(Carroll, IA) — Underwood is in the 2A state semifinals for the third year in a row and they face Orange City Unity Christian today at 4:30 pm, coverage on KSOM.
Garrett Luett threw a 3 hit shutout and Freshman Gavin Miles hit a 3 run homer for the Eagles in a 3-0 win over Cascade in the first round. Luett threw 81 pitches in the win over the Cougars so under the pitch count rules, he needs to rest for 3 days which prevents him from pitching the rest of the tournament. Head Coach Andy Vanfossan says he didn’t want to risk resting Luett and losing the first game so enter Freshman Blake Brensel who is expected to get the ball against the Knights. Vanfossan says they have confidence in Brensel who has faced some tough competition
Unity Christian beat Mediapolis 5-1 in the first round as Adler Van Essen and Braedon Bosma combined to allow just two hits — both came in the same inning, a triple and a single to account for the Bulldogs lone run. Van Essen cannot pitch against Underwood but the Knights have other options. Graden Van Essen is a senior with 9 starts and a 2.65 ERA; Junior Austin Hall has a 3.15 ERA; Junior Dylan Bosma is at 2.30 and Vanfossan says they saw him last year in the first round. Vanfossan says there is some history between these two schools
Pitching is the strength of Unity Christian — their staff has a team ERA of 2.80. Underwood has the edge in defense with a field percentage of .953. Whoever hits the best as usual will win and Vanfossan hopes his team can put it all together and get back to the state championship game
Underwood is 25-2, Unity Christian is 27-9, game time is at 4:30 pm, coverage on KSOM.
Complete Interview with Head Coach Andy Vanfossan
