Clayton Ridge-Central baseball team has 2-2 week
Kahne Bolsinger rounds third base, en route to scoring a run in a War Eagle victory over Postville. Clayton Ridge-Central swept the Pirates in a doubleheader. (Photos by Jarod Bormann)
Elliot Kelly eyes a pitch in the first game of a doubleheader against South Winn.
Max Nuehring struck out two batters in three innings in a War Eagle loss to South Winn.
Jack Scherf tries to tag out a Warrior runner in last week's doubleheader.
Carson Ruegnitz had one inning of work against South Winn.
Pinch runner Colton Hoeger stands ready at third base in a game last week versus the Warriors.
Owen Hammersland earned a win in relief in game one against Postville.
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
The Clayton Ridge-Central baseball team opened last week with a tough doubleheader against South Winneshiek, but later rebounded with two wins over Postville.
The War Eagles kept game one against South Winn close the first two innings, down by a single run. However, the Warrior bats put up four runs in the bottom of the third inning and another eight in the bottom of the fourth, resulting in a 13-0 loss for CR-C.
The War Eagle offense recorded two hits, one by Braxton Bormann and the other from Kahne Bolsinger.
Defensively, the War Eagles limited the amount of stolen bases to just two, while throwing out another steal attempt, but the fielding committed five errors, leading to five unearned runs.
From the mound, Max Nuehring and Carson Ruegnitz combined for four innings, with three strikeouts and four walks.
The first inning of game two closed without a score, but the Warrior bats took over in the second, putting up nine runs in an 11-0 South Winn victory. The War Eagles finished with three hits, including a single apiece by Bolsinger and Jack Scherf and Owen Ludovissy notching a double.
The CR-C defense cut its game two errors to just one, as a trio of pitchers—Owen Hammersland, Colton Hoeger and Caden Fette—combined for four innings of work and gave up 10 runs.
“Those are the kind of teams we will need to beat in order to make a run later in the year,” coach Casey Zarr said.
Things improved for the War Eagles in their doubleheader against the Postville on May 25, as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead in game one, before falling behind 3-2 heading into the fourth inning and 4-3 at the end of the fifth. CR-C then scored once in the top of the sixth to close the gap to one run, before putting on the rally caps in the top of the seventh to drive across three runs for a 6-4 win.
At the plate, Bormann went 2-4 with an RBI and Bolsinger went 2-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Hammersland went 1-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases, while Ludovissy went 1-3, including a double. The offense hit .250 off Pirate pitching, stole nine bases and induced two walks.
On the mound, Scherf and Hammersland combined for nine strikeouts, with Hammersland getting the win in relief. They held the Pirate offense to a .171 batting average and gave up just six hits.
The second half of the doubleheader didn’t require any late-game heroics, as the War Eagles pounded the Pirates from the start, putting up seven runs in the first inning. They followed with seven runs in the second inning and six in the third to take a 20-3 win.
Freshman Seth Kregel took the W on the mound, after striking out two and only walking one, aided by what Zarr said was “really solid defense behind him.”
In the batter’s box, Bormann went 4-4 with three hits, including a double, a stolen base and four RBIs. Bolsinger was 2-2 with two RBIs, Ludovissy 1-3 with three RBIs and Scherf 1-2 with an RBI.
The War Eagles now sit at 3-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play. They headed to Turkey Valley May 30 for a doubleheader, and will close the week Friday, June 2, against Edgewood-Colesburg.
