KALONA

It was a close contest on the baseball diamond befitting of the playoffs, as the hosting Ravens and the BGM Bears battled each other in hopes of extending their season. 

With both teams not letting the other run away with the lead this game came down to the final inning. Trailing by one, Hillcrest headed into the bottom of the seventh aiming to rally for the tie or secure a walk off win, but the BGM defense had other plans.

It was three up and three down for the Ravens as two straight strikeouts and a fly ball caught in the outfield spelled the end for Hillcrest (16-5) who were defeated, 7-6, by BGM (18-7) on July 9. 

“I thought our guys did a great job responding all throughout the night, to come back with a couple runs to either tie the game or go within one,” Hillcrest coach Danny Hershberger said after the Ravens fell to the Bears in the 1A District 12 semifinals. 

“It’s frustrating when you’re not able to quite get all the way back and that happens sometimes, but overall happy with the way we continued to fight and compete tonight.” 

In a game that was decided by one run, the BGM defense was able to minimize the damage in two situations where the Ravens loaded the bases. 

After the Ravens scored their first run of the game off a balk in the second, Hillcrest’s leadoff batter Liam Schrock was hit by a pitch to load the bases with only one out. Needing to stop Hillcrest’s momentum, BGM changed pitchers, and this led to two straight outs to escape the inning.  

The sixth inning saw Hillcrest’s Phoenix Anderson bring home a run with a base hit to cut the Raven’s deficit to one. This RBI hit prompted BGM to change pitchers once again.  

The Bears got their second out after the switch but then walked the next batter to load the bases for Hillcrest. With the Ravens on the verge of taking their second lead of the game, a BGM outfielder made a great catch off a Lincoln Miller line drive to end the inning. 

“Had a few plays that we’d like to have back,” coach Hershberger said. “I think we can be proud of the way we continue to fight back; we were able to keep it close.”

Scoring wise, BGM had their most impactful inning in the fourth. After Hillcrest took the lead with two runs in the third, the Bears responded with four runs in the fourth to take a lead they ultimately did not relinquish. 

“Credit BGM for hitting the ball really well,” coach Hershberger said. “They came up with some huge hits to get some runs that were two outs.”

Hillcrest’s big moments on offense came in back-to-back innings. Providing a spark in the third, Lawson Schrock hit a two RBI double to give his team a one run advantage. 

This was the freshman’s second straight playoff game where he had at least one hit. His double against BGM was all the more important in a contest where Hillcrest needed other players besides the top of their batting order to step up.

“Lawson Schrock has a big double to get us a couple runs to really kind of get the momentum back to us,” coach Hershberger said. “Different guys stepping up and, not necessarily top of the order stuff, are the guys that are stepping up and that’s huge when you have those guys be able to do that.” 

Then in the fourth, Mason Bender kept the scoring streak going by connecting on a two RBI single. Bender’s hit almost scored three, but Mason Helmuth was declared out after being tagged on his slide home. 

“Mason Bender had a really good night hitting the ball. He seemed to come up and hit it hard and was able to get a couple of RBIs there for us or start an inning with a hit to get on base,” coach Hershberger said. 

Starting the game on the mound for Hillcrest was Seth Ours. Ours was no stranger to playoff baseball, getting the start in two postseason games last year. The experienced junior pitched in four innings, striking out three, giving up 10 hits, and allowing two walks. 

“Seth is going to give you a chance on the mound every time out there. A little bit of a rough night where a couple balls, not hit real hard, find some holes, and that can be frustrating as a pitcher,” coach Hershberger said. “But I thought he did a great job of sticking with it and not getting too down. When that was happening, he did a great job in a tight zone and did a great job of making good pitches to keep runners off base.”

Pitching in the last three innings for Hillcrest was Liam Schrock. 

Schrock only gave up one run in the fifth despite the Bears loading up the bases after their score. Then in the seventh, Schrock made a highlight third out by dashing to his left, bobbling the ball with his gloved hand, and then catching it with his bare hand. 

“Liam comes in and hasn’t been on the mound a whole lot but has pitched some big innings for us. To come in and only give up one run in the last three innings, that was huge for us,” coach Hershberger said. “It was a great way to keep us in the game and give us an opportunity to come back.”  

Schrock ended with one strikeout, surrendered four hits, and allowed three walks. 

Bowing out in the second round, Hillcrest heads into the offseason with their future looking bright. Winning the conference for the second year in a row, the Ravens can expect great roster consistency next season with no seniors on the team.  

“Winning the conference again is not an easy task. It’s something we can be proud of and look back on, and be excited about,” coach Hershberger said. “Not the way you want to end the year, but we can look back in a couple of days and be proud of some of the things we accomplished.”