(Greenfield, IA) — It was a race against the weather and Southwest Valley won that and they won the game on Monday night beating Nodaway Valley 5-1 in a Pride of Iowa Conference baseball game.
Both teams scored in the first inning — the Timberwolves got a leadoff walk from Gavin Wetzel from Wolverines starter Eli Harris. Wetzel stole 2nd and came in on Wyatt Mendenhall’s RBI base hit but Nod Valley answered right back as Titan Foster got hit by a pitch by Southwest starter Casey Jones. Foster stole 2nd and after an out, Paul Berg also got hit by a pitch, Foster found a way to make it to third base and would score on a sac fly by Remington Woosley. After one inning it was 1-1.
Harris struck out the side in the 2nd inning but against the heart of the T-wolves order he ran into trouble. Mendenhall started the inning with a base hit and stole 2nd and stole 3rd. Walker Bissell was hit by a pitch and Ethan Johnson scored them both with a 2 run double to make it 3-1. Johnston later scored on a RBI fielders choice from Brody Crozier to make it 4-1 Southwest.
The Timberwolves also played terrific defense — in the bottom of the 3rd, NV had runners had 1st and 2nd and 1 out and Woosley hit a grounder towards the middle. Hudson Bissell fielded it, stepped on 2nd, and threw to first for a double play. In the 4th, Harris hit a leadoff single but Ty Strode was robbed of a base hit on a sliding catch by Wyatt Shires in right field. In the 5th, Will Schilling got a leadoff double and Foster hit a hard liner towards left but Walker Bissell jumped up and robbed him of a base hit. Nodaway Valley had runners on each inning but could not get the clutch hit and stranded seven men.
Casey Jones pitched 5 innings and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits, walked 1 and struck out 3 and Head Coach Keegan Longabaugh says he exceeded expectations
Walker Bissell pitched the last two innings and walked three but struck out three and did not allow a hit to get the save. In the bottom of the 7th, Bissell was pitching fast as the weather started rolling into town. The winds picked up but the rains stayed away and allowed the game to get completed and Southwest Valley got the W.
For Southwest Valley: Mendenhall was 3-4 with a double, RBI, run and 2 SB. Casey Jones at the plate was 3-3 with 3 singles.
For Nodaway Valley: Will Schilling was 1-3 with a double. Manolis Galonakis was 1-2 and pitched 3 innings of relief, allowing 1 unearned run, 1 hit, and 1 K.
Line Score
Southwest Valley — 5 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 8 LOB
Nodaway Valley — 1 run, 3 hits, 2 errors, 7 LOB
Win — Casey Jones (2-1)
Loss — Eli Harris (1-2)
Save — Walker Bissell (1)
Time of Game: 1:46
Interview with Head Coach Keegan Longabaugh
