Iowa Valley League

Big innings lift Walford to sweep

WATKINS - The Walford Hogs came into Sunday's doubleheader with Watkins at the bottom of the Iowa Valley League standings.

Coach Kevin Moser has had to juggle his roster for a variety of reasons and it showed as the Hogs got off to a 1-7 start through the  first four weeks of league play.

That changed on Sunday. Walford used a five-run fourth-inning outburst in the opener to post a 6-1 win, then rallied from a 7-2 deficit in the nightcap, scoring six again in the fifth inning en route to an  11-7 triumph at Gabe Kuester Memorial Ball Park.

After a pair of tough losses last week at home to Red Top, the Hogs showed Sunday they will be a force as the second half of the league schedule begins next week.

"A lot of these guys are college ballplayers and they know how to fight and never give up," Moser said.

The roster has changed quite a bit since the opening week of the season. Moser admitted it was tough to build any real team chemistry.

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Fairfax sweeps IVL games from Watkins

WATKINS - Fairfax got more good pitching Sunday and swept an Iowa  Valley League doubleheader from Watkins, 5-1 and 2-1, at Watkins.

Austin Czerwiec raised his record to 4-0 for Fairfax with the victory in Game 1. He struck out eight batters and was named the IVL Pitcher of the Week.

Alex Hayden belted a two-run homer in the seventh inning for Fairfax.

Blake Hargens collected the victory for Fairfax in Game 2 with help from Adam Lloyd, who got the save. Hayden had the game-winning hit with an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Fairfax raised its record to 7-1 and sits alone in first place.

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"Hellerball" alive and well in IVL

WALFORD - Just two short weeks ago, the University of Iowa baseball team came within an eyelash of hosting an NCAA Super Regional.

Many of the Hawkeyes on the field during that memorable weekend of baseball in Houston were back at it again Sunday as members of the Red  Top and Walford teams in the Iowa Valley League.

And, as fate would have it, two Hawkeye hurlers went against each other in the opening game of a doubleheader. Red Top's Cole McDonald  and Walford's Elijah Wood both showed that Iowa fans should feel good about the future of the pitching staff for Coach Rick Heller.

In the end, it was McDonald who prevailed, with a huge assist from reliever Jack Greene in the bottom of the seventh as Red Top held on for a 4-3 win. Coach Adam Sadler's team completed the sweep, taking the nightcap, 6-3, behind a complete game effort from Anthony Gagliardi.

The win was also sweet for McDonald as he got the win in front of his father, Cory, who, along with the rest of the McDonald family, made a surprise trip to watch his son pitch on Father's Day.

"I knew my grandpa would be here," McDonald said. "I didn't know my family was going to come and watch. It was nice that they took the time to drive down."

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Roby tosses 2-hitter for Norway

WALFORD - Otis Roby tossed a two-hit shutout as the Norway Bandits blanked the Walford Hogs, 2-0, in the first game on an Iowa Valley League doubleheader Saturday at Walford.

Norway cruised in the second game, 15-3.

Roby had two hits in the 2-0 victory. Colton Rose and Caleb Stekl collected RBIs for Norway.

Ty Mougin pitched a four-hitter for Walford in the setback. Bryce Grimm had two hits for the Hogs.

JT Sole collected four hits, four RBIs and four runs for Norway in the second game. Christian Stekl had two hits and four runs. Tony Salato scored three times. Roby had two more hits and scored twice. Jordan Hanlon pitched a complete game for the Bandits.

Brennan Hammer had two hits for Walford in the second game.

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Jamesson delivers for Watkins (twice)

NORWAY - Cale Jamesson belted a two-run homer to give Watkins a two-run lead over Red Top in extra innings Sunday.

Then he did it again.

Jamesson's back-to-back blasts helped the Mudhens defeat Red Top, 5-3, in 10 innings on a hot, windy day in Norway.

Red Top dominated the second game in the Iowa Valley League doubleheader, 9-0.

Watkins and Red Top were locked in a 1-1 battle in the opener when Jamesson hit a two-run rocket over the left-field fence to give the Mudhens a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth.

Red Top tied the game, 3-3, in the bottom of the eighth, but Jamesson smacked another two-run shot to left field in the top of the 10th and this time it gave the Mudhens the lead for good.

"Being able to come up in that position again was really fun," said Jamesson, a Benton Community grad who played for Cornell College this past season as a freshman. "I put everything I had into it."

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Van Scoyoc boosts Norway in IVL

NORWAY - Arizona State freshman Spencer Van Scoyoc struck out 10  batters in 5 1/3 innings Sunday to help Norway top Watkins, 10-2, in  the first game of an Iowa Valley League doubleheader in Norway.

Otis Roby, Tony Salato and J.T. Sole belted home runs for Norway. Roby  and Salato had three hits.

The Bandits took control with five runs in the fifth inning.

Watkins rebounded with an 8-2 victory in the second game behind a  complete game by Luke Franzenburg. DJ Utley and Phil Velez socked home  runs for the Mudhens. Jonny Frese and Conner Frese had two hits for  the winners.

Travis Mueller hit a home run for Norway.

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Czerwiec, Bell propel Fairfax

The hotter it is, the better Fairfax's Austin Czerwiec seems to pitch.

And it would have been hard to be any sharper that Czerwiec was during  Sunday's Iowa Valley League contest against Red Top.

"I love the heat," the former Mount Mercy and Muscatine High School  standout said Sunday after he allowed just one hit in a 7-0 win over  the defending IVL champions at Herkleman Field on the Kennedy High  School campus. "It helps keep my arm nice and relaxed and I don't  have to worry about it tightening up at all."

Fairfax forfeited the second game because they did not have an umpire available. Both teams are now 3-1.

Czerwiec allowed a single to lead-off hitter Cal Clark in the first  inning and little else the rest of the way. He struck out nine, walked  one and hit another. He was able to keep Red Top's hitters off balance  with his variety of deliveries.

"I had my curveball working, my slider working and I was locating my  fastball well," he said. "If I have all my pitches working, it seems  like everything else is working too."

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Pauli can't get enough baseball

NORWAY - There is no such thing as too much baseball for Casey Pauli.

If the former Kirkwood and Wartburg infielder doesn’t get his fill of the game as an assistant coach for defending 4A champion Cedar Rapids Prairie or as the coach for his 6-year-old son Caden’s team, there is always his playing career to fill the void.

The 33-year-old Pauli suited up for another season of Iowa Valley League baseball on Sunday, helping Red Top salvage a doubleheader split with Norway with a 15-10 win in Game 2.

“There’s never too much baseball,” Pauli said. “It doesn’t get old, I just love being around the game in any way I can.”

Baseball has been a big part of his life for as long as Pauli can remember. For a decade and a half, the Iowa Valley League has helped feed Pauli’s love for baseball.

He started playing in the league in 2002 and now serves as a sort of player/coach for Red Top.

“I still get to play a little bit but I’m moving more into the coaching side, if I can still hang with these young bucks that’s all right,” he said. “It’s just fun to still be out here playing the best game.”

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Bell helps Fairfax sweep IVL twinbill

WALFORD - Cody Bell hit two home runs and picked up the victory in Game 2 as Fairfax swept Walford, 11-0 and 11-1, on Opening Day in the Iowa Valley League Sunday in Walford.

Bell and Sammy Lizarraga belted two-run homers in the first game. Tyler Dralle, Steve Jensen and Alex Hayden had two hits for Fairfax, which exploded for eight runs in the fifth inning.

Austin Czerwiez allowed only one hit in five innings in the opener for Fairfax.

Bell socked another home run in the second game and was named the Iowa  Valley League Player of the Week for his overall performance as a hitter and pitcher.

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Iowa Valley League starts Sunday

The Iowa Valley League season will begin this Sunday, May 28 with doubleheaders at Norway, Watkins and Walford.

The Metro Sports Report will be providing extensive coverage again this season.

The season runs through July 30 and will be followed by the annual IABA state tournament that runs two weeks in August.

Six-time defending IVL champion Red Top, which also claimed the IABA state title in 2016, will again be joined in the league by teams from Fairfax, Norway, Walford, Watkins and Williamsburg.

Most of the the games are played as Sunday doubleheaders. There also are also Saturday twinbills planned for June 10 when Walford hosts Norway and the annual holiday doubleheader on July 8 with Norway playing at Watkins.

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