Indians Take Two From The Panthers
by Jamie Brockman
Knoxville, Iowa – It took three tries thanks to Mother Nature, but finally Oskaloosa and Knoxville baseball teams got together in Knoxville for a doubleheader Thursday night.
The Indians took advantage of struggling pitching from the Panthers and tallied 20 runs and 20 hits in the two games as they swept the Panthers winning game one 12-3 and game two 8-6 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Knoxville led early scoring two runs on two hits and a walk in the first inning. Oskaloosa answered with a run in the second inning on the double by Noah Van Veldhuizen and an RBI single from Charlie North. The Indians then tied the game with another run in the fourth on the double by Ethan Christ and an RBI single from Rian Yates.
A huge fifth inning saw Oskaloosa send 11 batters to the plate, scoring five runs off two hits, four walks and a Knoxville error with Tyler Miller, North and Christ all knocking in runs giving Oskaloosa a 9-2 lead. The hot bats continued into the sixth inning as the Indians added two more runs including a 2 RBI single from Wyatt Krier.
Knoxville scored a run in the bottom half of the sixth, but Oskaloosa wasn’t done, adding another run in the seventh on a single by Cole Kraber who scored on an RBI single from Colton Butler. The defense closed the deal in the bottom of the seventh ending the game on a 6-4-3 double play giving the Indians the 12-3 win.
Wyatt Krier got the win throwing four innings, allowing two hits and two runs while striking out four and walking four. Colton Kraber closed it out pitching the final three innings. Osky scored 12 runs on 11 hits, committed two errors and stranded ten base runners. At the plate, Krier was 1-3 with 2 RBI and 2 walks, Yates was 1-3 with 2 RBI and 2 walks, Tyler Miller 1-5 with an RBI, Cole Kraber 1-3 with two runs scored, Van Veldhuizen 1-5, Butler was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk, Charlie North went 3-4 with an RBI, and Ethan Christ went 2-4 with an RBI and scored three runs.
In the nightcap, Osky’s top pitcher Rian Yates was in a groove as he struck out 12 Panther batters allowing just three hits in five innings and walked two before leaving with an injury. Wyatt Krier was red hot at the plate with a single, two doubles and a walk and scored twice.
A four-run second inning put Oskaloosa where they wanted to be with singles from Colton Butler and Nic Dykstra and, back to back doubles from Yates and Krier. The Indians added another in the fourth on a double from Krier, and a deep sacrifice fly from Yates that scored Krier. The Indians then plated two runs in the fifth on three straight singles from Cole Kraber, Noah Van Veldhuizen and Charlie North.
The Indians added one final run in the seventh to hold an 8-2 lead. Knoxville didn’t throw in the towel, however, putting together a big two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs, three of which came on a deep double from R.J. Roberts, but it wasn’t enough as Oskaloosa got the 8-6 win.
Yates had his A game throwing five innings before exiting after being hit in the calf by a wild throw. The Senior struck out 12 of the 20 batters he faced en route to his first win of the season.
Freshman Jarrett Czerwinski pitched 1and 2/3 innings in relief allowing four hits and five runs, although only one earned run while striking out two and walking one. Cole Kraber pitched the final 1/3 inning to close out the 8-6 win.
Oskaloosa scored eight runs on nine hits, committed one error and stranded five base runners. At the plate, Krier was 3-3 and scored two runs, Yates was 1-3 with three RBIs, Kraber 1-3 with a walk and scored two runs, Noah Van Veldhuizen 1-4 and scored, Charlie North 1-3 with an RBI, Colton Butler 1-3 with an RBI and run scored, Nic Dykstra 1-3 and Will Schultz walked twice and scored a run.
Oskaloosa improves to 3-0 and has a tough test to open Little Hawkeye Conference at home Friday night when they host 5-0 Grinnell.
