Through the Dog Days of Summer the Bulldogs Continue Strong Play

The middle of June can be tough on a baseball team, with the team playing when other kids are at the lake, pool, or on vacation.  But despite the distractions, the Bulldog baseball team rattled off another winning week, going 4-1 and 2-0 in the NCC.  Coach Lokenvitz commented on the energy his players give to each other saying, “We have a good group of guys that even if they aren’t playing they are engaged in the game.  The energy from our dugout is really good and our kids feed off that energy and it just builds from there.”  

The week began with a tough conference match up with an always challenging Webster City team.  As such, the game became a battle back and forth between the two teams.  Jaxon Moats took the mound for the Bulldogs and the Lynx jumped on him early, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.  The Bulldogs pushed a run across in the bottom of the first though, but still trailed 2-1.  Webster City opened up their lead in the top of the sixth by scoring 2 runs, but the Bulldogs answered with a big inning in the bottom of the sixth by scoring 5 runs to take a 6-4 lead.  Senior Marco Guerrero came into the game and shut the door on the Lynx however, earning the win for the Bulldogs.  A 6-5 victory for the Bulldogs was a good start to the week.  Guerrero earned the win in his 1 ⅔ innings of pitching with 1 strikeout, while also helping at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a double, and with a single that also drove in a run.

Tuesday saw the H-D-CAL Bulldogs travel to Janesville where Dawson Wikert would take the mound for the Bulldogs.  Wikert pitched a strong 4 ⅓ innings, striking out 7 Wildcat batters.  Brody Robertson then came in to relieve Wikert and finishing the game by striking out two hitters and not giving up an earned run.  At the plate, Brody Walton went 3 for 5, with 2 RBIs and Kyle Helmke going 2 for 3 with a HR and 4 RBI. In the final tally the Bulldogs would claim an 8-3 non-conference victory.  

Wednesday brought the Bulldogs a game against the NCC leading Humboldt Wildcats.  The Bulldogs faced the Wildcat ace and brought their bats with them, getting 5 hits.  Brayden Johnson enjoyed another strong pitching performance for the Bulldogs.  The Bulldogs struck first in the contest, scoring a run in the top of the 2nd, but the Wildcats answered back with 3 of their own.  The Bulldogs then added another run in the 4th inning, but the Wildcats responded with another of their own in the bottom of the 4th to extend their lead to 4-2.  The Wildcats then added some insurance runs in the 5th and 6th innings behind some Bulldog errors in the field to ultimately win the game 10-2.  Johnson pitched 5 innings and struck out 3.  Heeren would pitch an inning in relief, but would also have a triple and RBI for the Bulldogs.  

Thursday saw the Bulldogs travel to Grundy Center for a game with the conference leading Spartans.  The Bulldog bats jumped on the non-conference pitching, scoring 2 runs in the first, 3 in the second, 1 in the third, and 3 in the fourth.  The Spartans did not go away quietly though, and rallied in the bottom of the 4th to bring the game to 9-6.  The bottom of the sixth saw the Spartans tie the game up at 9, but the Bulldogs pushed a run across in the top of the 7th to take a 10-9 lead.  Austin Hanson then closed the door on the Spartans, earning the win for the Bulldogs.  Marco Guerrero started the game and pitched a strong 5 ⅔’s innings.  Guerrero would also get 3 hits and drive in 2 runs.  Kyle Helmke also drove in 3 more runs for the Bulldogs.  

Friday was another non-conference game against the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels with Jaxon Moats on the mound again for the Bulldogs.  The Rebels would push a run across in the first inning, but the Bulldog offense woke up in the second, scoring at least a run in every inning the remainder of the game.  The Bulldogs would then go on to claim a 10-4 victory.  Moats pitched a complete game with 5 strikeouts and Guerrero and Sackville both went 3 for 3 with an RBI.  Heeren went 2 for 2 while driving in a couple RBIs.  The Bulldog victory evened the team’s record at 10-10 overall, placing them 4-4 in the NCC.  

The Bulldogs are playing some of their best baseball right now and will look to continue that into next week when they face off against several rival teams starting with home games against Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on Monday, then West Fork on Tuesday. On  Wednesday the Bulldogs will travel to Algona, then be at home Friday for a match-up with Iowa Falls.