North Nodaway Baseball No-Hits DeKalb in Districts

North Nodaway got back on the winning track as they disposed of DeKalb 13-1 in the first round of districts Friday. The whole game was symbolic of the kind of season DeKalb had. Their bus broke down in St. Joseph, and the game was delayed by an hour as they had to send another bus to pick them up. The Tigers were a young squad, picking up only one victory by forfeit and enduring poundings at the hand of everyone else this year. Out of their 13 players listed on the roster, 11 of them were either freshmen or sophomores. After the dust had settled, North Nodaway pitchers Peyton Coleman, Dakota Smyser, and Tyler Bix combined on a no-hitter.

And when they finally got there, after an abbreviated warmup, they were in no condition to put up any kind of a struggle against North Nodaway. The Mustangs, on a record setting season, were nonetheless reeling from having lost their last four. DeKalb tried to get a rare lead in the top of the first when Josh Bomberger, with one out, walked against Peyton Coleman, stole second, stole third after being picked off second, and was there with one out. But Coleman struck out Tyler Matson and Garryk Hersh to get out of the inning.

When North Nodaway came to the plate, Dakota Smyser’s pop fly dropped in front of third baseman Kristian Derry untouched for an error and he stole second. Dalton Smyser’s pop fly dropped right in front of left fielder Jared McElfresh for a base hit and Smyser scored from second as Dalton took second on the throw home. Peyton Coleman, who victimized DeKalb with three home runs in a game earlier this year, tripled to the right center field gap to score Smyser. Tyler Bix was hit by a pitch and stole second and Arron Coleman’s single up the middle brought them both in.

DeKalb pitcher, Monty Mydland, a pitcher with a slow delivery and even slower breaking ball, pulled the string on Ryan Riley and struck him out, but Arron Coleman stole second and went to third when Kolbie Hargrave’s throw got away. Logan Keho hit a slow roller down the third base line and everyone was safe as third baseman Kristian Derry had no play. He stole second and then Garrett Torres beat out another slow roller. Makayla Cross walked and Dakota Smyser grounded into a force from short to second. But second baseman Tyler Matson threw it away trying to turn two and first baseman Brett Steiner recovered, only to throw it away trying to retire Garrett Torres at the plate, scoring two more. Dalton Smyser singled up the middle to score another run to put North Nodaway up 8-0.

Another play occurred in the second to symbolize the tough luck season DeKalb had. Peyton Coleman walked Darrin McElfresh and Jared McElfresh, recovered to strike out Zach Novotny and Kristian Derry, and walked Brett Steiner to load the bases. Kolbie Hargrave got the best DeKalb swing all night, fighting off an inside pitch. But his shot was right at first baseman Ryan Riley, who stepped on first for the final out to rob Hargrave of extra bases.

Dakota Smyser replaced Peyton Coleman in the third. Desperate to score one more run, Tyler Matson got himself picked off third and the gamble paid off when North Nodaway threw it away during the ensuing rundown to make it 8-1.

Monty Mydland kept North Nodaway in check in the second and third, but replacement Brett Steiner, who threw harder but who kept missing up Friday, walked the bases full in the fourth inning. He recovered to strike out Garrett Torres and Drexel Richardson, but Dakota Smyser walked to force in a run. That opened up the floodgates as Dalton Smyser singled past short to score Logan Keho and Ryan Riley. Peyton Coleman and Tyler Bix walked to force in Dakota Smyser, and Arron Coleman whistled a single past third to score two more to put North Nodaway over the 10 run limit.

Tyler Bix came on in the fifth to catch a pair of popups, and the only suspense was whether the no-hitter could be preserved. Garryk Hersh hit a shot that Bix got his glove on but could only deflect. But second baseman Makayla Cross came charging in behind the mound to pick it up and throw out Hersh to end the game.