CEDAR RAPIDS

After finishing out one inning with a strikeout Thursday night, Mid-Prairie sophomore pitcher Alex Bean walked off the pitching mound at Mount Mercy University and jumped up for a high-five with a teammate.

When the game against Bellevue ended, Golden Hawks catcher Tyler Helmuth rushed out from behind Homeplate with his arms extended and hugged Bean to celebrate the historic moment.

Bean struck out a career-high 17 in a 12-3 victory that kept him tied for the most wins in the River Valley South. He is the only sophomore at the top of the list.

Bean did not give up an earned run; Bellevue scored all three of its runs on a long ball hit to the outfield and was not fielded cleanly. He struck out three Bellevue starters three times, either on swinging strikes or curveballs that cut into the strike zone. Many of the Ks came on three pitches.

He faced just 25 batters in the complete-game performance, and for many, it was difficult to keep up
with the fast-moving math.

Soon after the game, before he had a chance to look at a boxscore, Golden Hawks head coach Kyle
Mullet said somebody on the bench had said Bean had 17 Ks. Even the coach had trouble believing it.

“Crazy. He just had his stuff tonight. He was on,” Mullet said. “He was getting ahead on counts and was able to locate his curveballs for strikes, and his offspeeds.”

Bean is unbeaten in four starts this season with three wins. He had totaled just eighth strikeouts in three previous starts. Thursday, he more than doubled the number in one game.

“That’s what it’s about,” Mullet said. “When you can locate your pitches and have command, you’re
going to have some success.”

Bean is tied for seventh in the River Valley South with 25 Ks.

Kayden Reinier and Karson Grout each had triples among their two hits. Reinier scored three times and Grout drove in three runs. Aiden Rath and Keegan Gingerich also had two hits.

The Golden Hawks (11-4), who lead the River Valley South with an 8-2 league record, play at Wilton on Monday, June 21.