7th inning dooms Crusaders in loss to Iowa Mennonite

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

WEST POINT - A seven-run seventh inning spoiled an otherwise well played game Tuesday night as the Holy Trinity Catholic baseball team fell to Iowa Mennonite 11-3.

The Crusaders held a 3-2 lead going into the fifth inning but the Crusaders put two men on in Cole Ours and Drake Brezina with one out. HTC starting pitcher Cameron Bahl struck out Reggie Bontrager for the second out. But then Noah Bruns laced a single up the middle to score Ours and Brezina in what proved to be the game winning RBIs. IM's Blake Bontrager then lined a single to left center to put runners at first and second, but Bahl got Caleb Yoder to ground out to short to end the threat with HTC down 4-3.

HTC went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fifth. IMS threatened to score again in the top of the sixth but with two outs, Crusader junior shortstop Collin Thornton got horizontal and made a fully stretched grab of a grounder behind second base just inside the grass. He jumped to his feet, bobbled the ball, and realizing he didn't have a chance at first, fired home to nail Blake Bontrager trying to score on the play to end the inning.

The Crusaders weren't able to get anything going in the bottom half of the 6th and IMS' Trevor Leyden made a catch in foul territory falling backward to end the inning there.

IMS blew the game open in the top of the 7th with seven runs. They scored two runs on a Drake Brezina single to right center which prompted HTC head coach Albert Schinstock to pull Bahl and bring in Reed Fehseke from third base. Fehseke struck out the first batter, walked the second, and then gave up an RBI single to Blake Bontrager which left the bases loaded. Fehseke then plunked Leyden to score another run. A wild pitch scored the third run of the game and then Reggie Bontrager hit a single to right center that scored another run.

Schinstock pulled Fehseke in favor of Jason Thurman who got the Crusaders out of the inning but not before IMS put the game out of reach 11 to 3.

Fehseke and Bahl led the Crusaders at the plate going, 2-4 and 2-3, respectively. Vasin Thurman had the other hit for the Crusaders. Cole Thornton, Garrett Hannum and Aiden Alford scored the Crusader runs. Alford had the only RBI for the Crusaders and also had a stolen base.

Bahl went six innings giving up seven runs, all seven earned on 10 hits, striking out two and walking three. Fehseke went 1/3 of an inning and gave up four runs one earned on one hit with a K and two walks. Thurman went 2/3 of an inning without a hit, run, walk or strikeout.

Holy Trinity falls to 1-2 on the season and travels to 5-0 Highland on Thursday.

HTC's Garrett Hannum comes around to score in the second inning Tuesday night with his father Chad looking on behind the pole. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC.

Cameron Bahl (15) picks off an IMS baserunner with a quick move to first baseman Vasin Thurman Tuesday night. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC.

HTC's Reed Fehseke makes contact in the fourth inning for the Crusaders. Fehseke went 2-4 on the night with a stolen base and a walk. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC.

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athletics, baseball, crusaders, holy trinity, htc, Iowa Mennonite, loss, scores, sports, varsity

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