June 29, 2024

BASEBALL: Wolverines top Cardinals for first baseball win

By Ryan Stonebraker
Nodaway Valley/OM's Christian Putney covers first base during a recent game against East Union.

Nodaway Valley/OM's Christian Putney covers first base during a recent game against East Union. (Dan Dickinson)

Nodaway Valley/OM baseball got its first win of the season last week at Central Decatur, winning 12-9 Tuesday night. The win was also the team’s first in the Pride of Iowa Conference.

The win between the Wolverines and Cardinals was a matchup where both teams sought their first league win. The win got the Wolverines up one rung in the league standings going into the last week of POI play.

The Wolverines have two dates to play this week, including Tuesday at Winterset in non-conference play before hosting Wayne Thursday.

NV/OM’s last POI game of the year is Monday at Southeast Warren, then the following night is the team’s last regular season game at Hawkeye 10 foe Red Oak.

The Wolverines trailed 1-0 after the first inning at Central Decatur, but that changed in the top of the second. Three runs scored in the scond gave the visitors a 3-1 lead. In the top of the third, four more runs came in, giving the Wolverines a 7-1 advantage.

The Cardinals cut into the lead, to 7-4 with three innings played. In their part of the fourth, the Wolverines took their biggest lead with five runs for a 12-4 advantage. Central Decatur staged a comeback, scoring five runs before the game ended, however they could get no closer than within a 12-9 margin. That made three wins against Central Decatur in the last four tries.

A look at individual stats shows the Wolverines had 13 hits in the game, and four players had multi-hit outings. Deakon Mullen was 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI, while Remington Woosley was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Eli Harris and Ty Strode had two hits each. They combined for three RBI. Paul Berg and Keyin Steeve each had a hit and an RBI. Christian Putney collected the other hit in the game while Bryan Gonzalez and Aidan Kuster were on base twice via walks.

Four pitchers took the mound for the Wolverines, but it was Harris who got the win after working three innings, striking out three.

POI-leading Martensdale-St. Marys visited Greenfiel June 19 to play a makeup game from earlier in the season. The Wolverines fell to the Blue Devils 19-3 in five innings.

NV/OM socred first with two runs in the first. The Blue Devils responded, outscoring the Wolverines 19-1 the rest of the game.

Deakon Mullen took the loss on the hill for NV/OM, working five innings. He walked three batters, giving up 19 runs on 14 hits. Eleven of the runs were earned. The Wolverines had four hits in the game from three different players: Mullen, Berg and Woosley. Berg went 2-for-3, including a triple and two runs driven in. Harris, Gonzalez, Mason Payne and Steeve each drew walks. Mullen and Steeve each stole bases.

June 20, the Wolverines had a tough go on a road trip to Lenox where the teams played a varsity doubleheader and the Tigers won both games. Lenox’s winning scores were 7-0 and 14-4, respectively.

In the first game, the Tigers extended their lead to 4-0 in the fourth with three runs. The Tigers scored thre emore times to get the shutout.

Dawson Evans got that win on the mound for Lenox, working three innings of shutout and no-hit ball, facing 10 Wolverines and striking out three. Caleb Menefee pitched four innings for Lenox in relief. The Wolverines had a pair of hits in the game, one each from Mullen and the other Harris. Strode also reached base via a walk and stole a base in the game. He started on the mound and took the loss, pitching five innings and giving up five runs, three of them earned, on six hits. He struck out two and walked six. Sam Miller and Woosley also pitched in relief.

The Wolverines fell behind 10-0 after three innings in the nightcap against Lenox after the hosts scored seven times in the second. NV/OM rallied and put up three in the fourth to cut the advantage to 10-3. In the bottom of the inning, Lenox scored two more times and extended their lead to 12-3.

NV/OM had six hits in the game with two players collecting multi-hit games. Berg was 2-for-3 with a single, triple, RBI and two runs scored. Harris was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, a run scored and RBI. Strode also had a single and RBI while Steeve had a double and run scored.

Steeve took the loss after giving up four runs on two hits in an inning of work. Putney and Miller also pitched in the game in relief.

The Wolverines ended their week with a home game on senior night with Mount Ayr.The Raiders beat the Wolverines earlier this season in Mount Ayr, but last Friday, the Wolverines put a scare into the Raiders. They nearly pulled off their biggest win of the season before falling 3-2.

NV-OM had five hits in the game, led by Berg who was 2-for-2 with a double, single, and run scored. Harris, Strode and Kuster added singles. Steeve and Berg each had two walks while Harris and Strode each had one walk.

Harris pitched his best game of the year, scattering eight hits and giving up only three runs. He struck out seven, walked three, and faced 26 batters.