Wolverines pull off extra-inning win

ANITA – After leading by seven runs midway through the game, Nodaway Valley survived a nine-inning thriller with a 10-9 win over Lenox in the first round of Class 1A District 13 Saturday.

Lenox was clinging to its season by three outs entering the bottom of the seventh inning down 9-3. A group that won nine of its last ten games, the Tigers were relaxed, ready for the moment.

“We’ve been there before. Not only last year but this year,” Lenox head coach Trevor Luther said on how Lenox felt going into the bottom of the seventh. “... Everybody knew that they just had a job to do, and we did it.”

Keegan Christensen was intentionally walked for the second time in the game, loading the bases in the seventh. He entered the game hitting .370 on the season with 14 RBIs.

Nodaway Valley head coach Dan Jameson said he felt he had to walk Christensen with first base open and Christensen hitting the ball well in the first matchup against the Wolverines and late in the season.

Jonathon Weaver, hitting .409, was up with the bases loaded. He poked a single over second to cut the Wolverine lead to 9-4. Caelen Devault entered in relief to pitch for Boston Devault after Weaver’s RBI-single.

Conner Fitzgerald hit a screaming line drive up the middle to add two more for Lenox, sparking the dugout. With two outs, Jameson loaded the bases again by intentionally walking Colton Gordon to send Brad Larson to the plate.

Lenox tallied another run to cut the lead to 9-7 on a Boston Devault error from a slow Larson roller to short. Zach Schmitz singled through the left side to drive in two runners and tie the game at nine.

Schmitz went 2-for-5 with a two-RBI single to tie the game with two outs in the seventh.

Jameson said the team flushed the seventh-inning meltdown by not focusing on the past and “battling through it.”

In extra innings, Lenox put a runner on with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but stranded him at first base. Nodaway Valley put two runners on with two outs in the top of the ninth. Boston Devault advanced to third on a ball in the dirt with Tyler Vandewater at the plate.

On a 1-1 pitch, Vandewater got a belt-high fastball from Colton Gordon and scorched a ball through the left side, scoring Boston Devault, giving the Wolverines a 10-9 lead.

“We always talk about how you can’t ever just pick the guy like in basketball or in football or whatever and give them the ball,” Jameson said. “You’ve got to take how the lineup is and fortunately it came around to Tyler there and he did what he does.”

Vandewater finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two walks.

Lenox went down in order to end the game. Luther said the way the season ended is tough because the coaches and underclassmen get to return, but the hardest part is watching five-year letterwinner Colton Gordon, four-year letterwinner Zach Schmitz and two-year letterwinner Blake Rychonovsky leave the program.

Wolverines'
hot start

Nodaway Valley’s offense started out hot, hitting the ball hard and taking advantage of each Lenox mistake.

In the top of the first, Caelen Devault got on from an error and Vandewater walked before Mason Menefee hit a screaming shot into right field, scoring both runners. Menefee was thrown out at third, but the Wolverines had a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

Nodaway Valley pushed across two more runs in the second inning. Aggressive baserunning from Matthew Weber and Mason Mather allowed both to score on a passed balls for a 4-0 lead.

Colby Harris was on the mound for the Wolverines, getting first-pitch outs and easy outs through the first three innings. Only one Tiger reached base – from an error – through four innings.

Harris’ day ended after four innings, striking out three and allowing two runs, one earned.

In the top of the fourth, Nodaway Valley stretched its lead to seven runs as the bats figured out Christensen. Vandewater, Menefee and Mather each tallied a hit in the three-run inning.

Luther said he trusted Christensen and his ability to get outs, but Lenox may have “left him in too long” with the defense struggling to make plays in the field.

“Keegan Christensen did not have his best stuff today,” Luther said. “We knew he was good enough to beat them.”

Christensen pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs, four earned, while the defense allowed two errors behind him. Lenox finished with eight errors on the day.

The fourth inning was the turnaround for Lenox. The Tigers put the first two batters on with Zach Schmitz hitting a double and Cullen Wood driving him in to give Lenox its first run. Christensen recorded an RBI-single to cut the lead to 7-2.

The Wolverines added scratched another run in the top of the fifth inning, but Lenox’s comeback started to mount.

The Tigers loaded the bases before scoring one run from Cullen Wood grounding into a fielder’s choice. Jameson intentionally walking Christensen for the first time worked. Weaver followed with a flyout to end the inning.

Nodaway Valley added its ninth run in the top of the seventh before the Tiger comeback came to fruition.

“We wanted to jump out early, get ready to go early and put the ball in play well,” Jameson said on the mindset entering the game.

Lenox’s record finishes 9-8 and 5-3 in the Pride of Iowa, giving the Tigers a fourth-place conference finish.

UP NEXT – Ending Lenox’s season, Nodaway Valley heads back to Anita to face CAM Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the second round of Class 1A District 13.

Nodaway Valley 10, Lenox 9 (9)

R  H  E

NV  220 031 101  —  10  9  2

LX  001 110 600 — 9  10  8

NV: Colby Harris 4IP 3Ks 1BB, Boston Devault 2IP 2Ks 3BB, Caelen Devault 2Ip 5Ks 2BB and Tyler Vandewater. LX: Keegan Christensen 3 2/3IP 3Ks 2BB, Cullen Wood 2 1/3IP 1K 2BB, Samson Adams 2IP1K 0BB, Colton Gordon 2IP 4Ks 1BB and Colton Gordon, Jamieson Reed. W — Caelen Devault. L – Gordon. HR — None. 3B — NV: Boston Devault. 2B — LX: Gordon (1), Conner Fitzgerald (1), Zach Schmitz (1), Cullen Wood (1), Brad Larson (1), Christensen. RBI — NV: Vandewater (3), Menefee (3). LX: Fitzgerald (2), Schmitz (2), Wood (2), Larson (1), Jonathon Weaver (1), Christensen (1).