Warhawks walk off against North Butler

SHEFFIELD—- It took all the way until the final inning, but the West fork Warhawks completed the comeback against the North Butler Bearcats to win 7-6 at home on June 5. The Warhawks are now 7-6 on the year.

Things did not start the best for the Warhawks as North Butler scored six runs in the top of the first inning to take a 6-0 lead. The Warhawks scored one run in the second inning to make it 6-1 and cut into the lead some more by scoring four runs in the third inning to make it 6-5. The Warhawks tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to make it 6-6 and then scored one more time in the bottom of the seventh to win the game.

The Warhawks had six hits in the game as Nolan Shreckengost led the team with two hits, Zander Hansen, Sage Suntken, Ashyr Wiseman, and Braylon Shreckengost all had one hit each. The Warhawks also had six walks as a team. Hansen led the team with two walks, Levi Ruckdashel, Wyatt Bonnema, Braylon Shreckengost, and Nolan Shreckengost all had one walk each. Ruckdashel, Wiseman, and Braylon Shreckengost all had one RBI each.

The Warhawks had nine stolen bases, Hansen, Ruckdashel, and Suntken all had two stolen bases each. Wiseman, Bonnema, and Nolan Shreckengost all had one stolen base. Pitching wise, Nolan Shreckengost pitched six innings and struck out five batters while giving up six runs on three hits and three walks while also hitting two batters. Edison Maske pitched two innings and struck out two batters and gave up one walk.

Head coach Kayden Ames said that he is hoping the comeback does a lot for the team’s confidence.

“We had a tough little stretch there with St. Ansgar and Osage where we struggled to put the ball in play and score some runs,” Ames said. “We had little mental mistakes in those games and yesterday you look in the first inning and I believe we walked three guys and hit two batters and those little things kill. After that six runs inning I said to them ‘Ok we are here how are we going to respond?’ and we responded well.”

After the first inning the Warhawks did not give up a run and Ames said the comeback was all due to how the players responded.

“They never gave up and they kept talking and bringing energy and effort and they knew they could win that game so they kept fighting,” Ames said.

The biggest positive that Ames said that he thinks the team can take away from the win is to keep fighting during games.

“You can’t always get off to a great start, in baseball you are going to have bad innings where you give up a few runs and you are going to have to be able to play from behind,” Ames said. “We never let it phase us, we kept attacking at the plate, and we were aggressive at the base path and put balls in the play and did what we needed to do to get the win.”

The Warhawks next game is at home on June 14 vs Northwood-Kensett at 7:30 p.m.