Sailors thrash Iowa Valley, 12-1

TROY MILLS - Waterloo Columbus leftfielder J.J. Krutsinger left his jersey at home Saturday night before the Sailors' Class 2A district baseball final against Iowa Valley.

That's about the only thing the Sailors were lacking as they routed the Tigers, 12-1, and charged ahead into substate play.

"I came here and I forgot my jersey," said Krutsinger, who went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. "Coach had to lend me his jersey, and I had a different number the whole time. People were cheering for number 3, and I'm wearing 21 the whole time."

The only numbers that really mattered to Sailor head coach Terry Goerdt were those on the field. Goerdt was pleased to see his team battle at the plate, especially with two strikes.

"That makes all the difference in the world," said Goerdt. "I tell the kids all the time they give you three strikes for a reason. Use all three of them."

Columbus took advantage of nearly every plate appearance, scoring 12 runs on 12 hits. The Sailors scored at least two runs in each of the first four innings.

"We came out with a real aggressive approach again tonight," said Goerdt. "We've been swinging the bats really well. The thing I like most about our kids at this point of the season is that they are not giving away any at-bats."

Krutsinger led off the game with a single, and Eric Bearbower followed with a walk. A single by Brett Watkins scored the first run for the Sailors, and two batters later Chris Knipp plated two more runs with a single. The early lead eased the nerves of Sailor starting pitcher Derrick Weber.

"It helped me relax a lot on the mound," said Weber.

Two costly errors by Iowa Valley led to a four-run second inning by Columbus. Pete Sullivan knocked home two runs on a double to deep center field to extend the Sailor lead to 6-0.

Columbus' pitchers held up their end of the deal, as well. Weber gave up four hits, held the Tigers scoreless and struck out six in four innings pitched. Sullivan pitched one inning of relief, allowing only one run while striking out two.

"Six (strikeouts) in four innings - that's all you can ask for in a district championship game," said Goerdt.

The Sailor defense was sparkling on the night, committing no errors while adding a few highlight reel plays. Watkins made a diving catch in center field to save a base hit. Second baseman Adam Card fielded a ground ball deep in the hole at second and made a spinning throw for a forceout at second base.

"The kids are having fun," said Goerdt. "It's high school baseball, and that's what it's about. We're playing hard and really enjoying it right now."

Contact Matt Sulentic at sportsdoor@wcfcourier.com

Columbus ab r h bi Iowa Valley ab r h bi

Krutsinger,lf 4 3 3 1 Olson,cf 3 0 1 0

Bearbower,ss 2 2 0 0 Svare,p-lf 3 0 0 0

Watkins,cf 3 1 2 3 Meier,ss 3 0 2 1

Weber,p 3 0 0 0 Cronbaugh,1b 3 0 0 0

Sullivan,rf-p 2 0 1 2 Vileta,c 2 0 1 0

Knipp,c 4 0 2 3 Enochsen,3b 1 0 0 0

Ratchford,dh 3 1 1 0 Schulze,lf-rf 2 0 1 0

Riley,3b 0 0 0 0 McCaw,rf-p 2 0 0 0

Ingles,1b 3 1 2 2 Yardley,2b 1 0 0 0

Card,2b 1 2 1 0 Hower,cr 0 1 0 0

Heit,cr 0 1 0 0

Draube,ph 1 0 0 0

Goerdt,ph 0 0 0 0

Schmidt,cr 0 1 0 0

Totals 26 12 12 11 Totals 20 1 5 0

Waterloo Columbus 343 20 - 12 12 0

Iowa Valley 000 01 - 1 5 3

E - Yardley 2. LOB - Columbus 7, Iowa Valley 5. SB - Weber. 2B - Sullivan, Ratchford, Ingles.

Pitching summary IP H R ER BB SO

Weber (W) 4 4 0 0 0 6

Sullivan 1 1 1 1 0 2

Iowa Valley

Svare (L) 1.1 6 6 5 2 2

McCaw 3.2 6 6 4 1 2

PB - Vileta 3, Knipp 2.

North Fayette keeps its cool, 4-3

DENVER - Nerves tend to fray when flawless play is required.

But Saturday, Dan Hovden's bunch was unflappable when it mattered most.

For a second straight game, the North Fayette baseball coach watched his club overcome in early deficit, as the Hawks staved off Sumner-Fredericksburg, 4-3, in nine innings in a Class 2A district final.

"We were in this situation Wednesday (against South Winneshiek)," said Hovden, "and that resiliency showed tonight.

"Now we've got our work cut out for us," said the North Fayette skipper, whose squad takes on highly regarded Dyersville Beckman Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Oelwein, in a substate showdown. Oddly enough, North Fayette and Beckman also met in the postseason in both basketball and football earlier this year.

On a serene Saturday evening at the Denver Athletic Complex, the lead see-sawed back and forth until North Fayette's Jake Grafenberg slid home with two outs in the final frame, following a wild pitch from stellar Sumner-Fredericksburg reliever Nolan Nuss.

"That slide home felt good," said Grafenberg, one of North Fayette's seven seniors. "We just put in some extra effort there in the extra innings, and won it."

Sumner-Fredericksburg's Nuss lashed a two-run single to left-center to start the night's scoring in the third inning, putting the Cougars up, 2-0.

And 8-0 Cougars ace Cody Leech cruised early, retiring the side in order in four of the game's first six frames. North Fayette (33-7) didn't register a hit until the home half of the fifth, when Scott Vierow slipped a single through the middle.

Fortunately for North Fayette, its ace, Kirby Hovden, was every bit Leech's equal, and seemed to get stronger as the game wore on. By the time the dust settled, Kirby Hovden had registered a complete-game four-hitter, striking out eight.

"He's our bell-cow - we follow him," Dan Hovden said of his son. "He leads the whole herd."

Not to be outdone, North Fayette's Brendan Johannsen resuscitated his squad's season in the seventh, tying things at 3-all courtesy a sacrifice fly.

Then, the contest's tooth-and-nail vibe was epitomized in the extra innings.

Sumner-Fredericksburg center-fielder Jordan Nuss extended the game beyond the eighth with a perfect strike to throw out a North Fayette runner at home plate.

But the Hawks were just a bit better, manufacturing a run in the ninth, which ended the season for nine Cougar seniors following a 31-5 campaign.

"Those guys brought our program from average to the top," said Sumner-Fredericksburg coach Tom Nuss. "We had the pieces, but they didn't fall (into place) tonight."

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com.

Sumner-Fred. ab r h bi North Fayette ab r h bi

N. Nuss,dh 3 0 1 2 Bry.Johannsen,ss 4 0 0 0

Teeling,1b 3 0 0 0 Gaskill,3b 3 0 0 0

Weltner,lf 3 0 0 0 K.Hovden,p 3 0 0 0

J.Nuss,cf 3 0 0 0 Moser,cf 2 1 0 0

Leech,p/1b 3 0 0 0 Vierow,dh 4 1 3 0

T.Wheeler,dp 0 1 0 0 T.Nesvik,c 0 0 0 0

Fagenbaum,rf 3 0 0 0 Grafenberg,1b 2 1 1 0

Kasemeier,rf 3 1 1 1 Wulfekuhle,ph 0 0 0 0

Harris,2b/ss 1 1 1 0 Michael,2b 0 0 0 0

Walls,ss/p 2 0 0 0 Brendan.Joh'sen 2 0 1 2

Mohs,pr 0 0 0 0 J.Nesvik,lf 2 0 0 0

Shea,ph 0 0 0 0

Totals 24 3 4 3 Totals 22 4 5 2

Sumner-Fredericksburg 002 000 100 - 3 4 1

North Fayette 000 010 201 - 4 5 2

E - Kasemeier; Gaskill, Hovden. DP - Sumner-Fred. 1.

LOB - Sumner-Fred. 4, N. Fayette 4. 2B- T. Harris.

HBP - N. Nuss. SH - Walls, Fagenbaum, J. Nuss; Bren. Johannsen, Grafenberg, Michael, Hovden.

SB - Wheeler, N. Nuss.

Pitching summary

North Fayette IP H R ER BB SO

K. Hovden (W) 9.0 4 4 3 3 8

Sumner-Fred. IP H R ER BB SO

C. Leech 6.0 3 1 1 3 4

N. Nuss (L) 2.1 2 3 1 4 0

Walls 0.2 0 0 0 0 0

WP - N. Nuss. T - 1:57.

Dons unload on Central City

WINTHROP - The bats of the Don Bosco baseball team exploded Saturday night as the Dons rolled to a 23-6 victory over Central City in Class 1A district play.

Eleven players collected hits for the Dons. Ryan Schares led the charge, going 4-for-4 with a double, home run, five RBIs and three runs scored.

Garrett Springer and Nate Springer each finished 3-for-4 and combined for five RBIs.

Collin Frampton, Klayton Breitbach and Clay Welter each collected two hits.

Welter was also stellar on the mound as he surrendered only one hit while striking out six Central City batters.

Don Bosco moves on to a substate final against second-ranked Kee High of Lansing Tuesday in Waverly.

Don Bosco 633 56 - 23 22 2

Central City 000 33 - 6 9 4

Welter, Breitbach (4) and Schares, Weber. Nolting, Ciha (1), Morrow (3) and Blythe. WP - Welter; LP - Nolting. HR - Don Bosco: Schares.

GLADBROOK-REINBECK 5, EAGLE GROVE 4 - At Class 2A action at Hampton, Tyson Dirks singled home Nick Peterson in the sixth inning to provide the winning run for the Rebels (21-6).

G-R starter Scott Benson finished with four shutout innings as Eagle Grove finished 22-6.

The Rebels move into Tuesday's substate final against St. Ansgar in Mason City.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 210 101 0 - 5 7 0

Eagle Grove 121 000 0 - 4 5 2

Scott Benson and Jacob Eckhoff; Ryan Lynn, Jeremy Rachu (6) and Brandon Maier. HR - EG, Rutherford.