GOOSE LAKE

The score was tied 3-3. Mid-Prairie had two runners on base. And senior slugger Aidan Rath was at the plate.

It was the perfect scenario for the Golden Hawks on Thursday night at Northeast.

Rath got the pitch he wanted, swung and sent the ball soaring over the center field fence.

Rath’s home run gave the Golden Hawks a 6-3 lead in the fifth inning and started an eight-run rally that helped send Mid-Prairie to a 15-8 win.

Two home runs by Rath on Thursday vaulted him to the top of the home run list in all of Iowa’s classes. He leads Class 2A and is tied with Lane Spieker of CAM High School. Rath is hitting .500.

“He’s just so talented. More importantly, it’s his mindset in the [batter’s] box,” Mid-Prairie head coach Kyle Mullet said of Rath. “He stays in that box and he stays calm and he sees a good pitch and he hits it.”

Rath had three hits Thursday, drove in four runs and scored three times himself.

Junior outfielder Will Cavanagh also had three hits, driving in two runs. Sophomore outfielder Collin Miller had two hits and drove home two runs.

The Golden Hawks (16-5) scored in every inning except the opening inning. After falling behind 3-2, they scored 13 runs in the last four innings, taking advantage of five Northeast errors in addition to Rath’s home run swing.

“We played some good baseball tonight. I really was proud of the way the guys competed,” Mullet said. “I just felt like our guys did a good job staying calm, sticking with what we’re doing, still hitting the ball. We could have rolled over when they got up one, but we answered.”

The Golden Hawks play Friday night at Washington.