Nelsen pitches Bolts baseball to first-ever postseason victory

GRUNDY CENTER — Baxter’s ace pitcher Carter Nelsen came into the Bolts’ postseason opener on July 13 having allowed only seven earned runs the entire season.

So after Lynnville-Sully tagged Nelsen with four runs in the first inning, it was easy for him to think the game was already over.

Fortunately for the Bolts, there were still six innings left.

Nelsen eventually settled down on the mound and the Baxter offense had one of its best performances of the season as the Bolts rallied past the Hawks, 9-5, during Class 1A District 11 quarterfinal action at George Wilhelm Sports Complex.

“It feels great. First playoff win as Bolts. That was our goal and we hit it,” Baxter coach Lewis Daye said.

Baxter (7-16) played Hudson (13-12) in a district semifinal game on July 16 in Hudson. Lynnville-Sully’s season retires at 10-21.

Nelsen’s final line was five earned runs on six hits with three walks, two hit batters and 10 strikeouts in seven innings.

But he only surrendered one hit and one walk and hit one batter while striking out seven over his last five frames.

Nelsen (3-1) said he changed the positioning of his feet after the first inning. That adjustment helped him get on track.

“I went off the first base side of the rubber because of the angle to the plate,” Nelsen said. “(The umpire) was calling pitches both ways on the outside corner so I think that helped me a lot.

“I got roughed up a little bit. I fell behind in a lot of counts and I had to put fast balls down the middle and they made me pay.”

Lynnville-Sully got three of its six hits in the first inning. Blaize Kuhlmann singled, stole second and scored on Kinnick McFarland’s RBI single. Bray Noun Harder then walked, McFarland moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on Slater Young’s RBI sacrifice fly.

Evan Squires was hit by a pitch, Payton Van Wyk walked and Braden Alberts made it 4-0 with a two-run single.

Baxter came right back to tie it in the second inning.

And the Bolts used the bottom of the lineup to rally. Eighth-graders Jake Travis and Cody Damman singled between Cael Shepley’s walk to load the bases.

Cole Damman’s RBI walk chased L-S starting pitcher Bray Noun Harder. Conner Maston walked Rory Heer for another Bolts’ run and then Nelsen laced a two-run single to left field to tie the game.

“It gave me confidence because after I gave up four I thought we were going to lose,” Nelsen said. “That second inning got us back in it.”

It wouldn’t be the last lead for the Hawks though. Kuhlmann led off the second like he did in the first with a single. He stole second and scored on Young’s two-out RBI single.

That was all the Hawks couldn’t muster offensively. Nelsen gave up an infield single to Squires in the third, hit Maston in the fourth and then walked Maston in the sixth.

Nelsen entered the seventh inning with 98 pitches. He struck out two in the second, third, fifth and seventh innings.

“They came out swinging and were aggressive,” Daye said of the Hawks’ fast start. “(Carter) made a good adjustment and started playing around with the zone a little bit more.”

The Bolts managed to tie the game at 5-all in the fourth. Cole Damman singled, stole second, went to third on a ground ball and then scored on a wild pitch.

Baxter chased Maston from the mound in the fifth. Maston failed to get an out in the frame as Ian Thomson reached on an error, stole second and scored on Brendyn Padget’s RBI single.

Maston was pulled after a single by Travis. Payton Van Wyk came into the game and immediately got a strikeout. But Cody Damman singled and Cole Damman’s two-run single made it 8-5.

Cody Damman tacked on another run when he scored on an L-S error.

“The right guys made the right plays and we know anytime Carter’s on the mound he’s going to give us a great chance,” Cole Damman said. “We just have to back him up and score runs.”

Van Wyk retired the Bolts in order in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Hawks’ offense stalled against Nelsen.

Maston (3-4) took the loss for the Hawks, allowing three earned runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Van Wyk struck out four and allowed one run on two hits in three innings. Noun Harder surrendered four earned runs on two hits with four walks.

The Hawks, who defeated Baxter 19-3 on May 30, ended the season with seven straight losses. Baxter came into the game losers of eight of its last nine games, too.

Cole Damman, Cody Damman and Travis all had two hits and scored two runs. Cole Damman also had three RBIs. Nelsen had one hit, one walk and two RBIs.

“It’s a relief to finally get that first playoff win under our belt,” Cole Damman said, “it’s great for our program as a building stone.”

Montezuma 11, Baxter 9

MONTEZUMA — Baxter’s baseball team erased a five-run deficit with a six-run fifth inning, but Montezuma rallied with five runs in its final two at-bats and defeated the Bolts 11-9 on July 9 during non-conference action.

The Bolts trailed their regular season finale 6-1 after four innings. They scored six runs in the fifth to take the lead. A Cole Damman two-run single in the seventh closed the gap to 11-9 but that’s as close as Baxter got.

Heer’s RBI groundout put the Bolts (6-16) on the board in the third. In the fifth, a Heer single and a Nelsen double produced three runs. Thomson and Cody Damman also had RBI singles in the inning to help Baxter take a narrow lead.

Montezuma (5-13) scored three runs in the fifth to retake the lead. Those runs wound up being the difference in the game.

Derrick Klemme started on the mound. Thomson also pitched in relief for the Bolts and took the loss. Both pitchers tossed three innings and allowed nine hits. Klemme allowed three earned runs and Thomson surrendered six earned runs.

Cody Damman finished with four hits, two runs and an RBI. Klemme and Cole Damman finished with three hits and one run scored and Damman had two RBIs.

Heer had one hit, one run, one walk and two RBIs. Nelsen had one hit, one run and two RBIs and Thomson collected two hits and an RBI. Andrew Klemme finished with one hit, one run and two walks.