Things 'go sideways' for Hawks in district opening-round loss
Disappointed with the result of their final regular season game, the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn baseball team looked to get back on track as the Class 1A district baseball tournament got underway on July 12.
But that goal was not to be accomplished. George-Little Rock sent 20 batters to the plate in the third inning and scored all of its runs to hand H-M-S a disappointing 14-1 season-ending loss at Remsen.
"We had one inning where things started going sideways and it snowballed on us," said Hawk coach Jeremy Gloden.
The line score for the Mustangs' half of that inning was 14 runs, nine walks, five singles and three Hawk errors. The first 10 batters reached base and scored, and only three hitters who weren't retired failed to cross home plate.
The Hawks had an opportunity to score first, loading the bases in the second inning on a single by Jacob Cates and walks to Trenton Vollink and Nick Bronstad. But the next two hitters were retired to end the threat.
The only offensive highlight for H-M-S was Dawson Schiphoff's solo home run to right centerfield to lead off the fifth inning.
Overall, the Hawks had more walks (6) than hits (2). Vollink walked three times, Bronstad walked twice and Jordan Ortega also drew a bases on balls.
Ortega pitched the first two innings and allowed one hit. He was relieved after the first five G-LR hitters reached base in the third and came back to pitch later in the inning. He retired the final seven Mustangs in order. Overall, Ortega allowed four hits and five runs, walked three and struck out two.
Samuel Heyn recorded two outs in the third inning, during which he gave up nine runs and six walks.
"It was not the outcome we wanted or envisioned; a frustrating end for sure," Gloden admitted. "But we made a lot of good strides this season and we will continue to build on that for the future."
Those strides included a 7-2 finish to the regular season that featured a five-game winning streak. H-M-S's overall record of 10-12 was the best for the program since the 2014 season.
Building on the future will have to be done without three seniors: infielder/pitcher Ben Haack, pitcher/infielder Samuel Heyn and outfielder/pitcher Dawson Schiphoff.