Falcons' Crooks shuts down Crusaders' bats

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

WEST BURLINGTON - The Holy Trinity Crusaders need to find a way to get a third out.

The boys had upset on their minds again Tuesday night in West Burlington but ended up giving the Falcons 11 runs after two outs throughout the night in a 16-8 loss to highlight boys area baseball action.

The Crusaders also faced some sick laser-point pitching from Falcons' senior lefty Daniel Crooks in the latter half of the game.

Crooks came in at the top of the third inning with the Falcons up 10-7 and quickly gave up a double to HTC's Kyle Bredemeyer that scored freshman Kadin Medland, and then methodically fanned 12 of the next 18 HTC batters. He gave up just one walk and another lone single to Bredemeyer in the seventh before wrapping it up with a Garrett Hannum strike out to end the game.

Quentin Schneider (3) races home on a single by Zander Schweiss in the second inning of Tuesday's game at West Burlington. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Both teams had hot bats out of the gate with Holy Trinity, who's been scoring a lot of their runs in the latter portion of the games, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after the first. Sophomore Quentin Schneider laced a single to short right to start things off of WB starter Jacob Fritz. Jason Thurman drew a walk and then after a Reed Fehseke pop to second, senior Collin Thornton pounded a double to deep left center to drive in Schneider. Vasin Thurman then followed with an RBI ground out to short to plate Jason Thurman. Fritz got Medland to whiff to end the threat.

In the bottom half the Falcons plated four after HTC starter Cole Thornton had retired the first two hitters without a blemish. But two walks to the next two hitters and a double from Brice Mennan scored two. Then senior Colton Hohenthaner drilled one over the green wall in left center for two more runs before Thornton could record the last out of the inning.

The Crusaders responded with four in the top of the second. Hannum hit a one-out single to left and Zander Schweiss followed with a single to right just past a diving Tyler Dameron. Schneider then followed suit with a single, scoring Hannum from second and Jason Thurman made it four straight singles with a shot up the middle that plated Schweiss and a speedy Schneider who had swiped second prior to the hit.

Thurman advanced to second on a throw home and would come around to score on a throwing error by the Falcons, but that would be it for HTC in the top of the second taking a 6-4 lead into the bottom half.

The wheels came off for HTC in the bottom half of the second. Gabe Zurita started with a single. Thornton got Taylor Martin to ground out back to the mound, but Dameron drove a double to deep right center that scored Zurita. Crooks then popped out for the second out with HTC ahead 6-5. Cole Thornton then gave up an RBI single to Fritz and walked Dreyton LaVeine. HTC head coach Albert Schinstock had seen enough and, with Thornton pushing 45 pitches, pulled the freshman for Jason Thurman, another freshman hurler.

Hohenthaner took Thurman's second offering and smashed it into the bleachers over the center field wall for a three-run homer to put West Burlington up 10-6. Cordell Scarborough fanned to end the inning in the next at bat.

HTC quickly got things going again in the third when Medland drew a lead-off walk. West Burlington head coach Pat McKasson made the trip to the mound to pull Fritz and brought in Crooks. Bredemeyer drove Medland home with a double over the head of the Hohenthaner in centerfield and then Crooks slammed the door on HTC the rest of the night.

"I don't know, it's happened all year I'm trying to figure it out myself," Schinstock said of all the runs after two outs. "We're getting two quick outs every inning and then we just can't finish the inning. We need to play better defense - too many errors."

The Falcons would put up three more in the bottom of the third, two in the fifth, and a final run in the bottom of the sixth to put some distance between the two.

Zander Schwiess went two for three with two RBIs for the Crusaders. Bredemeyer and Schneider each went 2-for-4 on the night.

Thornton went 1 2/3 innings and gave up eight runs on five hits taking the loss. Thurman threw three innings giving up seven runs on eight hits and fanning three. Bredemeyer threw 1 1/3 and gave up one run on two hits.

The Crusaders are averaging four games a week and Schinstock said that makes it tough on his young pitchers.

"We got about seven pitchers playing four or five games a week and we're trying to keep them below 40 so they can come back in two days and pitch."

The Crusaders Jasin Thurman slides into third in the third inning Tuesday night at West Burlington. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

 

 

baseball, boys, Falcons, Holy Trinity Catholic, htc, Pen City Current, varsity, West Burlington

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