The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Three weeks ago, the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn baseball team couldn't win a game. Last week, the Hawks couldn't lose.

H-M-S capped a 3-0 week with a 5-3 win over Trinity Christian on June 30 at Hull. It was their most complete effort of the season.

"The big key was putting all three phases of the game together – solid pitching, tough defense and timely hitting. It was fun to watch," said Hawk coach Jeremy Gloden.

One concern going into the game was pitching. Because of pitching limitation rules, there were questions as to who would start on the mound. Gloden decided to go with freshman Jacob Cates, who usually catches pitches rather than delivering them. That proved to be a good choice. Cates' pitching line read six innings, four hits, three runs (two earned), one walk and eight strikeouts.

"He was tremendous and the defense was very solid behind him," Gloden said.

Cates also helped his cause at the plate, hitting a single that scored Samuel Heyn, who had tripled earlier in the first inning.

Trinity Christian also scored in the first and the scoreboard read 1-1 until the fourth inning, when Trenton Vollink was hit by a pitch and scored on a triple by Dawson Schiphoff. A passed ball allowed Schiphoff to score.

A two-out rally in the sixth gave H-M-S two insurance runs. Keith DeBoer beat out a single, Schiphoff reached on an error and Jordan Ortega walked to load the bases. Heyn then drove in two runs with a single to make the score 5-2.

Cates walked the first Trinity Christian batter in the seventh and was replaced by Ben Haack. The leadoff batter eventually scored, but Haack struck out two batters and H-M-S recorded the final out on a fielder's choice.

"Ben did a great job of coming in and closing down the game for the save," Gloden acknowledged.

Leading hitters were Heyn and Schiphoff with two hits each.

The win gave H-M-S a final record of 3-7 in War Eagle Conference play and improved their overall record to 8-10.

• vs. South O'Brien

Opportunistic offense early in the game set the tone for H-M-S during a 12-4 win at South O'Brien on June 28.

Samuel Heyn's sacrifice fly drove in a run in the first inning. Taking advantage of what the Wolverines gave them and coming up with timely hits, the Hawks scored three runs in the second inning and increased the lead to 9-0 in the third.

South O'Brien scored two runs in the third inning and another in the sixth. Three hits in the seventh, including a two-run double by Ben Haack, gave H-M-S its final three runs.

The Wolverines loaded the bases in the seventh with two hits and a walk. Another hit drove in a run, but Dawson Schiphoff struck out the final two batters to end the game.

Starting pitcher Jordan Ortega earned the win. He allowed three runs and three hits, walked four and struck out seven.

H-M-S finished with 10 hits, including three by Haack, two each by Trenton Vollink and Ortega, a double by Heyn, and singles by Keaton Graves and Schiphoff.

• vs. George-Little Rock

MIKE PETERSEN/SENTINEL-NEWS

Jacob Cates allowed just four hits and struck out eight to earn the pitching win against Trinity Christian on June 30.

In a preview of their upcoming Class 1A district tourney opener, the Hawks scored during their first and last times at the plate to defeat George-Little Rock, 4-1, on June 29 in Hartley.

Consecutive RBI singles by Jacob Cates and Keaton Graves in the first inning gave H-M-S a 2-0 lead. In the sixth, Dawson Schiphoff's triple drove in a run, and he scored on a balk.

The Hawks missed a chance to break the game open one inning earlier, as they left the bases loaded.

Also contributing hits were Samuel Heyn, Jordan Ortega and Trenton Vollink.

The Mustangs took advantage of three walks and two passed balls to score their run in the first inning.

Heyn limited G-LR to just three hits, walked five and struck out nine. Schiphoff struck out two and allowed one hit to close out the game.