(Anita) CAM stared a 4-0 deficit in the face after the top of the 1st inning, but came back to beat Lenox 7-4.
The 8th rated Cougars resumed their suspended contest with the Tigers in the 2nd inning on Wednesday and quickly flipped the momentum. They improve to 25-2 with their 10th straight victory.
Lane Spieker relieved Cade Ticknor as play picked up with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out in the 2nd inning. The senior right hander struck out 11 of the first 12 batters he faced. The only baserunner Lenox managed the rest of the game was when Keigan Kitzman walked with one out in the 6th. Spieker, an Iowa Western commit, struck out 12 batters in six no-hit innings of relief.
He also delivered the big hit at the plate with a go ahead home run in the 5th inning. It was his 5th homer in the past week and a half and put CAM in front 5-4. The long ball came on the heels of Seth Hensley reaching on an error with two outs. He’s hitting .536 on the year.
CAM’s comeback trail started on Tuesday before the weather delay. It was Spieker who hit a solo homer in the 1st inning to close within 4-1. The Cougars plated two runs right off the bat in the 2nd inning on Wednesday. Cade Ticknor led off the frame with a walk and Ethan Follmann singled. Jack Follmann advanced the runners on a ground ball with Ticknor and Ethan Follmann scoring on back-to-back wild pitches to get within 4-3.
Lenox starter Samson Adams would find his groove after that. CAM didn’t get a single runner on base in the 3rd or the 4th. In fact, Adams had a stretch of nine straight batters retired before Hensley reached on an error in the 5th. That allowed Spieker to come to the plate in the key situation. “I think as a team we were kind of struggling a little bit offensively just because we knew we had to hit the ball and were putting pressure on ourselves. I think when I did that it relieved a little bit of pressure from the team.” His home run was a line drive to left field and marked the 33rd long ball of his career. Spieker has 202 runs scored and 153 RBI over the last handful of summers for the Cougars.
Spieker improves to 6-1 on the mound this season and lowers his ERA to 0.72, “Coming into the day I knew what I had to do.” Spieker says, “I just had to stay mentally locked in and when everything is working good and Colby (Rich) is blocking everything behind the plate and you have the defense behind you I think you are bound for success.” Spieker adds, “Tonight was the first night I think I’ve had my fastball, curveball, and slider and I could just about put it anywhere. When you’re doing that it’s easy on you as a pitcher.
CAM posted seven runs despite picking up only six hits. Outside of Spieker’s 12th and 13th homers of the season, Colby Rich and Cade Ticknor each hit a double while Jack Follmann and Ethan Follmann both had singles.
Samson Adams took the loss for Lenox on the mound. In 5 1/3 innings he allowed six hits, three walks, and struck out three. Caeden David retired each batter he faced in relief. Keigan Kitzman and Carter Reed each had a two-run single for Lenox in the first inning. Lenox ends their year at 15-13. They won nine of their final twelve games.
Cade Ticknor started on Tuesday for CAM and struck out four, but two runners reached on dropped third strikes which let the inning continue for Lenox. Ticknor allowed two hits and no walks in his inning on the hill.
Dan Daugherty, head coach for the winning squad, commented afterwards on the rallying cry. “I told them last year we were down six in the bottom of the 4th so we were better off this year. I said, ‘How many times have we scored four or more runs in an inning? I looked it up and got to 20 and I quit counting.’ We just had to come in with the mindset that we can win.”
CAM will advance to play Lamoni which eliminated Mount Ayr 13-7. The Demons are 16-6 on the season. Saturday’s game will be played in Anita and it will air on 96.5 FM KSOM at 7:00.
