North Nodaway’s baseball team, still searching for their first win, showed some improvement against the three headed monster of Gilman City, but a triple play by the Hawks that killed North Nodaway’s most promising rally in the first inning sparked them for the rest of the bitterly cold afternoon as they raised their record to 2-1 with a 5-0 win over North Nodaway. The Hawks upgraded this year, adding Pattonsburg to the coop along with 1-2 kids from North Daviess who tag along every year.
After being lit up 17-7 by North Harrison, 12-1 by Plattsburg, and 18-0 by Rock Port, North Nodaway expected little different when they took the field against the Hawks. But to their own surprise, they started off well as Brice Trimble walked and Trevin Wyllie reached on an error to put runners on first and second. But disaster struck as Daryn Berg struck out. Trimble and Wyllie, not knowing that a third strike is an automatic out with first base occupied and less than two out, took off for third and second. Trimble was out in a rundown between second and third and then Wyllie was out in a rundown between first and second.
From there, Hawk pitcher Landon Preston took control, pounding the plate and keeping the Mustangs off the board for the whole game. But meanwhile, Mustang pitcher Ethan Fry, with nothing to lose, decided to go out and have fun, befuddling Hawk batters all day with his nasty breaking ball and keeping them off balance. He gave up two runs in the Hawk first after hitting a couple of batters, but then got out of the inning after striking out Daltyn Sperry and getting Jeremy Pittsenbarger to ground out to Blaine Clements.
In a shakeup, Aydan Blackford moved from catcher to left field where he had played occasionally in the past, where he showed a lot of mobility and ran down Landon Preston’s drive in the first inning for the first out. Ridge Clements moved behind the plate to catch Fry.
North Nodaway got good swings all day against Griffith, but hit it right at people. In the second, Blaine Clements’ shot turned into a diving catch by shortstop Camden Griffith. In the Hawk second, Jesse Smith walked and stole second. Daryn Berg caught Drayson McCrary’s drive in right, but Alex Young singled in Smith to make it 3-0.
In the Mustang third, Ridge Clements hit a tricky grounder between first and second, but Hawk first baseman Camden Mossburg and second baseman Alex Young pulled a perfect 4-3 play with Young hustling to first to get an out. With two outs, Brice Trimble singled to center, but Trevin Wyllie, who was the chief cheerleader for the Mustangs all day, hit a laser beam but right at Camden Griffith at short for the third out.
In the Hawk third, Daltyn Sperry turned on one of Fry’s breaking balls and got one of the few good swings the blue shirts got against him, crushing it into the wind and over the left field fence to make it 4-0.
Gilman City threatened in the fourth as they got two on with two out after Gage Iddings reached on an error. But Trevin Wyllie bailed out the Mustangs when he caught Camden Mossburg’s fly ball to end it. Alex Young at second once again robbed Ridge Clements in the fifth by diving and stopping his hard grounder and threw him out.
With two outs in the Hawk sixth, Landon Preston doubled to right center and Gage Iddings singled him home to make it 5-0 before Mustang first baseman Preston Hansen made a hustle play to beat Mossburg to the bag for the third out.
North Nodaway mounted a threat in the seventh as Blaine Clements hit a Texas leaguer behind second for a base hit and Ethan Fry hit a shot off Preston’s glove into no-man’s land to put runners on first and second with nobody out. But Preston threw to the back runner and picked Fry off first, and then Preston Hansen grounded out and Ridge Clements struck out to end it.
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Cody Jenkins, the regular head coach, was not there for North Nodaway. Assistant Cody Bix managed the team, assisted by Roger Johnson.
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Landon Preston pitched for the Hawks, and his brother, Kyler was one of the umpires. “I can’t get rid of him,” said Landon, who played with Kyler last year.
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In North Nodaway’s first game, against North Harrison, Jerry Gilpatrick was one of the Shamrock pitchers while his dad, Josh Gilpatrick, was umpiring behind the plate. Naturally, Jerry did all he could to try to work his dad for some calls. “I’m used to it,” said Josh.
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