PCM baseball uses big innings to down 1A No. 5 Lynnville-Sully

PRAIRIE CITY — Trenner Van Dyke knew he was out of pitches when he got Lucas Sieck to pop up with one out in the top of the seventh inning.

The next time he gets into a similar situation though, he will probably remember if runners are on base.

After he caught Sieck’s pop up near foul territory on the first base side of the field, Van Dyke tossed the ball up in the air in excitement. He was looking forward to a win over then-Class 1A No. 2 Lynnville-Sully but a run scored on the play after the ball landed on the infield in front of his defense.

Luckily for him and the PCM baseball team, the cushion was large enough to overcome a mistake as the Mustangs scored three runs in the third to grab the lead and added five in the sixth to stay in front during a 9-4 non-conference home victory on Tuesday.

“I just totally forgot there were runners on base. I wasn’t looking at them anymore and was just focused on the batter,” Van Dyke said after the win. “I was done with pitches so I knew I was coming out of the game. Luckily we had a good cushion.”

Van Dyke improved to 3-1 after tossing 6 2/3 innings against the state-ranked Hawks. He allowed three earned runs on 11 hits and one walk, struck out six and was forced out of the game after throwing 111 pitches.

Shay Burns got the final out of the game. Van Dyke credited his defense as a big reason why PCM scored the win.

The Mustangs committed three errors, but Lynnville-Sully had its worst defensive game of the season with seven errors.

“Our defense did their job tonight,” PCM head baseball coach Lewis Daye said. “Trenner pitched well and we know if we play good defense behind him, we are probably going to win.

“You have to put the ball in play and make them get an out. They might make a mistake. They might overthrow the ball. You at least have to force them to do their job.”

That’s what the Mustangs did in the third. After L-S took a 2-1 lead with two runs in the top half of the frame, PCM scored three runs on three Hawk errors in the bottom of the frame.

Easton Webb walked with one out and Gabe Hobbs was hit by a pitch. Then three straight errors on ground balls helped PCM take the lead for good.

Lannon Montgomery struck out the final two batters of the frame to keep the game at 4-2, but the mistakes proved costly in the final outcome.

“We gave them way too many free bases and it’s hard to be competitive when you give a team 15 free bases,” L-S head baseball coach Scott Alberts said. “We didn’t play as well as we can.”

PCM scored one run in the bottom of the first. L-S went in front in the third after Blake Van Wyk and Corder Noun Harder both singled and scored on Carson Maston’s two-run double.

The Hawks stranded the bases loaded in the sixth before PCM (7-9) added to its lead with five runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Kaleb DeVries led off the inning with a walk and singles that didn’t leave the infield by Webb and Hobbs loaded the bases.

A fielder’s choice off the bat of Jack Jungling resulted in a dropped ball at home for another Hawk error. Another run scored on a second error in the frame and then Jensson Hood’s RBI fielder’s choice to second plated another run.

With two outs, Jacob Wendt delivered a two-run single to cap the Mustangs’ scoring.

“It feels great. I firmly believe that when we are on our ‘A’ game, we can beat anyone around, regardless of rankings,” Daye said. “We feel like we can compete with anyone when we are at our best, no matter who’s pitching.

“I definitely wanted this one. The team wanted this one. This is a good win.”

Noun Harder legged out an infield single to lead off the seventh but left the game with an ankle injury.

C.J. Nikkel walked to put two runners on base. Nikkel and pinch runner Matthew Mintle both moved up a base later in the inning and then Maston’s RBI single made it 9-3. Nikkel sprinted home when Van Dyke threw the ball up in the air after Sieck’s pop out.

The game ended one batter later though as the Hawks lost for the first time this season.

“You can’t just throw a first-pitch fastball every time to a team like this so I tried to mix it up,” Van Dyke said. “They got us last year and were undefeated coming into the game. But we got them this year, and it feels good.”

PCM’s six hits were all singles. Webb led the Mustangs with one hit, two walks and two runs and Hobbs had one hit, two runs, one walk and one hit by pitch. Webb leads the team with 15 walks.

Trigg Steenhoek collected one hit, one run and two RBIs, Jungling chipped in one hit, two runs and one RBI and Jacob Wendt’s hit resulted in two RBIs.

Steenhoek now leads the team with 14 RBIs. DeVries walked once and scored two runs and now leads the team with 18 runs.

Farver tallied one hit and was hit by one pitch, Alex Wendt walked twice and stole one base and Hood drove in three runs and stole one base.

The Mustangs’ offensive night included six walks, two hit by pitches and seven errors.

Noun Harder finished with three hits, one run and one steal, Maston collected two hits, doubled and had three RBIs and Nikkel, Montgomery, Sieck, Van Wyk, Terran Gosselink and Davis Utech all had one hit.

Nikkel, Van Wyk and Mintle scored one run, Nikkel walked once and Sieck had one RBI.

“We stranded a lot of guys tonight. Our at-bats were really good though,” Alberts said. “Our kids swung it well, but their guys made some nice plays in the field to get them out of innings, and we didn’t have the same on our side. Give credit to them. They are a solid ball club, and we knew they would be.”

The Hawks, who dropped to No. 5 in the latest 1A poll, were playing their second of six games last week. Alberts and the coaching staff were trying to navigate through a busy week of pitching and elected to take Maston out after 40 pitches.

He allowed no earned runs and no hits in 1 2/3 innings. He did walked three and struck out two. The team trailed 1-0 when he left the game.

Montgomery (1-2) gave the Hawks 3 1/3 innings and he allowed three runs — none earned — on two hits, two walks and two hit batters. He struck out four and was pulled after 60 pitches but took the loss.

Van Wyk tossed the sixth inning and surrendered five unearned runs on three hits and one walk. He struck out one.

“This was the first time us trying to nickel and dime our pitchers maybe came back to bite us,” Alberts said. “I thought our pitchers did OK. We can do better from the mound than what we were. It wasn’t Carson’s best appearance.

“Should we have left Carson in and tried to go after this game? Maybe. We wanted to keep Carson available for Moravia. That’s what we were looking for.”

Saydel 5, PCM 4

PRAIRIE CITY — A slow start doomed the Mustangs against 3A Saydel on Wednesday.

The Eagles plated three runs in the first and two more in the second before holding off a late Mustangs’ run in a 5-4 home loss in Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference play.

The win completed the season sweep for Saydel, but both games were decided by a single run.

PCM got within 5-1 with a run in the second and then closed the gap with another run in the third. Neither team scored again until the Mustangs plated two in the seventh.

The home team out-hit Saydel 10-5 but was plagued by two errors.

DeVries and Steenhoek had three hits each to lead the Mustangs, which fell to 5-5 in conference play.

Steenhoek added three RBIs, one run and one steal, DeVries scored one run and stole one base and Farver, Hobbs, Jungling and Hood all had one hit. DeVries leads the Mustangs with 25 total bases.

Hobbs and Webb each had one walk and one run, Jungling drew one walk and Alex Wendt contributed one RBI.

Farver (0-4) took the loss on the mound after allowing five runs — three earned — on four hits, four walks and one hit batter in six innings. He struck out six.

Webb tossed the final frame and surrendered no runs and no hits while striking out two.

Boyd Jones led Saydel (14-7, 8-2 in the conference) with three hits and two steals and Jace Embry tallied three RBIs.

Ryan Van Houten (3-1) pitched into the seventh inning and got the win after striking out seven and allowing four earned runs.

Bondurant-Farrar 5, PCM 3

BONDURANT — The Mustangs were held to five hits and their pitchers issued seven walks and hit two batters during a narrow loss to Bondurant-Farrar on Friday.

PCM did not commit an error and DeVries belted his first career varsity homer, but it wasn’t enough against the 3A Bluejays, who are receiving votes in the latest state poll.

Jungling led the Mustangs with two hits, while DeVries homered and had three RBIs.

Alex Wendt doubled and scored one run, Hobbs had one hit and two steals and Farver was hit by a pitch and scored one run. Webb also walked once.

Jacob Wendt (1-2) took the pitching loss after allowing five earned runs on three hits, seven walks and one hit batter in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four and was pulled after 110 pitches.

Carson Hansen got the final out on a strikeout but not before allowing one hit and hitting one batter.

The Bluejays (13-7) won the game despite committing three errors. Cole Miller (3-1) had one hit and one RBI at the plate and got the pitching win after surrendering two earned runs and striking out eight in six innings.

The Mustangs’ non-conference schedule has featured games against Williamsburg, 1A No. 5 Lynnville-Sully and 3A Pella, Newton and Bondurant-Farrar.

West Marshall 14, PCM 3

PRAIRIE CITY — Class 2A No. 1 West Marshall was too much for PCM on June 10.

The Trojans broke open a tie game with a six-run second and added crooked numbers in the third, fourth and sixth during a 14-3, six-inning road win in HOIAC action.

The Mustangs were out-hit 11-5 and committed two errors. PCM pitchers also walked nine batters and hit three.

Farver led the PCM bats with two hits, one run and one RBI and Webb had one hit, two walks and one RBI.

Jacob Wendt doubled and scored one run, Hood had one hit and one run and Jungling walked twice and stole one base. Hobbs also walked once.

Jacob Wendt started on the mound and allowed seven earned runs on six hits, three walks and one hit batter in two innings.

Hood pitched one inning and allowed three earned runs on three hits and one walk. He struck out one.

Hansen tossed three innings and surrendered four runs — two earned — on one hit, five walks and two hit batters. He struck out two.

Beckham Desotel led West Marshall (23-1, 10-0) with three hits and four RBIs and Owen Siegert tallied two hits, three RBIs and two steals.

Vincent Clawson (4-0) earned the pitching win after allowing two earned runs and striking out six in four innings.