Prairie pitching was the difference Wednesday night as the Hawks shut out Waterloo East for 12 straight innings and swept a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Prairie.

The Hawks won the first game, 5-0, and took the nightcap, 11-0, in five innings.

Prairie pitchers struck out 19 batters in the doubleheader and allowed only three hits.

“Ten of our 13 losses have come against teams that were rated in the top 10, and we could have won some of those,” Prairie Coach Matt Thede said. “I think playing a lot of good teams early is really helping us now. Kids are turning a corner and playing with more confidence.”

Anthony Gagliardi pitched a two-hitter for Prairie in the opener with 10 strikeouts. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, when East got both its hits.

“I really mixed up my pitches tonight because I didn’t really feel like I had my good fastball,” Gagliardi said. “I got to thinking about that no-hitter a little bit and that first hit in the fifth kind of disappointed me.”

Gagliardi and D.J. Utley led the offensive attack in game one with a pair of hits. Gagliardi hit a solo homer and Utley contributed a two-run triple as the Hawks scored four runs in the fourth inning.

Prairie (14-13, 10-8) added a run in the fifth for its 5-0 cushion.

Bryce Alberts allowed only one hit and fanned eight batters for Prairie in the second game. He pitched the first four innings, then gave the ball to Drew Pond to finish the 11-0 victory.

The Hawks batted around and punched in five runs in the first inning of the nightcap, and that was all they really needed. They batted around again in the third inning.

Sam Joens, Utley and Gagliardi had two hits in game two. Utley belted a home run.

“All I saw was fastballs tonight, and that helped me get back into a grove,” Utley said.

Prairie hosts Cedar Falls Friday night and entertains Washington on Saturday to finish a busy eight-game week.

Waterloo East fell to 5-26 overall and 2-18 in the conference.

Game 1

WATERLOO EAST (0)
Frost, rf, 3 0 0 0, Wilson, c, 3 0 0 0, Rathe, lf, 2 0 0 0, Magnuson, ss, 3 0 0 0, Mayer, dh, 3 0 1 0, Boehmer, 3b, 0 0 0 0, Billings cf, 3 0 1 0, Schutte, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Berry, 2b, 2 0 0 0. Totals 24 0 2 1.

PRAIRIE (5)
Butz, 3b, 4 1 1 1, Utley, 1b, 4 0 2 2, B. Carlson, 2b, 2 1 0 0, Hammer, dh, 3 0 1 1, Joens, cf, 0 0 0 0, Gagliardi, p, 2 1 2 1, Votroubek, rf, 3 0 0 0, D. Carlson, c, 3 0 1 0, Allard, cr, 0 1 0 0, Boots, lf, 2 0 1 0, Mougin, ss, 1 1 0 0. Totals 24 5 8 0.

Waterloo East   000 000 0 - 0 2
Prairie               040 010 x - 5 8

Sahr and Wilson. Gagliardi and D. Carlson. W - Gagliardi. L - Sahr. 3B - Utley. HR - Gagliardi. SB - B. Carlson, Gagliardi, Allard, Boots.

Game 2

WATERLOO EAST (0)
Magnuson, ss, 2 0 0 0, Rathe, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Sahr, p, 2 0 0 0, Mayer, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Johnson, rf, 2 0 0 0, Billings, cf, 2 0 1 0, Wilson, c, 2 0 0 0, Schutte, dh, 2 0 0 0, Berry, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Frost, lf, 1 0 0 0. Totals 17 0 1 3.

PRAIRIE (11)
Butz, 3b, 3 1 0 0, Meyer, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Utley, dh, 2 3 2 1, Alberts, p, 1 0 0 0, B. Carlson, 2b, 3 1 1 1, Whitters, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Hammer, 1b, 2 1 1 1, Dy. Pond, 1b, 1 0 0 0, Gagliardi, rf, 2 2 2 2, D. Carlson, c, 3 0 1 1, Joens, cf, 3 1 2 1, Boots, lf, 2 1 1 0, Allard, lf, 0 1 0 0, Mougin, ss, 2 0 0 0, Votroubek, 1 0 1 0, Dr. Pond, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 11 11 1.

Waterloo East  000 00 - 0 1
Prairie             515 0x – 11 11

Sahr, Magnuson(2), Frost (4) and Wilson. Alberts, Dr. Pond(5) and D. Carlson.  W - Alberts. L - Sahr. 2B - Billings, Hammer, Gagliardi, D. Carlson, Joens, Boots. HR - Utley. SB - Gagliardi