(Elk Horn, IA) – The Exira-EHK Spartans are off to a good start this week after the first week of baseball action. In their first game, they were able to capture a 7-6 victory over ACGC with a dominant pitching performance and quite a few key hits throughout the game, including Jaiden Pettipier who hit the game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh. Head Coach Randy Kelly was impressed with the win, especially because the boys were not fully together as a team until that specific contest.
Both Austin Rasmussen and Blake Nelson looked great at the plate in that game against ACGC. Rasmussen was able to go 2-3 at the plate while playing some tough defense in center field. Nelson hit 1-3 in the game as an eighth grader and had two clutch RBIs for the Spartans. These two really stepped up to be major impacts when the team needed them most.
The leader of the Spartans is Jameson Kilworth who has become even stronger and pitches even harder this season. He not only hit a double in the game but had a three-inning performance while allowing two hits and had six strikeouts coming in as the cleanup and closer for the ballgame. Kilworth is a player that helps put the team on his shoulders and leads them toward success.
Tonight, Exira-EHK will be taking on the Griswold Tigers in non-conference action. When these two teams matched up last season, it was an Exira-EHK domination with a 16-1 victory over the Tigers. This season looks to be a bit different for Griswold as they still return a very young team, but a team with experience and one that is coming off an 11-1 win over Audubon in their first game of the season.
Exira-EHK travels to Griswold to take on the Tigers tonight, with the game starting at 7:30 p.m. KSOM 96.5 and Western Iowa Today TV will have the broadcast with the pregame show at 7:10 p.m.
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