Gaige Bodle Shuts the Door on Stanberry

Northeast Nodaway's baseball team had been struggling the last four games. They last won nearly a month ago against North Nodaway. Pitted against Class 2 powerhouse Maysville, they played them tough and hit the ball well but fell 13-8. Sometimes, so-called moral victories can turn into a tailspin and sure enough, the Bluejays were run-ruled by South Holt and Nodaway Valley. Against a red-hot Platte Valley squad, they played better defensively and got good pitching but ran their way out of two potentially big innings and were shut out 5-0. 

Against Stanberry, they were short-handed, with three players gone on senior trip, bringing them down to nine players. Slumps have a way of dying hard, and the Bluejays fell behind. They grabbed a big lead, only to unravel in the fifth inning and lose it, falling behind again. But then Gaige Bodle got the Bluejays out of the inning, the Bluejays regained the lead, and Bodle slammed the door, giving the Bluejays an 11-7 win and denying Stanberry their first-ever franchise win.

Cameron Affuso greeted Bluejay pitcher Lance Runde with a sharp single with one out in the Stanberry first. Cooper Adcock forced him at second, but then stole second and third. Brayden Dias doubled him home and Stanberry was up 1-0.

The Bulldogs made the lead stand up until the third, but after Runde escaped a second and third jam with nobody out, Brayden Stevens singled with one out in the Bluejay third after the ball was lost in the sun and dropped untouched behind second. Brayden Stevens stole second and Reece Gray singled to left and took second after the cutoff throw got away to tie it at 1-1. Reece Gray stole third and Carter Chapman got the benefit of a close 3-2 pitch to walk. Camdain Frisch flied out to score Gray to make it 2-1 and Jace Cameron reached on an error to put Chapman on third. Cameron stole second and Lance Runde singled to left center to score two and make it 4-1.

It looked like the Bluejays would get a run-rule victory after an errant pickoff at third scored Brayden Stevens and a wild pitch scored Reece Gray to make it 6-1. But after getting the first two outs of the fifth, all of a sudden, Lance Runde started fighting the strike zone, walking one, throwing a wild pitch on strike three that got away, walking another, and plunking another to make it 6-2 and load the bases.

Gaige Bodle came in to pitch and at first, it looked like the game would unravel as the Bluejays' last four had as Bodle plunked Brody Carroll to force in a run. Luke Phipps singled two runs home, Zander Heyde reached on an error as nobody covered second on a simple force, and then Konner Keough doubled to put Stanberry up 7-6. Baserunning blunders hurt the Bluejays in the Platte Valley game, but it was a baserunning blunder on Stanberry's part that swung the momentum back to the Bluejays' favor. Bodle uncorked a wild pitch, catcher Reece Gray went back to get it, and then Zander Heyde made a late break for the plate, only to get tagged out to get Northeast out of the inning.

Lance Runde singled and Gaige Bodle and Dale Deardorff walked to load the bases. Brayden Stevens popped out for the second out, but a dropped pop fly kept the inning going for the Bluejays as Stevens crossed the plate to tie it at 7-7. Carter Chapman walked to force in a run to put the Bluejays back in front and they never looked back.

As Gaige Bodle was shutting down Stanberry, retiring six of their last seven batters, the Bluejays loaded the bases up again in the sixth. Stanberry nearly got out of the inning as Dale Deardorff struck out for the second out, but then a balk opened up the floodgates as Jace Cameron crossed to make it 9-7. Brayden Stevens was plunked and Reece Gray hit a pop fly that dropped behind second base as two runs scored. Bodle walked Brody Carroll with two outs in the seventh, but then got Luke Phipps to ground out to third to close the door.