Creston baseball, softball win at Glenwood

GLENWOOD — The Panthers swept the Rams Tuesday in Glenwood as baseball won a 9-0 shutout and softball came away with an 8-2 victory.

Both teams moved up to second in Hawkeye 10 rankings, Clarinda leading the race in both sports.

Baseball

Senior Cael Turner had a stellar day on the mound, striking out 11 batters and allowing only four hits in the shutout. This season, Turner has a team-low 1.4 ERA in six games pitched. He leads the bullpen with 51 strikeouts.

The Rams (8-4, 6-4) were a big win for the Panthers (14-6, 9-2).

“Glenwood got after Harlan the night before so we knew we were going to have to play good, clean baseball. Cael on the mound was outstanding, but our defense really was a huge highlight. Our outfield continues to improve and make plays. Milo Staver was a grinder behind the plate,” Creston Coach Brandon Phipps said. “I thought our staff with Coach Pals and Coach Crawford did a nice job in game planning for a good Glenwood team.”

Though Harlan sits at fourth in the H10 with a 6-4 conference record, they were ranked seventh in the IHSBCA Class 3A week four baseball rankings Monday. Creston now has an 8-1 record within Class 3A.

Dylan Hoepker was 3-5 at bat for two runs and an RBI, kicking the game off with a single on his first at bat. While Turner was at the plate, Hoepker took advantage of a wild pitch to advance to third. Turner hit the ball up the middle, the second baseman throwing him out at first, but Hoepker made it home for the Panthers’ first run of the evening.

On defense, the Panthers allowed an average of 3.71 batters per inning, Turner striking out seven of 10 batters in the final three innings. The field committed only one error, it happening on the second at bat of the game. From there, the fielding was clean.

“Holding them to zero runs scored is a tough thing to do, especially at their place,” Phipps commented.

In the third inning, Hoepker scored again on an RBI by freshman Tom Mikkelsen. Creston opened the lead in the fifth inning, Tyler Riley, Turner, Mikkelsen and McCoy Haines all hitting singles while Sam Henry was hit by a pitch and Staver walked.

“At the plate once we adjusted to staying through the middle of the field, we were able to plate some critical runs,” Phipps said.

Riley scored on an RBI from Turner. Turner tagged and made it home on a fly out from Tanner Ray. With bases loaded, Staver’s walk sent Mikkelsen home for the fifth run.

Mikkelsen and Henry were both hit by pitches to start the final inning, Haines with a double for a Mikkelsen run followed by Staver down the middle, sending in Henry and Haines. Staver scored the final run on a double by Hoepker.

Turner and Hoepker have been hot at bat all year, both with 25 hits. Turner has a team-high .403 batting average and 18 RBIs this season.

“We need to continue to focus on ourselves as a ball club,” Phipps said. “Continue to improve in all facets of the game and finish the week strong.”

The Panthers travel to Red Oak (4-13, 0-11) tonight in another conference matchup.

Softball

Tuesday against Glenwood (8-4, 6-4), the Panthers (9-8, 8-2) rebounded from a tough loss to Kuemper Catholic Monday, getting right back to business against the Rams.

Pitcher Taryn Fredrickson had a great day in the circle, throwing 63 strikes in 86 pitches for seven strikeouts, three hits, one walk and two runs. While the defense struggled in their loss to the Knights, they were back to an error-free performance against Glenwood.

Centerfielder Jersey Foote logged three outs while first-basemen Jaycee Hanson had seven.

Sidney Staver went 3-4 at bat for one run and two RBIs. Mila Kuhns had two runs for the Panthers and Sasha Wurster added two RBIs.

Catcher Ava Adamson was the first run of the night, a third-inning single followed by two stolen bases and a hit home from Fredrickson.

In the fourth, Staver made it home on a wild pitch followed by Wurster scoring off a fly ball from Avery Staver.

Through the first three innings, the Rams saw only nine at-bats with no hits. In the fourth, they were able to score two runs, one on a double and the other off a sacrifice bunt.

While the Panthers continued to grind, scoring another run in the fifth and four more in the seventh, the Rams stalled out, putting up only 10 at bats in the final three innings.

Evy Marlin and Sophie Hagle had runs for the Panthers in the seventh, as did Fredrickson and Kuhns.

The Panthers travel to Red Oak (2-9, 0-6) tonight for another H10 matchup.