In the first game of the twinbill, the Trojans used a seven-run sixth inning to down the Rebels, 10-4, and the following game it was G-R’s turn, scoring four runs in both the first and sixth innings to come away with an 8-4 victory.

The Trojans (18-10, 9-3) have scored at least seven runs in an inning in three of their last four games, and head coach Jerod Brown said the way his guys responded in the sixth inning of game one after letting the Rebels (16-9, 6-6) retake the lead in the top of the frame was a good rally.

“Answering back after they had their big inning in game one with a really good approach and hitting a whole bunch of balls hard in a row, that was great to see,” Brown said. “It can be tough after that happens.”

It can also be tough to lose the first game of a doubleheader and come back ready to go for game two, so Gladbrook-Reinbeck head coach Scott Kiburis said he liked how his guys started the second game with a four-run inning.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Gladbrook-Reinbeck senior Mason Skovgard, right, slides into home plate while West Marshall pitcher Cameron Bannister attempts to get the out during the first game of the NICL West Division doubleheader between the Trojans and Rebels on Friday in Reinbeck.

“We’ve done that a couple times where our top five or six batters all get on base and we get an opportunity to get a lead,” Kiburis said. “We were able to hold that lead even though they had a lot of runners, but it almost seemed like we were losing the game because I don’t think we had a hit again until that sixth inning.”

As Kiburis said, after jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first inning, the Rebels were stifled for the next four frames, thanks mainly to West Marshall pitcher Nat Markle.

Markle replaced starter Alex Dickey in the first inning, then proceeded to retire 14-straight Rebel batters. That streak came to a close with one out down in the sixth inning, when Bronson Wrage stepped up to the plate and belted a single, then Eli Thede followed with another hard-hit single that brought Wrage across and regained the lead for G-R at 5-4.

“Eli Thede’s hit in that sixth inning was really big for us to bring Bronson home and score that fifth run,” Kiburis said. “Then we were able to squeak three more out by guys just having good at-bats and working hard to get on base and put the ball in play.”

Also of note, Rebels sophomore Aiden Wyatt picked up his first hit of his high school career in that sixth inning, smacking a single that brought scored one of the four runs.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Brown said it was no fault of his pitching or his defense that led to the loss in game two, the Trojans just left too many scoring opportunities on the board and the Rebels are too good of an offensive team to keep down for long.

“I was impressed with how well Gladbrook-Reinbeck swung the bats,” Brown said. “In game one we played really good defensively to keep them to four runs, they hit a lot of balls hard. They came out hot in game two, but Nat really kept them off balance, which is not an easy job coming out of the bullpen there. As a whole, overall today we played a lot of really good defense.”

Bryce Schick picked up the win for G-R in game two, and he would have been the winning pitcher in game one had the Rebels held on to their 4-3 lead in the sixth. He pitched five total innings of relief — two in the first game and three in the second — and Kiburis said he did great considering how much was asked of him.

“When Bryce came in to pitch he pretty much was our last pitcher available, we had one other young guy, but we got to a spot where Tyler Tscherter had to come out of the game because he was having some eye problems,” Kiburis said. “Bryce pitched a lot longer than we wanted him too, but he had two outings this week where he came in for three innings and did a great job getting the ball over the plate.”

Cameron Bannister got the win in game one four West Marshall, allowing eight hits and four runs in a gritty performance that Brown said was enough to get the job done.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

These were the last NICL West games of the season for both teams, as the Trojans finish off with a 9-3 record, currently the best in the division, and the Rebels wrap at 6-6.

Kiburis said an even record in divisional play was a bit underwhelming, as he thinks the team is better than the record states, but finishing up with a big win in a doubleheader against the division leader should springboard them well into the postseason.

“In whatever sport you are playing in you want the momentum going in the right direction,” Brown said. “We started the week off 0-3 but didn’t play poorly, we just didn’t hit the ball as well as we have been. To be able to get two out of the last three games here in a 24 hour period, that’s a positive and hopefully we can build on that.”

As for the Trojans, this was a daunting week that featured a four-game road swing in a three-day period, and Brown said the guys are infinitely better for it.

“We talk every week on Fridays about if we are a better team than we were last week, and as a group the collective answer was yes,” Brown said. “This was probably our best week as a group of the year. Our approach at the plate has really improved this week, we hit a lot of balls hard, which is something we’ve been struggling with.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

“I thought as a group we stuck together playing in four games in three days, especially in this heat and all on the road against some pretty good opponents. Seven conference games in 12 days, our attitude was really good and the way we stuck together as a group was really impressive.”

At Reinbeck

Game One

West Marshall 10,

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 4

G-R 000 103 0 — 4 8 2

WM 210 007 X — 10 8 1

Caden Kickbush, Bryce Schick (6) and Walker Thede; Cameron Bannister and Josh Larson. WP–Bannister (4-2). LP–Kickbush (3-3). 2B–G-R: Mason Skovgard; WM: Gabe Jones, Brayden Evertsen, Bannister. LOB–G-R 5, WM 6.

Game Two

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 8, West Marshall 4

WM 111 010 0 — 4 5 0

G-R 400 004 X — 8 9 2

Alex Dickey, Nat Markle (1) and Ben Kielman; Tyler Tscherter, Bryce Schick (5) and Jackson Kiburis. WP–Schick (1-0). LP–Markle (2-4). 2B–WM: Jake Tollefson, Dickey; G-R: Tscherter, Kyle Koppen. LOB–WM 11, G-R 4.

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