Mustangs rally past South Hamilton to earn season sweep

PRAIRIE CITY — Through four innings, PCM’s baseball team trailed South Hamilton and the Hawks limited the Mustangs to one run on four hits. PCM left three runners in scoring position, too.

But in the fifth inning, PCM’s bats got hot and the home team closed out its Heart of Iowa Conference game with an 11-5 victory.

“This group I have are fighters. They don’t give up. It doesn’t matter if it’s 3-1 or 13-1, they are not out until it says seven and the game is done,” PCM baseball coach Lewis Daye said. “When it gets gritty like that, they like to show up and fight back. That’s just the makeup of these guys.”

Gavin Fenton was in the No. 2 slot in the lineup against the Hawks and he was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. The junior catcher had a simple answer as to why the Mustangs were able to rally.

“The momentum changed when we started hitting. They got down, too, and then started making errors,” Fenton said.

The Mustangs (5-4 overall, 4-2 in the conference) tied the game at 1-all in the bottom of the first. Fenton got a one-out single and then went to second on a South Hamilton error.

After a walk and a hit by pitch by Nick Farver and Durant Van Dyke, respectively, Easton Webb drove in PCM’s first run with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field.

Farver started on the mound and allowed one run in the first. South Hamilton got a run-scoring hit after Farver recorded back-to-back strikeouts.

In the third, the Hawks (2-10, 0-6) went in front 3-1. Farver hit the lead-off batter and then walked the No. 2 hitter with one out.

An error in center field and an RBI ground out pushed the visitors’ advantage to two runs.

PCM got the bats going in the fifth. The Mustangs scored four runs on three hits and the Hawks helped with a pair of errors.

Trigg Steenhoek led off the frame by reaching on an error. Fenton then doubled and Farver reached on an infield single. Van Dyke made it 3-2 with an RBI single and another error led to more runs for the home team.

The final run of the inning came across after Jacob Wendt’s RBI ground out.

The Mustangs plated six runs in the sixth. Adrien Robbins led off the frame with a single and then stole a base. Steenhoek’s RBI single added to the lead and Fenton reached on another hit.

Van Dyke scored one run with a sacrifice fly to right field, Webb cranked out an RBI single and Will Owens’ two-run single capped PCM’s scoring.

The top two hitters in PCM’s lineup — Steenhoek and Fenton — both reached base three times. One of Fenton’s hits was a double and the duo combined to score five runs and tallied five hits.

“Those guys have been important for us,” Daye said. “It took a little bit to get them into a groove. Gavin was doing great things in track and Trigg is a freshman. The more they’ve been out there, the more they’ve settled into their roles and doing their jobs. I can’t ask for more from them honestly.”

South Hamilton closed the gap a little bit in the seventh. PCM helped the Hawks score two runs after committing four errors.

The end result was not changed, but Daye and Fenton know the errors late in games have to be cleaned up.

“We can’t be doing that in close games,” Fenton said. “We have to find a way to close out games better.”

Daye said it’s been an issue most of the year. His guys are getting better but still have games where one bad inning plagues them.

“It has mattered in a couple games this year. It’s been something we are battling,” Daye said. “I will say, despite what the numbers say today, it has gotten better lately. We’ve had just one bad inning in a lot of games.

“It didn’t matter tonight, but it’s something we’ve been battling. We do a lot of infield to try to hammer it down. It’s really about getting these guys experience. It’s a young team with a lot of new faces.”

Farver pitched the first six innings for PCM. He earned his first career varsity win after allowing three runs — two earned — on two hits with eight strikeouts and four walks and two hit batters.

“He’s a dog. When I tell him it’s time to go and I give him the ball, I know he will give me maximum effort,” Daye said. “You have to fight to get him off the mound. I only took him out because he hit the pitch count limit.”

Van Dyke tossed the seventh inning. The only base runners he allowed reached because of errors. He struck out two and neither run he gave up was earned.

At the plate, Farver was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and one walk. Van Dyke, the team’s best hitter by average, was 1-for-2 with two RBIs, one run scored and one hit by pitch.

Webb added one hit, one run and two RBIs, Jacob Wendt tallied two hits, one walk, one run and one RBI and Will Owens registered two hits and two RBIs. Robbins reached base on a single and eventually scored in the sixth.

A lot of the Mustang hitters had success attacking the first pitches of the Hawk hurlers. All three of Fenton’s hits came on the first pitch of his at-bat. The RBI singles by Van Dyke and Webb came on the first pitches, too.

“The first pitch is usually a fast ball that’s right there,” Fenton said. “It’s maybe the best pitch you’ll see in the at-bat so I like to jump on them if I can.”

Tanner Blue reached base three times and scored two runs to lead the Hawks offensively.

PCM 8, EBF 5

PRAIRIE CITY — Van Dyke finished with three hits and he tossed three scoreless innings in relief to lead PCM to an 8-5 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Tuesday night.

The Mustangs overcame an early Rockets home run and plated six of their eight runs in the first two innings. They won the game despite being out-hit 14-8.

Van Dyke finished with three hits, one double, two runs and two RBIs. He’s hitting a team-best .417.

Webb registered two hits, one double, one run and two RBIs. He leads the Mustangs with six RBIs.

Farver had one hit, one walk, one hit by pitch one steal and three runs. He has a team-best nine runs.

Gabe Hobbs tallied one hit, one run, two RBIs, one walk and two steals, Fenton collected one hit and Carson Hansen scored one run.

Webb (1-0) started on the mound and earned the win after allowing five earned runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Van Dyke got the three-inning save. He surrendered no runs and three hits, struck out four and walked one.

Ethan Davis hit a three-run home run in the first for the Rockets (11-5) and tallied three of the team’s 14 hits.