T-R PHOTO BY CJ EILERS - West Marshall senior Cameron Bannister slides into second base as the ball gets away from Union Community’s Alex Kiler, top, during the first inning of Monday’s game in La Porte City.

LA PORTE CITY — Patience paid off for the West Marshall baseball team.

Clinging to a 1-0 lead, the Trojans tallied 10 times in the top of the fifth inning to power their way to an 11-1, five-inning triumph over Union Community in Monday’s cross-NICL contest.

Jake Tollefson had an RBI triple and a three-run double in the fifth inning alone as the Trojans (23-4) stampeded past the Knights (3-19).

West Marshall had seven of its 10 hits in the decisive inning to back pitcher Gabe Jones, who tossed a two-hitter for the win. Jones walked two and struck out six in the five-inning shutout.

Josh Larsen had two doubles, an RBI and scored three times, while Ryan Reyerson had two hits that included a three-run double in the fifth as well. Cameron Bannister had two hits, including a double, and scored twice.

The Trojans go out on the road again tonight, traveling to face Denver in a cross-NICL doubleheader.

North Polk 7, East Marshall 3

LE GRAND — Class 3A No. 9 North Polk scored at least once in six of seven at-bats to beat the East Marshall baseball team 7-3 on Monday night.

East Marshall (9-17) scored twice in the bottom of the second to pull even with the Comets (21-4), but North Polk kept scoring at a rate the Mustangs couldn’t maintain.

Sophomore Wesley Hamor took the loss on the mound, though he allowed just six hits and five runs — two earned — over five innings. He walked one and struck out five. Eighth-grader Carter Anderson gave up two runs in the last two innings.

Austin Elliott was 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Mustang bats. Dane Thompson had two hits, while Hamor and Zach Jacobson both had a double. Chase Gratopp singled and scored on his Senior Night.

East Marshall is back at home tonight with a make-up game against Lynnville-Sully.

Vinton-Shellsburg 11-11, South Tama County 1-1

VINTON — The South Tama County softball team suffered its 11th sweep in WaMaC Conference play, falling 11-1 twice to Vinton-Shellsburg on Saturday.

It marked the first sweep of the season for the host Vikings (11-27, 4-22), who won the first game in five innings and the second game in six frames.

In the opener, Katelyn O’Brien gave up just one hit over four innings for the win, while Becca Steffen went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead Vinton-Shellsburg to victory.

South Tama’s lone run came in the top of the fifth, but it wasn’t enough to prolong the game. The Trojans (6-29, 0-22) got two of their three hits against V-S freshman Isabel Mullinex, with Abby Sandvick driving in Ashlynn Ellenbecker with a single, but it wasn’t enough to prolong the game.

In the finale, STC eighth-grader Sammie Schneider made her second varsity start and suffered defeat, allowing nine runs — only two earned — on eight hits and a walk over three innings. Lauren Upmeyer, Kaitlin Meyer and Raelyn Murray each had two hits for Vinton-Shellsburg.

Shelby Slaven had two of the Trojans’ six hits, while Enriqueta Wanatee-Diego doubled and scored a run. Wanatee-Diego was the only South Tama batter to have a hit in both games of the WaMaC twinbill.

BCLUW 3, North Butler 0

ALLISON — The Class 1A No. 5 BCLUW softball team closed the regular season with a five-game winning streak, beating North Butler 3-0 on Friday night.

The Comets (22-9) scored three times in the first three innings while senior pitcher Bailey Ashton spun a four-hit shutout from the circle. Ashton struck out five and walked one, giving up two singles to both Alex Mathers and Kiya Johnson.

Mathers took the loss, allowing three runs — two earned — on six hits over three innings, striking out two for the Bearcats (20-7). Johnson scattered five hits over four innings of scoreless relief, striking out one.

Kiersten Kruse went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and two runs to lead BCLUW, while Cate Nason was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and Madison Ubben was 2-for-3.

Iowa Valley 8, North Tama 2

TRAER — The North Tama softball team closed the regular season with an 8-2 loss to Iowa Valley on Friday night.

Carissa Calderwood had an RBI double and scored on a ball off the bat of Emily Bradley to bring the Redhawks (5-17) into a 2-all tie with Iowa Valley (5-18) in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The visiting Tigers eventually rallied up six runs in the sixth to take control for good. Grace Gunzenhauser drove in three runs for Iowa Valley, while Cassity Havens and Alex Loffer had two hits apiece.

Megan Popelka took the loss in the circle for North Tama, allowing eight runs — six earned — on six hits and five walks while striking out three. Molly Kvidera and Rylee McLean had the only other hits for the Redhawks.

Nashua-Plainfield 11, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 10 (8)

GLADBROOK — Nashua-Plainfield scored four times in the top of the eighth inning and held off Gladbrook-Reinbeck for an 11-10, extra-inning triumph in Friday’s regular-season softball finale.

The Rebels (2-17) led 5-0 before the visiting Huskies (12-13) scored seven-straight. G-R retaliated with runs in the fourth and fifth to tie the game at 7-all, and nobody scored again until the first extra frame.

Alyssa Morgan came on in relief of Rachel Cooley as Nashua-Plainfield rallied in the eighth, allowing one hit but getting the final two outs. The Rebels scored three times but couldn’t complete the comeback.

Taylor Gienger, Reagan Skovgard, Lily Ehlers and Morgan had two hits apiece to lead the Gladbrook-Reinbeck offense. Haleigh Berendes and Gienger both drove in two runs, while Morgan, Skovgard and Ehlers each scored twice.

Only four Huskies runs were earned to Cooley, who pitched 7 1/3 innings for the loss.

South Tama County 7, Aplington-Parkersburg 3

PARKERSBURG — The South Tama County softball team got a win in its non-conference finale, beating Aplington-Parkersburg 7-3 on Friday night.

Ashlynn Ellenbecker allowed one earned run on six hits for the win, striking out seven in the complete-game performance. She also went 4-for-5 atop the Trojan batting order, hitting a double, scoring twice and driving in three runs.

Abby Sandvick was 3-for-5 with a double, a run and two RBIs, and Jordyn Cremeans was 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Trojans (6-27). Morgan Haughey doubled in a run and walked twice.

Mustangs blanked at W’loo

WATERLOO — The East Marshall baseball team was held scoreless in a pair of losses at the Waterloo Bucks’ Riverfront Stadium on Friday.

The Mustangs (9-16) fell 5-0 to Van Buren and 7-0 to Sioux City North in Friday’s Cedar Valley Invitational, the final regular-season games away from home for East Marshall.

Van Buren’s Mason McDonough struck out three in a four-hit shutout, while Jacob Plecker batted 3-for-4 with a double, a run and two RBIs to lead the Warriors (12-7).

Dane Thompson had two of East Marshall’s four singles. Zach Jacobson had one and Garrett Kerber had the other. Eighth-grader Kam Monk took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks over three innings, striking out three.

Jacobson got the loss against Sioux City North, allowing six runs — five earned — on seven hits and two walks over three innings. He struck out four.

Kam Hoskins and Hunter Vilez accounted for the Mustangs’ only hits, as North senior Hudson Krommenhoek struck out five in a 63-pitch complete-game performance. Krommenhoek was one of three North batters with two hits apiece.

West Marshall 11, Pleasantville 10

STATE CENTER — Senior Nat Markle hit his first varsity home run and the West Marshall baseball team held off Pleasantville for an 11-10 victory in Friday’s non-conference clash between Trojans.

West Marshall (22-4) survived a combined eight walks issued by a trio of pitchers to pick up the victory, outlasting Pleasantville’s last-ditch comeback attempt. The visitors scored twice in the top of the seventh before Kinnick Christensen escaped further damage.

Christensen pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief for the win and also singled and drove in two runs. Kaden Davis was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs, while Cameron Bannister was 1-for-1 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored.

Quintin Berglund was 3-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs to lead Pleasantville (14-16), while Grant Fouch was 3-for-5 with four runs scored.

South Tama County 10-1, Independence 1-12

INDEPENDENCE — South Tama senior Carter Kriegel struck out seven in a complete-game three-hitter, helping the Trojans to a WaMaC West Division split with Independence on Friday night.

The Trojans (12-18) took the opener 10-1 before falling 12-1 in the five-inning finale.

In game one, Kriegel also went 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, while Mickey Wanatee was 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. Cael Kellogg plated two runs as well.

In the nightcap, Independence (11-21) scored all of its 12 runs in the first three at-bats. STC starter Matt Wiese took the loss for his two innings of work.

Cam Klostermann was 2-for-2 with a run scored, coming across on a Kriegel single in the third to account for the Trojans’ only run in the game.

BGM 9, GMG 7

GREEN MOUNTAIN — BGM scored the game’s last three runs to overcome a 7-6 deficit for a 9-7 non-conference baseball win over GMG on Friday night.

Noah Beck pitched five innings of scoreless relief for the Bears (13-10), though he allowed three hits and five walks while striking out three to get the win.

GMG’s Blaze Krull went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored to lead GMG offensively. Kolton Gill was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, while Aaron Fleming was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs.

Brock Baldazo and Kooper Gill both had two hits as well for the Wolverines (11-12).

Mitchell White was 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, and Beck was 3-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Bears.

North Tama 7, Iowa Valley 6

TRAER — The North Tama baseball team fought off Iowa Valley’s last rally to claim a one-run win, beating the visiting Tigers 7-6 in Friday’s non-conference clash.

North Tama (17-8) led 7-4 before Iowa Valley scored twice in the top of the seventh to tighten things up, but senior Izach Hensen got out of the jam simultaneous to reaching his pitch count maximum for the night. Henson allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks for the complete-game victory.

Ryan McLean went 2-for-2 with two doubles and three runs scored to lead the Redhawk offense. Tyler Morrison was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Skyler Staker hit a solo homer for his only hit.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 7, Turkey Valley 6

REINBECK — The Gladbrook-Reinbeck baseball team made the most of its last at-bat, scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Turkey Valley 7-6 on Friday.

Cullen Eiffler pitched four innings of one-run ball in relief for the win, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out six.

Keagan Giesking led the Rebel bats, going 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs, including the game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh. Tyler Tscherter was 1-for-2 with an RBI double and two runs scored, and William Kiburis had G-R’s only other hit. The Rebels (14-9) benefitted from 11 walks issued by Turkey Valley pitching.

The visiting Trojans (4-22) scored once in the top of the seventh to tie the game.