Friends of WCS

Walnut advances to face Spartans in second round.

By Drew Herron
NT Sports Editor

OAKLAND – Walnut right-hander Lucas Blum was solid as a rock on the hill and the Warrior sticks inflicted the bulk of their damage during a long third-inning Tuesday night to defeat Riverside 5-0 and move into the second round of Class 1A District Tournament action.

Warriors’ senior Derek Frahm jacked a long two-run homerun over the left field fence in the third inning to get things started, and Walnut was in control the rest of the way.

“We got things rolling, and that was big for us,” Walnut coach Trey Brix said of the third-inning blitz, a period that would see 10 Walnut batters come to the plate and four runs score. “It was big for us to go ahead so we could hold the lead.”

Blum threw six innings of scoreless ball where he allowed just two hits and no walks while striking out six.

Warriors improve to 7-3 in RHC baseball standings

 WALNUT — Winning game one in a rout and game two with a determined comeback, the Walnut baseball team swept a doubleheader from East Greene Tuesday night to remain near the top of the Rolling Hills Conference.

 The Warriors prevailed 12-1 as the visiting team in game one (a make-up from June 13), then rallied from a five-run deficit to win the night cap, 11-10. Junior Lucas Blum (4-3) pitched a seven-hitter for the game-one victory and preserved game two with a scoreless seventh inning to notch his second save of the season.

 Walnut improved to 12-4 overall and 7-3 in the RHC, but still trails Iowa Christian Academy (8-1) and Exira/EH-K (8-2) in the league standings. The Warriors handed I.C.A. its only conference loss on June 14 and they will go for the season sweep Thursday night on the road (at Waukee).

 “We’ve got to knock off I.C.A. and then hope that someone else knocks them off,” said Walnut head coach Trey Brix, who was very proud of his team for their resiliency in Tuesday’s game two.

 East Greene (6-10, 2-7 RHC) led 4-0 after a half-inning and extended the margin to 7-2 in the top of the second and 8-3 in the third, but Walnut just kept chipping away. The Warriors scored at least one run (usually two) in the first five innings, capped by a four-run bottom of the fifth that put them ahead for the first time, 11-9.

 “I told the boys, ‘Just keep battling. We’ll get them in the late innings,’ and they did just that,” Brix said. “Everyone stepped up, everyone put the ball in play. I can’t say one certain person that stood out because everyone did a good job putting the ball in play and giving (us) a chance. We just did an all-around great job sticking together and battling back.”

 Game-two starter Jared Ploen (2-0) was hurt by his defense at times and also allowed nine hits, but still left the mound with the lead after six innings. He gave up six earned runs, walked three and struck out seven in just his second starting assignment of the year.

 “I told Jared to get in there and throw strikes and make them hit the ball, and that’s what he did,” Brix said. “They’re a good-hittin’ ball club and he only walked (three) guys, and that’s what saved us.”

 Speaking of saves, Blum was given the tough assignment of coming back two hours after a complete-game win to close the seventh. He showed no signs of a tight arm, however, and would have retired the Hawks in order if not for a bad-hop single with two out. Blum struck out two of the four batters he faced.

 “I asked him in the fifth inning if he was good for the seventh, and there was no hesitation,” Brix added. “He wanted the ball in his hands and that was good to see.”

 Seven Walnut players hit safely in game two, led by Cody Olson (3-for-4) and Ty Johnk (2-for-3). Blum and Austen Stevens both added a double. The Warriors drew five walks and were also aided by two run-scoring balks called on East Greene starter Wes Onken.

 Drew Cable’s two-RBI single pulled Walnut within 8-5 in the third inning and Derek Frahm’s two-run single tied it in the fifth (9-9). A Johnk RBI single and Blum sacrifice fly gave Walnut a two-run cushion that proved to be enough.

 The Warriors had a much easier time in game one, using nine hits and 10 walks issued by East Greene pitchers. Frahm drew three of the base-on-balls, stole three bases and scored four times.

 Blum went 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBI, Stevens was 2-for-3 with three RBI and Johnk finished with two RBI and three runs.

 Blum did not allow an earned run on the mound, walking one and striking out six.

 Following Thursday’s game at I.C.A., Walnut will close out the week Friday at C-A-M, Anita.

Walnut 12, East Greene 1

Walnut Boxscore — AB R H RBI

Derek Frahm, 1B 2 4 1 0

Cody Olson, C 2 1 1 0

Ty Johnk, SS 2 3 1 2

Lucas Blum, P 3 1 2 4

Jared Ploen, 2B 3 0 1 1

Austen Stevens, 3B 3 1 2 3

Zach Hemmingsen, CF 4 0 0 0

Drew Cable, DH 4 1 0 0

Chris Guthery, LF 0 0 0 0

Amadeus Linzer, RF 4 1 1 0

TOTALS 27 12 9 10

 Doubles: None. Triple: Blum. Home runs: None. Base-on-balls: Frahm 3, Blum 2, Ploen 2, Johnk, Stevens, Hemmingsen. Stolen bases: Frahm 3, Olson.

Walnut Pitching — IP H R ER BB K

Blum (W, 4-3) 7 7 1 0 1 6

Walnut 11, East Greene 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 —- R H E

E. Greene 4 3 1 1 0 1 0 — 10 10 x

Walnut 2 1 2 2 4 0 x —- 11 10 x

Walnut Boxscore — AB R H RBI

Derek Frahm, 1B 4 2 1 2

Cody Olson, C 4 1 3 0

Ty Johnk, SS 3 2 2 2

Lucas Blum, 2B-P 3 1 1 2

Austen Stevens, 3B 3 1 1 1

Jared Ploen, P-2B 3 0 0 0

Zach Hemmingsen, CF 3 1 0 0

Drew Cable, DH 3 2 1 2

Amadeus Linzer, RF 0 0 0 0

Chris Guthery, LF 3 1 1 0

TOTALS 29 11 10 9

 Doubles: Blum, Stevens. Triples: None. Home runs: None. Base-on-balls: Johnk, Stevens, Ploen, Cable, Guthery. Stolen bases: Stevens 2, Frahm. Sac fly: Blum.

Walnut Pitching — IP H R ER BB K

Ploen (W, 2-0) 6 9 10 6 3 7

Blum (save, 2) 1 1 0 0 0 2

Season W-L Records — Walnut (12-4, 7-3 RHC), EG (6-10, 2-7)

AVOCA – Walnut freshman Ashli Walker threw a no-hitter and the Warrior offense provided the timely hitting as Walnut defeated Exira-EHK 7-0 Thursday night to move into the third round of Regional Tournament action.

Walker finished with 10 strikeouts to a pair of walks, no hits, and flirted with perfection through five innings.

With Walnut running the base paths and Exira-EHK spinning its wheels, Walker’s performance likely proved the difference.

“She was hitting the glove with every pitch,” Walnut coach Laci Grooms said of Walker. “It was a strong performance.”

Walker used primarily her fastball to puzzle the Exira-EHK lineup, and laced in the curveball to keep them off-balance. For the better part of seven innings, Walker painted the corners and worked her way to a patient, methodical victory over a 23-4 team that hit .317 on the season.

Walnut’s big break came in the third inning when they sent eight batters to the plate, scoring four runs on three hits.

Dakota Brockman led the inning off with a single and eventually scored the game’s first run on a three-RBI double off the bat of Sam Jensen.

Link

WALNUT — Maintaining a share of the Rolling Hills Conference softball lead, Walnut scored in all but one inning Tuesday night to defeat East Greeen, 9-4.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, the Warriors plated two runs each of the first two innings and added one run in the third, two in the fourth and two in the sixth. Winning pitcher Ashli Walker hit an RBI single for Walnut, as did Sam Jensen, Alyssa Becerra and Katie Weihs. Lauren Sievers added a two-run double in the sixth.

Link

ADAIR — Walnut bounced back from a tough non-conference baseball loss one night earlier to edge Adair-Casey 5-4 Thursday and improve to 9-2 overall and 5-1 in the Rolling Hills.

 Warriors’ junior Lucas Blum (3-2) struck out 12 batters to record a complete-game win on the mound. He allowed five hits and four walks while surrendering only two earned runs.

 Offensively, Derek Frahm was just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. The senior went 4-for-5 on the night with a double, a triple, two singles and three RBI. Blum and Jared Ploen both added a single for Walnut, which totaled only six hits but was able to draw 12 walks from A-C pitchers. Number-nine hitter Chris Guthery walked three times and Ben Kixmiller and Drew Cable both walked twice.

 The Warriors are scheduled to play three conference games this week – Monday at Exira/EH-K, Tuesday at C-A-M, Thursday vs. Orient-Macksburg – before playing in the West Central Valley (Stuart) Tournament on Saturday.

CR-B 3, Walnut 2

 COON RAPIDS — Walnut battled the No. 7-ranked team in Class 1-A for seven innings Wednesday night before losing a 3-2 decision at Coon Rapids-Bayard.

 Derek Frahm went 2-for-4 with a double and Cody Olson added two singles and scored a run to lead Walnut at the plate. Ben Kixmiller was hitless but drove in both Warrior runs.

 On the mound, Lucas Blum and Jared Ploen both worked three innings, combining for no walks and seven strikeouts. Blum took the loss, allowing six hits and three runs. Ploen yielded only two hits in three scoreless innings of relief.

WALNUT — Derek Frahm won an outstanding pitchers duel over Colton Barton Tuesday night as Walnut edged Iowa Christian Academy 1-0 in Rolling Hills Conference baseball action.

 Frahm, now 4-0 on the year, fired a one-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and just one walk, not allowing a runner past second base. The Warrior senior has now recorded 60 strikeouts in 27 and two-third innings and carries an impressive 1.01 earned run average for the season. Frahm retired the first 12 I.C.A. batters – 10 on strikeouts – and allowed only three base runners the entire game.

 Walnut scored an unearned run in the first inning off Barton, who allowed six singles, walked none and struck out 10 in defeat.

 Ty Johnk scored the game’s only run, reaching on a one-out single and crossing the plate with the help of two errors and a passed ball. Johnk and Austen Stevens both finished 2-for-3 with a stolen base for Walnut.

 The Warriors improved to 4-1 in the RHC and 8-1 overall.

Walnut 1, I.C.A. 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 —– R H E

I.C.A. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 2

Walnut 1 0 0 0 0 0 x — 1 6 1

Walnut Boxscore — AB R H RBI

Derek Frahm, P 3 0 0 0

Ty Johnk, SS 3 1 2 0

Lucas Blum, 1B 3 0 0 0

Cody Olson, C 3 0 0 0

Austen Stevens, 3B 3 0 2 0

Jared Ploen, 2B 3 0 0 0

Zach Hemmingsen, CF 2 0 1 0

Ben Kixmiller, RF 2 0 1 0

Chris Guthery, LF 1 0 0 0

Drew Cable, PH 1 0 0 0

TOTALS 24 1 6 0

 Doubles: None. Triples: None. Home runs: None. Base-on-balls: None. HBP: None. Stolen bases: Johnk, Stevens.

Walnut Pitching — IP H R ER BB K

Frahm (W, 4-0) 7 1 0 0 1 13

Season W-L Records — Walnut (8-1, 4-1 RHC), I.C.A. (n/a).

NT Sports Editor

WALNUT – The Warriors got timely hitting when it was most needed, and pitching held up through seven innings as Walnut came from behind to defeat Glidden-Ralston 5-4 Thursday night.

A sixth inning rally swung the balance in Walnut’s favor permanently as the Warriors’ fought their way out of an early 3-0 hole and found the means to down G-R, winning for the seventh time this year in eight games.

“They played small ball, they all worked together and came through with a win,” Walnut coach Trey Brix said. “It was a good team effort.”

Junior right-hander Lucas Blum overcame early troubles on the hill and found his rhythm as the innings wore on. Blum allowed three earned runs on six hits and struck out eight as he improved his record to 3-1 this year.

“Lucas settled in, battled back, and did well,” coach Brix said.

Walnut B PeeWees bring home the win on the LLF inaugural game.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Logans-Little-Field/117217634959359