Linn-Mar Baseball

Lions rally twice for wins

Linn-Mar posted late rallies twice to win games Saturday en route to the title of its own invitational baseball tournament.

The Lions scored 10 runs over the fifth and sixth innings to beat Fort Madison, 12-7, in their first game, then tallied four times in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Muscatine, 9-5, in the championship game.

Michael Redmond drove in five runs against Fort Madison and Austin Stroschein had three RBIs against Muscatine.

In the opener, Linn-Mar scored six runs in the fifth inning and four in the sixth to erase a 7-2 deficit.

Redmond's bases-clearing triple highlighted the fifth inning and put the Lions ahead, 8-7. Redmond also dew a pair of bases loaded walks that brought home runs.

Linn-Mar built a 5-2 lead against Muscatine, but the Muskies scored once in the fifth and twice in the sixth to tie the game.

Stroschein's two-run double broke the tie in the Lions' four-run sixth.

Linn-Mar improved to 11-6 and ran its winning streak to six games. The Lions play at Jefferson in a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader Monday at 5 p.m.

LINN-MAR INVITATIONAL

Linn-Mar 12, Fort Madison 7
Muscatine 9, Ankeny 7
Ankeny 17, Fort Madison 1
Linn-Mar 9, Muscatine 5

GAME ONE

LINN-MAR (12)
N.Greve, 3 1 0 1, Bogert, 2 1 1 3, Redmond, 2 0 1 5, Stickney, 5 1 2 0, Stroschein, 4 1 2 0, Banks, 3 3 2 1, Blackford 2 1 1 0, Ollinger, 4 0 1 1, Kvach, 2 0 0 0, Stolley, 3 1 1 0, Roth, 0 1 0 1, A.Hunter, 0 2 0 0, Mortensen 1 0 0 0. Totals 31 12 11 12.

FORT MADISON (7)
Herren, 5 1 2 0, Fedley, 5 1 2 1, Wenteien, 3 2 2 0, Hunter, 4 1 2 1, Riley, 2 0 0 0, Mabeus, 4 0 0 1, Nagel, 3 1 0 0, Gray, 4 1 1 0, Basham, 2 0 1 2, Coppage, 1 0 0 0, Snaadt, 0 0 0 0, no name, 0 0 0 0. Totals 33 7 10 5.

Linn-Mar        020 064 0  --  12  11  4
Fort Madison  021 400 0  --    7  10  2

Wenteien, Riley (5), Coppage (5), no name (6). Stroschein, Stolley (6). W - Stroschein. L - Wenteien. 2B - Ollinger, Hunter. 3B - Redmond. SB - Bogert, A.Hunter, Fedlev, Gray.


GAME FOUR

MUSCATINE (5)
Moss, 4 2 1 0, Calvert, 4 1 4 1, Freilinger, 4 0 1 0, Anderson, 3 1 1 1, Herman, 2 1 1 0, Kovach, 2 0 0 0, Wagner 3 0 0 1, Berkeurper, 2 0 0 0, Lothspeich, 2 0 1 0, Jones, 1 0 1 1, Torres, 1 0 0 0. Totals 28 5 10 4.

LINN-MAR (9)
Greve, 2 1 1 2, Bogert, 4 1 2 1, Redmond, 3 1 0 0, Stickney, 3 1 1 0, Stroschein, 3 1 1 3, Roth, 3 1 2 1, Stolley, 4 1 3 1, Banks, 2 0 0 0, Strellner, 3 0 0 0, Mortensen, 0 1 0 0, Bettmann, 0 1 0 0.  Totals 27 9 10 8.

Muscatine   200 012 0 --  5  10  2
Linn-Mar    040 104 x --  9  10  1

McConnaha, Kovach (1), Torres (5). Stolley, Hillsenbeck (6). W - Hillsenbeck. L - Torres. 2B - Bogert, Stroschein, Roth, Stolley. SB - Moss 2, Calvert, Greve 2.

Greve tosses 2-hitter as Lions bash Warriors

Any high school pitcher loves run support from his offensive buddies. Linn-Mar provided Nate Greve with a mountain of it Friday night, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning and giving Greve a chance to relax.

As it turned out, Greve’s idea of relaxing was to toss a two-hit shutout.

Greve made quick work of the Washington lineup and so did Linn-Mar, squashing the Warriors 13-0 in five innings in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Linn-Mar.

Washington (3-13, 0-8) didn’t have much of a chance. Greve blanked the Warriors all night and struck out nine batters.

“He was fantastic,” said Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner. “His velocity was up tonight, and when he is throwing his fastball that well and locating it, he doesn’t really need to throw a lot of other stuff. He has been very good the past couple of outings.”

Greve started fast, retiring Washington’s first three batters in order in the top of the first. Then Linn-Mar came to the plate.

Greve, who also played the role of leadoff hitter, began the inning with a line-drive single to left field. The Lions wouldn’t stop until six runs had crossed the plate. Michael Redmond, Austin Stroschein and Keaton Blackford all had RBIs for Linn-Mar in the first and it opened a wide gap for Greve and the Lion defense.

“We just stayed focused and waited for our pitch,” said Redmond. “We have been taking good hacks all week and we just stayed with our approach, and everything turned out well.”

Greve worked quickly on the Warrior hitters, keeping them off balance. The first Washington hit came in the third inning when Johnny Dobbs lined a shot barely over shortstop Jack Strellner’s glove.

The only other hit Greve allowed was in the fourth inning when Will Rings hit a dribbler down the third base line, which basically was a swinging bunt.

“I was just mixing up pitches, and working both inside and outside with our catcher,” said Greve. “It was working out pretty well.”

Linn-Mar (9-6, 6-2) put one run on the board in the second when Stroschein collected another RBI single, pushing the Lions up 7-0.

Linn-Mar exploded again in the fourth. Catcher Austin Banks belted a two-run double to left field that highlighted a six-run frame. The Lions batted through their lineup again, and five players collected a hit in the fourth inning as the Lions went ahead 13-0.

Greve returned to the mound in the top of the fifth and retired the Warrior batters in order, enacting the mercy rule.

“I think he (Greve) relaxed a little bit once he saw that early run support,” said Redmond. “And seeing him pitch well really gets us more comfortable at the plate.”

Blackford went 2-for-2 with two doubles, Stroschein was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Kevin Bogert was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

“I thought we really kept the approach that we want to see,” said Lechner. “The hitters did a good job of being disciplined at the plate and staying within themselves and just hitting line drives.”

WASHINGTON (0)
Hogg, 2b, 3 0 0 0, G.Dostal, p, 2 0 0 0, N.Dostal. ss, 2 0 0 0, Gillis, 1b, 1 0 0 0, Burdt, rf, 2 0 0 0, Rings, c, 2 0 1 0, Troendle, cf, 2 0 0 0, Thulen, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Thorson, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Dobbs, dh, 2 0 1 0, Hand, rf, 0 0 0 0. Totals  18 0 2 0.

LINN-MAR (13)
Greve, p, 3 1 1 0, Ollinger, dh, 1 0 1 2, Bogert, rf, 3 2 2 0, Wyant, dh, 1 0 0 0, Redmond, cf, 2 2 1 1, Stickney, lf, 2 1 1 0, Stroschein, 3b, 3 2 2 3, Roth, 2b, 1 1 0 0, Kvach, 2b, 1 0 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 3 1 1 0, Banks, c, 3 2 1 2, Blackford, dh, 2 1 2 1, Strellner, ss, 0 0 0 0. Totals  25 13 12 9.

Washington   000 00 -   0  2
Linn-Mar        610 6x - 13 12

G. Dostal, Hand and Rings. Greve and Banks. W - Greve. L - Dostal. 2B - Banks, Blackford 2, Ollinger.  3B - Redmond. SB - Bogert 2, Bettman, Stickney.

Wyant shines as Lions top Warriors

After the first inning Thursday night, the Washington baseball team looked promising. Pitcher Noah Dostal sat Linn-Mar’s first three hitters down in order and then the Warriors came to the plate and scored one run on two hits.

That didn’t sit well with Linn-Mar. It especially didn’t sit well with Lion pitcher Justin Wyant. He used that first inning as fuel and didn’t allow a run the rest of the night, pitching a complete game four-hitter.

Along with some solid offensive and defensive support from his teammates, Wyant propelled Linn-Mar past the Warriors, 7-1, at the Washington baseball field.

Wyant got off to a slow start when the Warriors' first batter of the game, Robert Hogg, lined a single into right field. Hogg scored two batters later when Will Rings hit a soft shot just over the first baseman’s head for an RBI single.

But after Washington took the 1-0 lead, Wyant slammed the door shut. He allowed no more runs and only two Warrior hits for the remainder of the game, and both of those hits were infield singles.

“I was just trying to pump strikes and get on top of hitters,’’ he said. “I wanted to let my defense do the work.”

And his defense was working very well. The Lions committed no errors and had a handful of pretty defensive plays.

Lion shortstop Jack Strellner was a vacuum, chasing down any ball in his vicinity. With Washington down to its final two outs in the seventh inning, Warrior hitter Johnny Dobbs came to the plate with a runner on first. Dobbs hit a laser right to Strellner, who fielded it seamlessly and turned a game ending 6-4-3 double play with Lion second baseman Michael Redmond.

Wyant also had some major support from his bat-wielding friends. After the sluggish first inning, Linn-Mar recovered with ferocity and posted five runs in the second. With the bases loaded full of Lions, left fielder Nate Greve stepped to the plate and proceeded to clear them with a triple into center field.

Lion cleanup hitter Mitch Stickney led off the third inning with a solo home run over the left field fence, putting them up 6-1. The Lions added another run in the seventh.

Wyant applauded both the offensive and defensive effort from his teammates. “Our guys were sitting on those first pitches and just hitting the kinds of pitches that they want,” he said. “We also had pretty solid defense tonight. And we stayed strong even though we got down early.”

Wyant should be applauded right along with them. He pitched all seven innings, mixing a sharp curve with a quick fastball. He struck out eight batters.

Granted, it's a little easier to get through Washington’s lineup now because of the absence of slugger A.J Puk, who is sidelined with a thumb injury, but Wyant’s performance was stellar nonetheless.

Linn-Mar (8-6, 5-2) returns home to host Washington (3-12, 0-7) Friday night.

LINN-MAR (7)
Greve, lf, 4 1 2 3, Bogert, cf, 3 0 1 1, Redmond, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Stickney, rf, 3 2 1 1, Stroschein, 3b, 3 1 1 0, Banks, c, 3 0 0 1, Blackford, dh, 2 1 0 0, Roth, dh, 1 0 0 0, Wyant, p, 0 0 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 2 1 1 0, Strellner, ss, 3 1 0 0. Totals 28 7 6 6.

WASHINGTON (1)
Hogg, ss, 2 0 1 0, Dostal, p, 3 1 0 0, Rings, c, 3 0 1 1, Gillis, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Burdt, rf, 3 0 1 0, Troendle, cf, 3 0 1 0, Rogers, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Thorson, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Dobbs, dh, 3 0 0 0, Hand, lf, 0 0 0 0.  Totals 25 1 4 1.

Linn-Mar          051 000 1 - 7 6 0
Washington     100 000 0 - 1 4 2

Wyant and Banks. Dostal, Troendle (4) and Rings. W - Wyant. L - Dostal. 3B - Greve, Stroschein. HR- Stickney. SB - Stickney, Stroschein (2), Stolley.

Linn-Mar wallops Clinton, 14-0

CLINTON - Austin Stroschein drove in five runs Wednesday night as the Linn-Mar Lions drubbed Clinton, 14-0, in five innings.

Stroschein went 2-for-2 and scored three runs. Kevin Bogert was 2-for-2 and scored twice for the Lions (7-6). Jacob Stolley went 2-for-3.

Keaton Blackford pitched four shutout innings for the victory and drove in two runs. Jack Strellner also had two RBIs.

LINN-MAR (14)
Greve, lf, 3 2 1 1, Bogert, rf, 2 2 2 1, Redmond, cf, 2 2 0 0, Stickney, dh, 3 1 1 0, Stroschein, 3b, 2 3 2 5, Banks, c, 4 0 0 0, Blackford, p, 2 0 1 2, Wyant, ph, 1 0 0 0, Roth, 2b, 2 1 1 1, Kvach, 2b, 0 1 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 3 1 2 1, Strellner, ss, 1 1 1 2, Kane, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 25 14 11 13.

CLINTON (0)
Morehead, 1b, 3 0 2 0, Ebensberger, c, 3 0 0 0, Collender, 2b, 1 0 1 0, Driscoll, cf, 2 0 0 0, Stumbaugh, ss/p, 1 0 0 0, A.Caldwell, p/rf, 1 0 0 0, D.Caldwell, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Nolan, lf/ss, 1 0 0 0, Witherspoon, rf/lf, 2 0 0 0, Franks, p, 1 0 0 0. Totals 17 0 3 0.

Linn-Mar    413 24 - 14 11 0
Clinton      000 00 -  0   3 3

Blackford, Kane (5) and Banks. A.Caldwell, Stumbaugh (3), Hanks (5) and Ebensberger. W - Blackford. L - A.Caldwell. 2B - Bogert, Stroschein, Strellner, Morehead. 3B - Stickney. SB - Collender 2.