Red Oak Tigers complete sweep against Timberwolves

The Red Oak ball clubs had a busy week last week, and started it off with a clean sweep in Corning against the Southwest Valley Timberwolves.
The Tigers picked up their second win of the season with an 11-3 victory.
Jake Echternach recorded the win, beginning the game on the mound. Echternach gave up one hit, walked three, and struck out three batters.
Garrett Couse pitched two innings of relief, and Colton Kinnison finished out the game.
The Tigers tallied eleven hits on the night, led by Mitch Johnson, who was three for five with two doubles.
Carter Bruce went two for five with a double and a triple.
Asher Hinshaw and Johnson claimed three RBI each.
Bruce, Cole Carlson, and Kinnison plated twice each; Couse, Hinshaw, Johnson, Zac Guerra, and Jacob Athen each added a run.
“We’ve put two well-played games together back-to-back,” coach Mark Erickson said. “Our pitchers challenged hitters, we had great at bats, and made the routine plays all night. We look to keep the momentum going.”
Aiden Gaule, Jadon Bohn, and Brendan Knapp took turns on the mound for Southwest Valley with the loss going to Gaule.
Teagan Lundquist, Gaule, and Dustin Lund scored the three runs for the Timberwolves.
Clarinda
The Tigers fell to Clarinda 11-0 in five innings with Johnson recording the loss.
Couse and Carlson combined to finish out the game.
Bruce and Hinshaw both singled for the Tigers, giving Red Oak the only two hits of the game.
“We made five errors, and that was the story for us tonight,” Erickson said. “We know that we need to play better defensively in order to put ourselves in position to win.”
St. Albert
The Tigers lost on the road to St. Albert 10-0 in six innings.
Hinshaw took the loss, giving up six earned runs with four walks and two strikeouts.
Bruce pitched two innings giving up only one hit with a walk and a strikeout, and Echternach also pitched 2/3 of an inning.
“We had a tough night at the plate,” Erickson said. “Credit to Garrett Reisz and Jeff Miller for not allowing a base runner in six innings of play.”
Essex
The Tigers won Friday night at home, defeating Essex 12-2 in five innings.
Echternach and Carlson combined to throw a no-hitter with the win going to Echternach.
Echternach threw four innings with six strikeouts, and Carlson threw one inning with one strikeout.
Bruce went three for three with a double, and Echternach and Carlson each smacked a double.
Hinshaw and Couse added a single each.
Bruce, Hinshaw, Carlson, and Kinnison each scored two runs, while Echternach, Ryan Messinger, Johnson, and Couse added one run each.
Daniel Ohnmacht, Wesley Johnson, and Jacob Hammer each pitched for the Trojans.
Jake Gray and Luke Dalley scored the two runs for the team.
CAM
The Tigers fell to CAM 3-2 in weekend play.
“We felt Ryan Messinger pitched well enough to win,” Erickson said. “He pitched the entire game, giving up two earned runs, striking out six, and not giving up a walk.”
Messinger went two for four, Hinshaw one for three with a double, and Guerra also had a single.
“We played well for the most part tonight,” Erickson said. “In a one run game, every play and extra base matters.”
Carlson and Johnson scored the runs for the Tigers.

Girls
Chloe Johnson highlighted the week with four homers, one a grand slam.
The Red Oak softball team rolled into Corning and took a 12-0 victory in just three innings with Zoey Welter recording the win.
“This was a great game played by us to get us back on the winning train,” coach Tristin Johnson said. “We ran bases well, and were very aggressive. Our message to the team early was put this game away, and they did just that. They made the plays, put the ball in play, and scored some runs.”
 C. Johnson hit two triples and a double in the rout.
Kamryn Buntrock had two doubles and a single.
Payton Thomas had the sole hit for the Timberwolves.
“They [Red Oak] came out hitting the ball very well, and we had some costly errors that would have helped us get out of the inning a couple of times,” Timberwolves coach Tara Miller said.
Kayley Myers took the loss for SWV.
Clarinda
Welter led the Tigers to an 11-0 win in Clarinda, throwing a two-hitter, and teammate C. Johnson hit two home runs, the second a grand slam.
“Every year I’ve hit a home run in Clarinda,” C. Johnson said. “I’m just really focusing on making contact. The grand slam felt really great.”
C. Johnson led the team with six RBI.
Alexa McCunn had four hits, two RBI; Lexi Johnson doubled twice and had two RBI; and  Buntrock connected twice.
“We played a solid game all around,” Coach Johnson said. “Zoey threw great, hitting her spots and putting batters away. Our defense played well behind her, allowing only two runners to reach base. This was a good win for us as we look to stay on the winning side of games.”
St. Albert
The Tigers dominated both games in the double-header at St. Albert, winning the first game 10-1 and the second game 18-3.
The Tigers combined for six doubles to take game one.
Syd Streicher, C. Johnson, and Kyndal Kells plated two runs each; Buntrock, Maddie Wendt, L. Johnson, and Kamryn Wendt each added a run.
The Tigers took the second game in six innings aided by two bombs and a double hit by C. Johnson, who also scored five runs.
Buntrock, L. Johnson, and Ashlee Young each doubled.
M. Wendt scored three runs; Buntrock, L. Johnson, and K. Wendt two runs each; and Streicher, McCunn, Sydney Connell, and Young each added a run.
Creston Tournament
The Tigers competed in the Creston Tournament over the weekend, splitting the games.
Red Oak defeated Nodaway Valley in six innings, 10-0.
M. Wendt went two for four at bat with a double and a single to pace the team.
Streicher, McCunn, and C. Johnson each scored two runs, and Buntrock, M. Wendt, K. Wendt, and Emily Peterson added one run each.
Welter threw six innings, striking out seven and surrendering five hits.
“This was a good game for us because a lot of times we don’t play well in the morning,” Coach Johnson said. “It was good to get out and get the win right away.
Murray
The Tigers fell 4-3 in eight innings to Murray.
The game was knotted at one at the bottom of the seventh, giving the crowd free softball.
“We had our chances and we played well during this game,” Coach Johnson said. “We just didn’t get the win. In extras, we scored two runs to take the lead, but couldn’t get the outs we needed to win the game, and ended up giving up three runs.”
Buntrock went two for four with a single and a double, and C. Johnson went two for four with two doubles.
Welter threw the complete game, striking out five.
McCunn, Buntrock, and K. Wendt scored the three runs for the Tigers.

JV
Red Oak JV trampled Southwest Valley 14-1.
“This is a game where we learned a little more about our JV team,” Johnson said. “They played well and got the win. The highlight of the game was Kyndal Kells and her two-run home run over the right-field fence. Great defense and great hitting by the team.”
The JV team tied with Clarinda 9-9 last Tuesday.
“We scored a lot of runs early, but had some defensive mistakes that led to some runs for them,” Coach Johnson said. “We are still learning the game, and are putting pieces together.”
Peterson and Connell each had two hits and Emma Bierbaum had one hit and one RBI.