Bulldog Baseball Finishes Regular Season Over .500

The Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldog baseball team has been playing tough baseball ever since the middle of June.  The Bulldogs have navigated through an arduous NCC schedule and a challenging non-conference schedule in a year that some viewed as a rebuilding one.  So, the final week of the season shaped up to be the Bulldogs toughest.

The week began with a trip to Harlan Rogers in Fort Dodge to take on the St. Edmond Gaels.  There the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 6-1 lead after 3 innings.  The Gaels would not go away though, and battled themselves back into the game, taking the lead in the bottom of the fourth 7-6.  But the Bulldogs would triumph, scoring 5 runs in the final two innings to take an 11-10 victory over the Gaels.  Brayden Johnson started the game, but exited after the first with an injury.  Dawson Wikert entered the game and pitched a couple innings, but would have to exit due to pitch count.  Marco Guerrero finished the game for the Bulldogs and earned the victory, striking out 5 Gael hitters.  Will Sackville and Tucker Heeren each got 3 hits for the Bulldogs.  Heeren scored an inside the park homerun on a ball hit hard to the right centerfield gap and Guerrero helped himself with a 3 RBI game.

Tuesday the Bulldogs hosted the 9th ranked team in 3A, the Ballard Bombers.  Jaxon Moats took the mound against a team that lives up to their name.  The Bombers struck first, scoring 2 runs in the second inning.  The Bulldogs rallied back though and pushed a run across in the bottom of the fourth.  The Bombers, however, pulled away and ultimately earned a tough 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs.  Moats went the distance, striking out 3.  Sackville had 2 hits and drove in the only Bulldog run.

Wednesday saw the Clear Lake Lions come to town for an NCC clash.  The Bulldog baseball team hosted youth night and the Hampton youth baseball players ran out onto the field with the varsity starters.  Tommy Birdsell also returned to the mound.  Birdsell pitched four strong innings for the Bulldogs, striking out 7 and only giving up 2 runs, but the Bulldogs struggled in the sixth, walking 6 batters in a row and giving up 8 runs.  The Bulldogs rallied late, but were unable to close the gap and fell 12-3.  Heeren got 2 hits for the Bulldogs and scored a run.

Thursday had the Bulldogs host their final regular season home game of the year with the Saydel Eagles coming to town.  The Bulldogs sent Brayden Johnson out to the mound to take on the Eagles.  Johnson pitched a strong four and ⅔ innings, striking out 4 and giving up 3 earned runs.  Brody Robertson came in to finish the game and shut the door on the Eagles chances earning himself the victory while striking out 2.  The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the second inning.  After the Eagles rallied and scored 3 in the fourth, the Bulldogs would get creative though, scoring some runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure a 5-3 victory in the final home game of the regular season.  The first three hitters for the Bulldogs, Walton, Valenzuela, and Guerrero, all got 2 hits.  Valenzuela and Sackville had the 2 Bulldogs RBIs.

Friday’s game was the final regular season game of the week.  A game that will be repeated a week later in the first round of the district playoffs.  The Bulldogs put Dawson Wikert on the mound for the match up.  The Bulldogs struggled at the plate and were not able to push a run across and the Lynx won the game 7-0.  The Bulldogs final record was 15-14 overall and 7-7 in the NCC, securing them a fifth place finish in the conference.  Will Sackville batted .369 and led the Bulldogs in batting average.  He also had 21 RBI's, leading the Bulldogs.  Tony Valenzuela led the Bulldogs in steals with 21.  Brayden Johnson led the Bulldogs in strikeouts with 66, while Jaxon Moats and Dawson Wikert each had 3 wins.  Moats would come away with a 2.05 ERA.

The Bulldogs will host the Webster City Lynx next Friday in the first round of districts.  The game begins at 7:00 PM and tickets can be purchased online through the IHSSA website.  The winner will most likely head to North Polk to take on the Comets.