Prairie Baseball

Prairie splits wild twinbill with Wahawks

Waterloo West entered Monday night's Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader against Prairie with zero league victories in its first seven chances.

That drought ended as the Wahawks and Prairie Hawks split a high-scoring twinbill at Prairie.

Waterloo West won the first game, 18-8. Prairie rebounded and captured the nightcap, 9-6.

The first game was a slugfest from the opening pitch. The Wahawks sent 11 men to the plate in the first inning and scored seven times on five hits. Prairie starter Bryce Alberts lasted only nine batters and recorded just one out while giving up seven earned runs.

The Hawks (10-8, 6-4) fought back with four runs in the second, but gave three back in the top of the fourth to make the score 10-4. Prairie scratched out four more runs in the bottom half of the fourth to get within two, 10-8.

That would be as close as the Hawks would get. They lost the opener by virtue of the 10-run rule in six innings. Waterloo West finished with 17 hits in game one as every one of its nine starters recorded a safety.

“When a team pours out 17 hits there is not much you can do, with the exception of hoping they hit it right to you,” said Prairie Coach Matt Thede.

Game two was a different story for the Hawks. Waterloo West jumped on the board for a 2-0 lead, but the Hawks unloaded in the third with seven runs on five hits. The Hawks had four consecutive two-out, run-scoring hits by Tyler Butz, Trey Beckman, Alberts and Tyler Votroubek.

Brennan Hammer was not as sharp as he had been in previous outings but he was good enough to get the win, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up three earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts.

Alberts, the game-one starter, was asked to close the nightcap and came into a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the top of the seventh with the Hawks clinging to a 9-6 lead. He promptly got Wahawk first basemen Matt Ohrt to ground into the 4-6-3 game-ending double-play.

When asked about the difference between game one and game two for the Hawks, Alberts said, “I think it is just lack of focus. We are all mature kids but we need to grow up as a team, and regain that focus, and just play baseball.”

GAME 1

WATERLOO WEST (18)
Brown, cf, 4 2 1 0, Kullen, rf, 5 3 3 1, Vaughn, p/ss, 4 2 2 0, Fricke, c, 3 4 2 4, Ohrt, 1b, 5 1 2 3, Jenkins, 3b, 3 2 2 3, Evans, lf, 5 1 2 3, Price, dh, 4 1 2 2, Medina, 2b, 0 0 0 0, McClain, ss/2b, 2 2 1 2. Totals 35 18 17 18.

PRAIRIE (8)
Velvick, cf, 4 2 2 1, Mougin, ss, 2 2 0 0, Hammer, rf, 2 1 1 2, Butz, 3b, 2 1 0 2, Votroubek, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Peters, 1b, 1 0 0 0, Carlson, 2b, 4 1 3 0, Beckman, lf, 3 0 0 0, Pond, c, 2 0 0 0, Alberts, p, 0 0 0 0, Steffens, p, 2 0 0 1. Totals 25 8 6 6.

Waterloo West     700 362 – 18 17
Prairie                  040 400 –  8   6

Vaughn, Jenkins (4) and Fricke. Alberts, Steffens (1), Henry (5) and Pond. W - Vaughn. L - Alberts. 2B - Price (2), Fricke, Kullen, Velvick. 3B-Vaughn. HR - Fricke.

GAME 2

WATERLOO WEST (6)
Brown, cf, 3 0 0 0, Kullen, rf/p, 4 2 1 0, Vaughn, ss, 3 3 3 2, Fricke, p, 3 0 1 1, Ohrt, 1b, 4 0 1 1, Jenkins, c, 3 0 0 0, Evans, lf, 2 0 0 0, Price, dh, 3 0 1 0, Heyerhoff, 3b, 0 0 0 0, McClain, 2b, 2 0 0 0. Totals 27 6 7 4.

PRAIRIE (9)
Velvick, cf, 3 1 2 1, Carlson, 2b, 3 1 1 0, Mougin, ss, 2 1 1 0, Hammer, p, 3 0 0 0, Adams, p, 1 0 0 0, Butz, c, 2 2 2 1, Dean, c, 0 0 0 0, Beckman, dh, 2 1 1 1, Davison, lf, 2 0 0 0, Alberts, 3b/lf/p, 3 2 2 2, Votroubek, 1b, 2 1 1 2, Schulte, rf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 26 9 10 7.

Waterloo West     200 103 0 – 6  7
Prairie                  007 020 x - 9 10

Fricke, Kullen (6) and Jenkins. Hammer, Adams (6), Alberts (7) and Butz. W - Hammer. L - Fricke. S - Alberts. 2B - Kullen, Vaughn (3), Beckman, Velvick, Butz.

Prairie splits twinbill at Wahlert

DUBUQUE - The Prairie Hawks split a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Dubuque Wahlert on Friday.

Ty Mougin went 2-for-3, slugged a home run and drove in three runs as Prairie won the opener, 7-6. Tyler Butz and Dylan Pond also had two hits for the Hawks and Jason Velvick knocked in two runs in the first game.

Wahlert captured the nightcap, 11-6.

Tyler Butz hit a home run for Prairie in the second game.

GAME 1

PRAIRIE (7)
Velvick,cf, 4 2 1 2, Mougin, ss/p, 3 1 2 3, Hammer, 1b, 3 0 0 1, Butz, 3b/ss, 3 1 2 0, Beckman, dh, 2 0 0 0, Votroubek, dh, 2 1 0 0, Davison, lf, 3 0 0 0, Wagner, ph, 1 0 0 0, Pond, c, 4 1 2 1, Schulte, rf, 3 0 0 0, Carlson, 2b, 2 1 1 0. Totals 30 7 8 7.

WAHLERT (6)
Nauman, p/lf, 3 1 0 0, Ruden, rf, 3 0 0 0, Oglesby, cf, 2 2 1 1, N.Hoffman, 3b, 2 2 2 0, M.Hoffman, c, 4 1 2 1, Klosterman, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Gasper, dh, 2 0 0 1, Dittmer, dh, 1 0 0 0, Leubka, 1b, 4 0 1 1, Launspach, lf, 3 0 1 1. Totals 26 6 7 5.

Prairie        010 015 0 - 7 8 0
Wahlert     100 002 3 - 6 7 2

Dean, Alberts (6), Mougin (7) and Pond. Nauman, Ploessl (7) and M.Hoffman. W - Dean. L - Nauman. 2B - M.Hoffman. HR - Mougin. SB - Carlson, Pond, Leubka, Oglesby.

GAME 2

PRAIRIE (6)
Velvick, cf, 2 1 0 0, Mougin, ss, 4 1 2 1, Hammer, rf, 2 2 1 1, Votroubek, 1b, 4 1 1 0, Carlson, 2b, 4 0 2 0, Beckman, dh, 3 0 0 1, Alberts, 3b/lf, 3 0 0 0, Pond, c, 2 0 0 1, Davison, lf, 1 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 2 1 1 1. Totals 27 6 7 5.

WAHLERT (11)
Nauman, dh, 3 1 0 0, Ruden, 2b/p, 4 3 3 2, Oglesby, cf, 3 3 0 0, N.Hoffman, 3b, 3 1 0 1, M.Hoffman, rf, 4 2 3 5, Klosterman, c, 4 0 1 1, Gasper, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Leubka, p, 1 1 0 0, Ploessl, lf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 28 11 8 9.

Prairie        400 011 0 -  6 7 2
Wahlert     203 420 x - 11 8 1

Adams, Steffens (4) and Pond. Leubka, Ruden (5) and Klosterman. W - Leubka. L - Adams. 2B - Ruden, Klosterman, M.Hoffman. 3B - Mougin. HR - Butz, Ruden, Hoffman. SB - Carlson 2, Alberts, Nauman.

Prairie clipped by North Scott, 6-4

ELDRIDGE - The Prairie Hawks fell victim to the long ball Wednesday night.

North Scott hit three home runs and defeated the Hawks, 6-4, in a non-conference baseball game in Eldridge.

Wyatt Moseley, Eric Huber and Trey Ogden cleared the fences for North Scott (6-2). The Lancers enjoyed a 6-1 lead after five innings and survived a three-run uprising by the Hawks in the sixth.

Ty Mougin went 3-for-4 for Prairie (8-6). Tyler Votroubek was 2-for-4.

PRAIRIE (4)
Davison, cf, 1 1 1 0, Velvick, pr/cf, 1 0 0 1, Mougin, ss, 4 0 3 1, Hammer, 1b/rf, 4 0 0 0, Carlson, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Votroubek, p/1b, 4 1 2 0, Beckman, rf, 3 1 1 0, Butz, c/3b, 3 1 1 1, Alberts, lf, 1 0 0 0, Pond, dh/c, 3 0 1 0. Totals 28 4 9 3.

NORTH SCOTT (6)
Brade, 2b, 3 1 1 0, Pumphrey, cf/lf, 3 1 2 0, Engler, 3b, 4 1 2 1, Kinney, 1b, 1 0 0 0, Ogden, 1b, 2 1 1 2, Guerrero, lf, 2 0 0 0, Sorenson, rf, 3 0 1 0, Moseley, c, 3 1 1 1, Breneman, ss, 3 0 1 0, Huber, dh, 3 1 1 1. Totals 27 6 10 5.

Prairie            100 003 0 - 4 9 1
North Scott   200 220 x - 6 10 1

Votroubek, Schulte (6) and Butz, Pond (6). Hall, Fleetwood (6) and Moseley. W - Hall. L - Votroubek. 2B - Mougin, Engler (2). HR - Moseley, Huber, Ogden. SB - Davison.

Hammer sparkles as Hawks top No. 1 Cougars

Cedar Rapids Prairie dropped out of the Class 4A baseball rankings this week, but the Hawks don't care a whole lot about that.

They know they have the ingredients for a good club this year and they proved it Tuesday night.

Brennan Hammer carried a shutout into the seventh inning and Prairie beat top-ranked Kennedy, 3-1, in a crisp Mississippi Valley Conference game at Prairie.

Hammer went the distance and handcuffed the Cougars most of the night with 11 strikeouts, but it got a little dicey in the seventh inning when Kennedy plated its only run and had runners at second and third with only one out.

Josh Jahlas, who had struck out three straight times against Hammer, walloped a line drive to deep center field that would have scored both runs and tied the game with two outs, but Jason Velvick reacted quickly and made a leaping catch to end the contest.

Hammer's immediate thought when Jahlas hit that ball was, "Oh, crap."

"When I saw it off the bat I got worried," said Hammer, a talented lefthander, "but thank god I have a good center fielder."

Hammer effectively mixed his fastball, curveball and changeup all night. The Cougars had particular trouble with his late-breaking curveball, which would approach the plate at the knees and drop to the batter's ankles at the last second.

"The umpire was commenting how much his ball was moving," said Prairie Coach Matt Thede. "Every single pitch had movement on it. And frankly against one of the top programs in the state, you're going to have to be like that."

Kennedy (9-2, 4-2) managed only two opposite-field hits in the first six innings, but the Cougars battled to the end.

Derek Jacobus led off the seventh with a triple down the right-field line and scored on a base hit by Brock Skow. Alex Hayden singled to left and Jared Staton bunted the runners to second and third with one out, but the rally ended there.

Hammer fanned Andrew Johnson for his 11th and final strikeout, then Jahlas hit his rocket to center field that looked like a two-run double when it left the bat.

"It was exciting to beat the No. 1 team in the state, but we respect them," said Hammer, who is already one of the Metro's top pitchers as a junior. "They're a great ball team. They do things right."

The Hawks beat Kennedy ace Hayden, an all-state pitcher last year as a junior. Hayden had mild control problems in the first inning when he walked the leadoff batter and hit the next man in the helmet with a breaking ball that didn't break.

Hammer hit a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0, Tyler Votroubek hit an RBI double to make it 2-0 and a Kennedy throwing error made it 3-0. Hayden needed 35 pitches to escape the first inning, but he found his groove and pitched a complete game.

"We got three runs in the first inning and that gave us some confidence," said Hammer.

Prairie (8-5, 4-2) gave Kennedy a tough game Monday night before falling 5-4 at Kennedy, then the Hawks finished the job Tuesday night. Thede said he enjoys playing the Cougars and matching wits with Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer.

"You have to bring your best," said Thede. "You have to play the best to be the best."

Kennedy played without cleanup hitter Devon Jacobus, who missed the game with a sore back.

KENNEDY (1)
Jahlas, cf, 4 0 0 0, Ambrosy, rf, 3 0 0 0, Bell, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Lizarraga,c, 3 0 0 0, Dk Jacobus, ss, 2 1 2 0, Skow, 3b, 2 0 1 1, Oltmann, pr, 0 0 0 0, Hayden, p, 3 0 1 0, Lloyd, cr, 0 0 0 0, Staton, dh, 2 0 0 0, A.Johnson, lf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 25 1 5 1.

PRAIRIE (3)
Velvick, cf, 2 1 0 0, Mougin, ss, 2 1 0 0, Hammer, p, 2 0 0 1, Carlson, 2b, 3 0 1 0, Votroubek, 1b, 3 1 2 1, Butz, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Alberts, lf, 3 0 0 0, Pond, c, 3 0 1 0, Davison, cr, 0 0 0 0, Schulte, rf, 2 0 1 0. Totals 23 3 6 2.

Kennedy    000 000 1 - 1 5 1
Prairie        300 000 x - 3 6 0

Hayden and Lizarraga. Hammer and Pond. W - Hammer. L - Hayden. 2B - Carlson, Votroubek. 3B - Dk Jacobus. SB - Dk Jacobus (2).