Oskaloosa Baseball Denied Return Trip to State
A return trip to Principal Park was out of reach for the Indians, as they fell to Bondurant-Farrar 5-0 on Wednesday night. (photo by Tasha Janssen)
by Wade Steinlage
The Oskaloosa Indian baseball team finished one win shy of reaching its goal of getting back to the Final Site as it closed out a memorable 2018 season last week.
Oskaloosa (23-13) claimed its fourth-straight district title Monday with a 10-9 win over Ballard. Unfortunately, the offense was stymied against Bondurant-Farrar in Wednesday’s Substate 6 matchup as the Indians fell 5-0.
OHS 10, Ballard 9
In a wild contest that featured 19 runs, 24 hits, and five errors, the Bombers struck first with three runs in the top of the first.
OHS answered immediately with a four-spot in the bottom half, headlined by a two-run double off the bat of Blake Van Veldhuizen.
Ballard recaptured the advantage in the second at 5-4, but Oskaloosa grabbed it right back with a three-run second frame. Tyler Miller led off with a solo home run, while Alex Dejong contributed an RBI double. The hosts then tacked on two more runs in the third to begin to pull away, now up 9-5.
The visitors refused to go quietly, though, clawing back via two runs in the fourth, but Miller added what proved to be quite the insurance run on a run-scoring single in the bottom of that inning.
Ballard posted huge threats down the stretch, including loading the bases in the fifth. Fortunately, the Indians recorded a 4-6-3 double play to get out of that jam. The Bombers did, however, manage to strike in the sixth with two runs and the game entered the seventh and final frame at 10-9 in favor of the Indians.
The Bombers put the tying run on base, but Noah Van Veldhuizen came to the rescue and produced a forceout and a strikeout to capture the save and advance Oskaloosa to the Substate final for the fourth year in a row.
Miller was impressive at the dish, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Dejong and Wyatt Krier also tallied two hits, but it was a full team effort as all nine starters had a base knock in the victory. Blake Van Veldhuizen and Nick Harrington each also drove in two runs, while Krier and Noah Van Veldhuizen both matched Miller by touching home plate twice.
OHS was forced to exhaust some resources against Ballard unfortunately with four different hurlers toeing the rubber. While Noah Van Veldhuizen had the best night, Harrington held up alright with four strikeouts in three innings of action.
Bondurant-Farrar 5, OHS 0
An offense that had averaged 10 runs over the previous four games never found its footing against Bluejay pitcher Quinn Waterhouse. Conversely, the trio of Miller, Colton Butler, and Noah Van Veldhuizen permitted just four hits (OHS had three). Unfortunately, Bondurant-Farrar was patient at the plate, drawing eight total walks.
Keaton DeKock doubled in the first, but was stranded, and then a solo home run gave the Bluejays the lead in the second. The Indians posted their best frame in the third, but could not take advantage of runners on first and third.
Miller, who struck out six and walked four in 4 2/3 innings as the starter, worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the fourth, but was unable to get away unscathed in the fifth. B-F cleared the fences for the second time on the night, this time a three-run shot to put considerable distance between itself and Oskaloosa.
OHS posted baserunners in the fifth and seventh, but failed to bring anyone around in the latter innings and bowed out one triumph shy of returning to Principal Park in Des Moines.
Krier, DeKock, and Cole Kraber each tallied one hit, while Noah Van Veldhuizen struck out three in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
The loss ends the prep careers of Dejong, DeKock, Nick Harrington, Tucker Nunnikhoven, and Blake Van Veldhuizen.
