Tigers win another shutout

LENOX — Lenox sophomore Laramie Stoaks drove in all four runs and pitched six shutout innings as the Tigers defeated Council Bluffs St. Albert, 4-0, Tuesday night in a Class 1A District 15 semifinal.

The Tiger lefthander drove in leadoff batters Dawson Evans and Gabe Funk with a single to right field in the first inning, and stroked an opposite-field double down the left field line in the fifth to send in Evans and Funk again. Evans doubled to center in the inning and Funk drew a walk.

On the mound, Stoaks struck out four, walked two and allowed six hits. Coach Trevor Luther relieved him in the seventh with senior Carter Reed, who was coming off a five-inning perfect game in Saturday’s 10-0 win over Sidney.

Reed set the Falcons down in order with second baseman Brogan Petersen and third baseman Brody Brokaw combining to make all three plays.

Earlier in the game, Evans completed a double play on a grounder up the middle, stepping on second base after fielding the grounder up the middle, and firing to first baseman Rydder Hogan for the twin killing. Reed, starting at catcher, threw out a base stealing attempt in the second to shut down one potential Falcon rally.

It was a solid defensive performance behind the pitching of Stoaks and Reed, and just enough production from the five-hit attack to secure the win. Stoaks’ two-run double in the fifth provided a cushion after he was nursing the 2-0 lead for the previous four innings. St. Albert left five runners on base in the game, including two at third base.

“Laramie has been one of our go-to guys on the mound all year,” Luther said. “He’s a lefthander with a natural tail on his fastball away from right-handers, and we knew they have a lot of pull hitters, so we thought it would be a good matchup for him. The defense played well and got us out of some situations tonight, especially the double play by Dawson Evans in the third inning.”

Lenox (20-7) travels to Neola Saturday to take on Tri-Center (18-8), which rolled to a 9-1 win over East Mills Tuesday night. It’s the Trojans’ fourth straight appearance in a district final game.

Tri-Center had six hits, drew 11 walks and stole 13 bases in the victory. Pitcher Lincoln Thomas worked 3 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in allowing one earned run. Isaac Wohluter pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts and one hit allowed.

The winner of Saturday’s game plays for a trip to state in the Substate 8 final on Tuesday against either Southwest Valley (11-15) or Bedford (18-10). Southwest Valley knocked off East Union, 10-1, and Bedford edged Martensdale-St. Marys 4-3.