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Cougars rally to secure league split with Trojans

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON Ñ AGWSR sophomore Luke Starr attempts a slide into second base while shortstop Jake Stojohann looks to throw to first base during game one of an NICL West Division doubleheader between the Trojans and Cougars on Wednesday in State Center.

STATE CENTER — Entering the fifth inning of game two in an NICL West Division doubleheader between AGWSR and West Marshall on Wednesday, the Cougars were in a dire situation.

After losing the first game — a continuation of a game between the two squads in Ackley that was suspended due to weather in the third inning — AGWSR had fallen behind the Trojans 7-3 by allowing West Marshall to score five runs in the bottom of the fourth, all off of only three hits.

Instead of hanging their heads and taking two-straight losses, the Cougars went to work immediately in the top of the fifth, tying the game back up at 7-all after plating four runs, thanks in part to two Trojan errors and some timely hitting by Luke Starr, Ben Macy and Joe Wiarda.

AGWSR would continue that offensive roll through by scoring once more in the sixth and twice in the seventh, while junior Alex Hames came in to relieve starter Josh Bartling and pitched three no-hit, shutout innings to propel the Cougars to a 10-7 victory and a split of the doubleheader.

Cougars head coach David Showalter said the way the team responded to adversity was nothing new to this year.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON Ñ West Marshall senior Alex Dickey, left, attempts to slide into second base as AGWSR shortstop Josh Bartling attempts to tag him out during the first game of an NICL West Division doubleheader between the Trojans and Cougars in State Center on Wednesday.

“That’s kind of the name of the game for us all season, what we have talked about all year is competing until the last pitch and I thought we did that,” Showalter said. “I told them after the first game that it would tell a lot about us how we respond in the second game and I really like the way we did. Kind of put ourselves in a hole there down 7-3 but we kept working there and did what we needed to do.”

Even before the big comeback, AGWSR (7-2, 5-2) took its first lead of the second game by scoring twice in the third and once in the fourth to erase an early 2-0 deficit. Hames ended up with the win after allowing only one batter over the minimum in the final three innings — which only reached because of an error — and Showalter said both he and Bartling did enough to edge out a tough Trojans team.

“That was Alex’s first time throwing varsity this season, so it was really great to see that from him,” Showalter said. “Josh did what he could do there, I asked him to go a little longer since we had two varsity games today and one tomorrow, I asked if he could keep going and he said he could so I was glad he kept that at 7-3 and gave us a chance.”

West Marshall (10-7, 3-2) also did well when facing adversity, of course jumping out to that 7-3 lead in the second game and coming back from a 2-1 deficit in the first game to eventually win 3-2.

Trojans head coach Jerod Brown said there were some moments where his guys played well, but ultimately they didn’t capitalize on enough scoring situations.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON Ñ West Marshall pitcher Kinnick Christensen prepares to deliver the ball to home plate during the first game of an NICL West Division doubleheader between the Trojans and AGWSR on Wednesday in State Center. Christensen pitched 3 1/3 innings of no-hit baseball in the first-game win for West Marshall.

“I think it was a nice answer early and in game two we had some opportunities to maybe extend the lead that we didn’t take advantage of,” Brown said. “Once we answered back and took that 7-3 lead we just had an inning that got away from us. We made a few mistakes that enabled them to put some runners in scoring position and they got a couple of nice hits, credit to them for doing so.”

In the second game, pitchers Alex Dickey, Jake Stojohann and Gabe Jones combined to give up free bases off walks and hit batters, while the defense surrendered four errors, one of which allowed two runners to cross for the Cougars.

“We had too many freebies in general tonight,” Brown said. “Whether it be errors, walks, hit by pitches, wild pitches, passed balls, there was a little bit of everything. We have to focus on ourselves and be better in a lot of areas.”

AGWSR had timely hits as well, with Liam Stubbe and Starr each coming in with two RBIs and freshman Ben Macy finishing with a 3-for-3 line in game two with an RBI and two runs.

“We had some guys that really hit the ball well tonight. Even in the first game we hit the ball hard, sometimes you hit the ball right at a guy, sometimes you hit it over a guy, sometimes it’s luck,” Showalter said. “Ben has been seeing the ball really well lately, I am happy for him. He is one of those kids that had an opportunity and has taken advantage of it. We have great senior leadership to help him along the way too, but he has been a great player for us since the start of the season.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

While they had loud outs in the first game, the Cougars didn’t actually have a hit from the start in the bottom of the third with two outs, their lone run after the 1-1 tie at the start coming off a West Marshall error.

Trojans pitcher Kinnick Christensen went 3 1/3 innings allowing no hits and one unearned run, while Dickey came in for the save in the seventh by taking down the Cougars in a 1-2-3 inning.

“It was a nice display by those guys to come out and compete,” Brown said. “We found ourselves in a few tough spots where we walked a few too many, but it was a nice effort from them to finish that first game out.”

These were important games in the NICL West landscape, as the Trojans and Cougars both now have two losses in divisional play. Showalter said stealing a game on the road against a good team like West Marshall should help boost his teams’ ego for the rest of the road ahead.

“It was really big for us, yeah we had a chance to win two but we also had a chance to lose two,” Showalter said. “You have to compete all the way to the end, I would like to get two obviously but leaving 1-1, I’ll take that, especially the way we responded in the second game. We can take this with a lot of confidence going forward.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

After winning the first game and having a four-run lead dissipate in game two, Brown said his guys can’t help but feel like they an important divisional contest slip out of their grasps.

“It was nice to get one, I think it was a little disappointing, not just not getting two but more so how we played in that second game,” Brown said. “I think guys know that even if you lose, quality of play matters a lot, and that was probably the more disappointing aspect.”

West Marshall will be back on the diamond tonight with another NICL West matchup, this time against Gladbrook-Reinbeck, while AGWSR also plays tonight when it heads to Sheffield to take on West Fork.

Game Two

AGWSR 10, West Marshall 7

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

At State Center

AGWSR 002 141 2 — 10 8 2

WM 200 500 0 — 7 6 4

Josh Bartling, Alex Hames (5) and Brody Roder; Alex Dickey, Jake Stojohann (5), Gabe Jones (7) and Josh Larsen. WP–Hames. LP–Stojohann. 2B–AGWSR: Bartling, Liam Stubbe, Ben Macy; WM: Dickey. LOB: AGWSR 9, WM 8.

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