For the second time this season, Harris-Lake Park
and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn played into extra innings tied at three runs apiece.
And for the second time, the home team walked off with the win, 4-3 for the
Wolves in the Class 1A District playoffs. Benefitting from the flip of a coin,
HLP had the last at-bats in Hartley. Down 3-2 after an HMS rally in the sixth, Harris-Lake Park turned to freshman Brady Van Iperen
with a runner on third and two outs in the bottom of the seventh. His pinch-hit
single tied the game. In the eighth, HLP senior Nathan Kyle singled to center and
Colin Brons raced in from second for the win. Eli Ihnen pitched a 1-2-3 eighth
for the win in relief of Brons, who struck out six in a no-decision. Brett
Flynn started for the Hawks and surrendered just three hits with five K’s in a
no-decision. His younger brother, Ryan, took the loss after throwing the
last two-plus innings. Pre-freshman Jordan Japenga had the biggest hit for HMS,
driving in the go-ahead run in the sixth for the game’s only RBI. The Hawks end
the year at 17-11. The Wolves improve to 15-11 and will return to Hartley on
Thursday for a district semifinal game against South O’Brien on Q102.
Click here for the postgame interview with HLP coach Jared Rahe.
Click here for the postgame interview with HMS coach Scott Metzler.
The Wolverines surged late in a 12-2 win in six innings over
Clay Central-Everly in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader in Hartley. The
Mavericks, who were tied at one entering the fourth inning, finish out 2012
with a 3-26 mark. South O’Brien will enter Thursday’s second round at 17-9.
Also in that Class 1A District 3 bracket,
Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire lost to Newell-Fonda, 13-7, in a first
round game in Storm
Lake. The Knights end the
summer with an overall record of 16-8. Newell-Fonda will take on Storm Lake St.
Mary’s, who shutout Laurens-Marathon, 12-0, in five innings.
In Class 2A, Estherville-Lincoln Central’s bid for a birth
in the district final fell short in a 6-3 setback to North
Union in Emmetsburg. The Warriors beat the Midgets three times
this season, and jumped ahead early with a six-run lead by the fourth inning. Joe
Clayton took the loss for ELC, which concludes the season at 12-19. North Union will return to Emmetsburg on Saturday to
battle Alta/Aurelia, after the Warriors upended Sioux Central, 5-0. The Rebels
went 20-9 this summer.
Also in Class 2A, the scoreboard in Sioux Center
got a workout in a semifinal doubleheader. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley topped
Siouxland Conference foe Sheldon, 11-8, advancing to Saturday’s final. There
they will take on Western Christian, after the Wolfpack edged Unity Christian,
9-8, in the nightcap.
