trystin Ross on the hill, and the Mustangs took advantage of him early. Junior Reed Worth was walked and junior Preston Van Wyk advanced him to third base on a double over the right fielder’s head.

Senior Noah Henkenius brought in Worth on a fielder’s choice to second base. An error at shortstop scored Van Wyk before the inning came to a close.

The Tigerhawks answered back with a run of their own, scoring when Ross brought in sophomore Brady Berkey on another fielder’s choice to second base. The score after one inning was 2-1.

Both teams had big innings in the second. Sophomore Derek Brown, Worth and Van Wyk all hit singles to load the bases with one out. Henkenius brought in Brown on a line drive single to center field.

An error at second base on a hit by junior Wes Cummings scored Worth. After a bad throw from the catcher to the pitcher, Van Wyk attempted to take home but was tagged before he crossed home plate.

Van Dyke was walked and Meinders was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, allowing junior pinch runner Carson Clark to score. Freshman Caleb Duinink hit a pop fly to end the inning.

The home team plated five of their seven runs in the bottom of the second and got on top of Henkenius, the Mustangs’ starting pitcher.

Senior Alex Lewis was walked and he scored when Henkenius overthrew the first baseman on Steenhoek’s ground ball back to the mound. Berkey hit a single to center field and Steenhoek scored when sophomore Trinity Schroeder singled past third base.

Hill brought in Berkey on a single to left field. Senior Misha Seebeck then hit a two-RBI double to left-center field. The Tigerhawks led 6-5 after two innings.

Ross was relieved by Lewis on the mound, and he went to work in the third inning. The senior struck out the side.

Brown also came in for Henkenius in the bottom of the third. The Tigerhawks managed to get two runners on base after a strikeout by Brown. They didn’t capitalize as the Mustangs got out of the jam.

With one out recorded, Cummings hit a single to center field in the fourth inning. Van Dyke then smashed a two-run home run over the left field fence.

“When he doesn’t try to do too much, he usually has been pretty productive for us at the plate,” Lindsay said about Van Dyke. “That was a big momentum shot in the arm for us.”

Hill came in to pitch for Lewis after the home run, and he finished out the inning without any more damage. The score remained 7-6 after four innings.

Neither team scored until the bottom of the seventh, when Steenhoek kept the game going for the Tigerhawks.

Brown went four innings before being replaced by Van Dyke in the seventh inning. The sophomore had five strikeouts and gave up no runs.

“I just usually like to go to my bread and butter,” Brown said. “I like to pump fastballs down the middle and make them hit it.”

On the other side, Hill pitched well too, striking out six and giving up two runs in 4 2/3 innings.

“He pitched very well,” Colfax-Mingo head coach Brian Warrick said. “He obviously kept us in the game.”

For Warrick, the game boiled down to errors. He made a point that his team struggled coming back from them, but was proud of their effort. The fourth-seeded Tigerhawks finished their season as South Iowa Cedar League champions with a 16-5 overall record.

“This has been a great season,” Warrick said. “We won the conference and won out of conference stuff, too.”

The Mustangs improved to 11-13 on the season. Lindsay and his pitcher were proud of their team for sticking it out and earning victory.

“It was a good win for us,” Brown said. “We came in here with people doubting us. We’re a losing record team that played hard competition, but we came here and proved a point.

The fifth-seeded Mustangs played top-seeded Pleasantville in the District 12 semifinals on July 10 in Pleasantville.