Trojans get by Tigers in H-10 baseball

Atlantic rode a six run third inning and a five-inning, no-hit pitching performance from Kale Jensen in a 10-0 win over Red Oak in Hawkeye 10 Conference baseball last Wednesday.
Jensen walked one, hit two batters and struck out 10 in the complegete-game win.
“Tonight we struggled getting hits but stuck in with our pitching to start the game,” said Red Oak coach Tristin Johnson. “We did a better job late in the game throwing strikes but they hit the ball hard and found gaps late in the game. We did have opportunities in the game but just couldn’t get the clutch hit.”
Starting on the mound for Red Oak was Seth Lydon who went one and 2/3 innings allowing no earned runs while striking out two. Masen Fisher came on in relief and  went one and 1/3 inning, allowing three runs and five hits.
“Tonight just wasn’t our night at the plate and that’s baseball at times,” Johnson said. “We will work on it to improve it by Friday for our district game at Treynor.”
Zayden Parker had two hits and drove in two runs for Atlantic.
The Tigers’ Class 2A, Substate opener at Treynor was postponed to Monday evening. Complete results from that game can be found in next week’s edition of The Red Oak Express.

Tigers drop two at Harlan
Red Oak was outscored 29-1 in a pair of losses at Harlan in Hawkeye 19 Conference baseball last Monday.
The Tigers dropped the opener 11-1 and the nightcap 18-0.
In the opener, the Cyclones led 1-0 after two innings before pushing three runs across in the third, one in the fourth and six in the fifth while collecting 13 hits.
Colton Schneider had a big night for Harlan, belting two home runs and driving in five while going 4-for-4.
“Harlan hit the ball hard and found gaps which led to runs for them,” said Red Oak coach Tristin Johnson. “We had three hits and just couldn’t get more to fall through.”
Cale Hall, Hudson Fisher and Pace Chaillie each had hits for the Tigers.
Osiel Pedersen started on the mound for Red Oak and went four and 2/3 innings allowing nine earned runs on 12 hits, a walk and 3 strikeouts. At the plate Cale Hall, Hudson Fisher, and Pace Chaillie all had hits for the Tigers.
The Cyclones’ Cole Koesters and Michael Hoffmann combined to toss a four-inning no hitter in the game two win.

The pair faced one over the minimum while striking out three.
At the plate, Harlan plated 10 runs in the first inning and finished with 14 hits.
Cade Nelson had three hits and drove in five runs and Foxx Argotsinger, Jonas Reynolds, Jacob Spangenberg and Joseph Gross had two hits each.
“We walked a few too many batters, some were intentionally walked by me,” Johnson said. “Even with the walks, though, Harlan did a good job hitting the ball hard.”
Pace Chaillie took the loss on the hill for Harlan after allowing five hits and 10 earned runs in 2/3s of an inning of work. Masen Fisher and Carson Roeder came on to pitch the final two innings. The Tigers’ three pitchers walked eight and hit two batters.

Vikings win 25-17 shootout over Red Oak
Stanton smacked 14 hits in a wild, 25-17 victory over Red Oak in nonconference softball last Wednesday.
Stanton (8-13) scored nine first inning runs and never trailed in the win.
“It was a good night of hitting tonight for us,” said Stanton coach Brandie McFarland.
Maven Allen and Natalie Ward had three hits each for the Viqueens. Allen drove in two runs and Ward three. Cooper Stephens, Quinn McDonald and Lucy Dreyer added two hits each. Stephens drove in five runs and McDonald and Dreyer two each.
Dryer picked up the win in the circle tossing 6 and 2/3 innings and allowing 10 hits and four earned runs.
Red Oak coach Alex Ruskell said the game’s “football score” connected to end the regular season for both teams was a battle start to finish.
“We started the game off rocky, giving up a lot of errors in an inning we could’ve probably gotten out of only giving up three runs instead of nine but even with an inning like that the girls were ready for the challenge and to get attacking on offense,” Ruskell said. “We answered back with four runs of our own and strung together things well for most of the night making it through the lineup on three different occasions.
“Unfortunately, after some delays we lost our rhythm late giving a few free bases and having errors strike again at the wrong times.”
Offensively, Ruskell said his team did a great job waiting for opportunities and putting the ball in play. Stanton had some errors of their own, the coach added, but his team totaled 12 hits and five stolen bases.
Anna Chaillie led the Tigers with three hits. Kaylee Aughe, Josie Sampson, and Alyssa Young each added two base knocks. Aughe led the team with four runs driven in.
Kenzie Wilcoxson had yet another strong outing on the mound.
“There were a few low moments mixed in walking eight and hitting five, but she tallied 11 strikeouts and gave up 11 hits,” said Ruskell.
Just five of the Viqueens’ 25 runs were earned.
“She has been a warrior to finish the season throwing in all six games since Saturday throwing nearly 700 pitches looking like an iron woman going the distance and never wavering in confidence or her attacking mentality,” said Ruskell of Wilcoxson.
Red Oak opens postseason play July 9 at Des Moines Christian (15-8) in Class 3A Region 3 action in Des Moines.
Stanton faced East Mills in last night’s Class 1A, Region 2 opener in Malvern. Complete results of that game will appear in the next issue of The Red Oak Express.  

Red Oak 7,
East Mills 5
Red Oak overcame a slim roster of just nine available players, temperatures hovering in the mid-90s and a late rally by East Mills to post a 7-5 win in nonconference softball last Tuesday in Malvern.
The Tigers built a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh when the Wolverines plated three runs, but the comeback would end there with pitcher Kenzie Wilcoxson slamming the door.
“Tough fought battle against East Mills tonight,” said Red Oak coach Alec Ruskell. “Backs against the wall some more, only being able to field nine players on a hot night can be a struggle but the girls showed mentally strong not letting the weather get to them and staying locked into the game through all seven innings.
“We struggled to get the bats going across the lineup making light contact and unable to find gaps, but we were able to have some shining stars getting the ball rolling with some hard hits.”
Wilcoxson had another great night on the mound, pitching her way out of some tough situations to keep East Mills in check.
Ruskell said while his eighth-grade pitcher did walk 11 and hit three batters, she struck out 13 and only gave up three hits.
“East Mills had a very patient gameplan at the plate and that forced some of those walks where a lot of teams are swinging at balls just missing the zone, but Kenzie was able to keep her composure and push through,” Ruskell said.
Offensively, Kaylee Erickson went 4-for-4 at the plate with three stolen bases and three runs for the Tigers. Josie Sampson added three hits and two runs scored.
Taylor Gravett, Mackenzie Stearns and Isabella Blanton each had hits for East Mills. Gravett tripled and drove in a run.
Caitlyn Crouse took the loss in the circle for the Wolverines. The sophomore allowed five earned runs and struck out three.

Tigers can’t get on track in Harlan
Harlan grabbed a pair of wins over Red Oak 15-0 and 10-2 in Hawkeye 10 Conference softball last Monday in Harlan.
“That first inning of game one and the last inning of game two hurt us,” said Red Oak coach Alex Ruskell. “Outside of that we were competitive and played good softball but that is the joy of sports where moral victories don’t show on the stat sheet. Errors killed us both games, but with the clean innings we had and previous strong games we’ve shown how competitive we can be when not making those errors and that’s something to build on for the future.”
The Cyclones got off to a quick start in game one, scoring nine first inning run on their way to the win. In game two, Harlan scored four runs to close out the win.
Lauren Schmitz struck out four and allowed one hit in the opening victory for the Cyclones.
Lilly Cooper had the Tigers lone hit.
In game two, Avery Manz and Rebekah Christensen had two hits and combined to drive in four runs.
“We put the ball in play and hats off to their young shortstop, she made a ton of very difficult plays; it was a clear ‘hats off’ performance,” Ruskell said. “We were able to piece some things together in game two to put up some runs but otherwise same story most innings unfortunately leaving runners on with Harlan making plays when they needed to most.”
Kenzie Wilcoxson took the losses in the circle for the Tigers in both games. She allowed five hits and eight earned runs in opener and eight hits and two earned runs in 4 and 2/3 innings in the nightcap.
“Kenzie had a good night on the mound starting both games and only giving up two earned runs in game two,” Ruskell said. “She gave up eight earned in the first, but that number is misleading with the errors we had. She’s continuing to grow and get more confident with each start.”
Cooper had two hits and Wilcoxson drove in the Tigers’ lone run.