Bond-Brady bash SWV

GREENFIELD — Tuesday’s Class 1A District 13 opener between Southwest Valley and hosts Nodaway Valley had all the makings of a thriller reminiscent of their first two matchups this year.

But Corbin Bond had other plans.

The senior stepped to the plate in the sixth inning against Timberwolves lefty Cole Swenson and annihilated a pitch over the fence in deep left-center field to the approving roar of the Wolverine dugout for a 6-2 lead. That exclamation point sounded the death knell for Southwest Valley in an 8-2 Wolverine win.

“I rounded first hard and then I saw their outfielders coming together at the wall and was like oh, … well … it felt really good. I couldn’t stop smiling,” Bond said.

The win pushed the Wolverines through to the district semifinals today (Thursday) against a Stanton squad that was pushed to the brink against Murray Tuesday in a 10-9 win before the Wolverines and T’Wolves took the field.

After Brady Hilpipre’s bomb to right-center field in the first inning, Hilpipre’s second homer of the season, Southwest Valley responded.

Eighth-grader Brendan Knapp’s third-inning double, passed a pulled in Thomas Britten in right, scored Aaron Armstrong (courtesy runner for Scotty Adcock). Two batters later, Dustin Lund singled through the left side of the infield for another run and a 2-1 lead.

The Wolverines retook the lead in the third when Tyler Vandewater’s single scooted past the left fielder, allowing Hilpipre and Spencer Thompson to race home. After two errors on the play, Vandewater was thrown out at home trying to race around all the bases.

Vandewater is now 7-for-9 with five RBIs over his last three games.

Cole Swenson and Bond buckled down on the hill until the sixth, when the Wolverines broke through for five runs against three SWV pitchers (Swenson, Lund, Knapp).

“Cole was pitching a great game,” SWV coach Stoney Gaule said. “He had two pitches that he put in the wrong spot tonight and that broke it open for them.”

Bond pitched six complete innings, he struck out six and walked two.

“He bounced back. He always has all year. It’s the game,” NV coach Dan Jameson said. “You try not to get too high and you can’t get too low either. He’s pitched against the best teams in the conference.”

Hilpipre finished off the game and allowed just one hit in the seventh to finish the contest.

“Against these guys, we haven’t really came out strong at the beginning,” Hilpipre said about the two one-run games SWV and NV have had this season. “I think this time we did a really good job of that. I think we were more fired up in the beginning before the game. We did a little team bonding up there (on the hill by the field) before the first game.”

Mason Mather also poked a two-run single a few batters after Bond’s homer for the game’s final score.

Hilpipre and Thompson both came around to score twice.

Southwest Valley ends its season with a 6-16 record and loses seniors Swenson, Jadon Bohn, Merik Gaule and Armstrong.

“We had a great season. I’m extremely excited about it, the progress we made and I’m excited for next year,” Gaule said.”

The Wolverines had Wednesday to put in work to prepare for Stanton, who is likely to trot out Drake Johnson, Donnie Weis (who pitched an inning Tuesday) to the mound.

“I think we have a lot of experience with a lot of harder schools, bigger schools,” Hilpipre said. “I think we have the plus.”

Nodaway Valley 8, Southwest Valley 2

R H E

SWV 002 000 0 — 2 6 3

NV 102 005 x — 8 4 2

SWV: Cole Swenson 6K 2BB, Dustin Lund (6) 1K 3BB, Brendan Knapp 1K 0BB and Scotty Adcock. Corbin Bond 7K 1BB, Brady Hilpipre 1K 1BB, and Tyler Vandewater. W — Bond (4-4). L— Frey (1-6). HR — NV: Brady Hilpipre 1 (2), Corbin Bond 1. 3B — none. 2B — SWV: Knapp 1. RBI — NV: Bond 3, Vandewater 2, Mather 2, Hilpipre 1. Multiple hitters — Ch: Reid Walters 2.