North Mahaska’s baseball team has had a busy week with four games. They opened the week in a nonconference tilt at Pleasantville and ended with a game against English Valleys at University of Iowa Stadium Saturday. They fell to Pleasantville 21-3, defeated HLV 2-1, lost to Lynnville-Sully 3-2 and topped EV 13-2.
At Pleasantville, North Mahaska jumped on top with two runs over their hosts. Pleasantville answered with 11 runs in the bottom of the first. The Trojans added five runs in each of the next two innings. NM added a run in the top of the third but saw the game end early.
NM was held to three singles and a double. Ben Johannes doubled with an RBI and Jack Kelderman hit a single with an RBI. Hunter Wernli and Drake Hall also singled.
North Mahaska walked 12 Pleasantville batters and hit two. Jaxon Van Der Veer took the loss for NM. Nate Sampson and Lucas Nunnikhoven also pitched.
On Wednesday NM rallied back to take an eight-inning 2-1 victory over South Iowa Cedar League foe HLV in New Sharon.
North Mahaska took the lead in the bottom of the third inning with a run but saw HLV tie the game in the top of the fourth. NM was able to score in their half of the eighth to pick up their first Conference win.
Johannes , Nolan Andersen and Sampson led the hitting for the Warhawks. Johannes hit an RBI double, Sampson and Andersen each hit two singles. Andersen was credited with an RBI.
Andersen earned the win working the final two frames in relief. He struck out three. Nash Smith threw the first six innings with one run on three hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.
Friday the Warhawks matched up with Lynnville-Sully in one of the best ballgames this season. L-S won the contest with a run on the bottom of the seventh 3-2. North Mahaska led twice before LS earned the game winner.
Sampson took the first pitch of the game up the middle for a single. Hall reached on a fielder’s choice as Sampson was forced out. Johannes walked and Smith doubled scoring Hall before LS shut them down.
In the bottom of the second inning Blake Van Wyk singled for the Hawks and scored on a two-out single by Reese Dunsbergen to tie the game.
Johannes gave NM the lead again when he took a two out Carson Maston pitch over the fence for a homerun.
Dunsbergen singled to open the bottom of the fifth. He would move around the bases to tie the game. LS received a double by Corder Noun Harder in the bottom of the seventh. A stolen base and a wild pitch allowed him to score the winning run.
“That was a heck of a ballgame,” said NM coach Kevin Kelderman. “It takes just one mistake. I thought Ryan (Andersen) threw a great game. Ben had a great hit. This was a great high school game.”
Both Andersen and Maston went the distance. Andersen allowed three runs on four hits, three walks, a hit batsman and four strikeouts. Maston gave up two runs on five hits, three walks and nine strikeouts.
Sampson had two singles, Smith had a double, Hall added a single to Johannes’ dinger.
In their annual trip to Iowa City English Valleys and North Mahaska met at Duane Banks Field on the campus of the University of Iowa.
EV as the visitor took the first lead with a run in the top of the first inning. NM then answered with to in the first, one in the second for a 3-1 lead. EV answered with another run in the top of the third, but North Mahaska scored four in the third, and three each in the fourth and fifth to end the game early.
North Mahaska pounded out 16 hits while limiting the Bears to five. Johannes had the big bat drilling three doubles and driving in three runs. Lucas Nunnikhoven hit a double with three RBI and Smith hit a double and three singles to drive in two runs. Andersen added an RBI on two singles.
The Warhawks remain strong on the basepaths going 6-for-6 in stolen bases. Smith had half of them.
Jack Kelderman picked up the mound win going five innings. He allowed two runs on five hits a hit batsman and six strikeouts.
North Mahaska evens their record to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SICL. The Warhawks have another busy week with four games in five days. Tuesday, they host BGM then travel to Colfax-Mingo Wednesday. Friday, they host Iowa Valley then goes to EBF in Eddyville Saturday for a 5 p.m. game.
NM Baseball Goes 2-2 in Busy Week
