Class 2A State Baseball Tournament – Semifinals
Van Meter 4
Unity Christian 3
Van Meter will try for a three-peat championship run as they defeated Unity Christian in the Class 2A semifinal game Wednesday evening.
The contest started off with a standstill; both teams went scoreless through the first two innings. Van Meter’s Ganon Archer was strong on the hill for the Bulldogs, striking out the first three batters in the second inning and recording four strikeouts in the first two innings. Unity Christian’s defense was strong as well, getting a 2-4 putout to get Van Meter’s Jack Pettit out at second base and a few more putouts in the second to retire the Bulldogs.
The third inning is where the action got heated. Unity Christian got the first runs of the game when Clayton Bosma cleared the fence and got a three RBI homerun to give the Knights the 3-0 advantage. Van Meter fought back well in the bottom half of the third, scoring two runners, one off Austin Baumhover’s RBI single, and another off a sac fly from Pettit, cutting down the Unity Christian lead to 3-2. Two and a half innings went by before another run was scored, highlighting strong defensive innings for both teams. Unity Christian got another 2-4 putout at second base in the fourth and left a runner stranded at second base in the fifth. Van Meter also stranded a Unity Chrisitan runner at second in the fourth and had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth.
Van Meter retired the first three Unity Christian batters in the top of the sixth and rode that momentum to their eventual lead. Van Meter’s Ike Speltz crushed a two RBI double to score Zach Pleggenkuhle and Jack Blomgren, giving the Bulldogs the first lead of the game at 4-3. Unity Christan was able to hold off more Van Meter runners from scoring, but the damage was done. Van Meter’s final push was in the top of the seventh where they retired Unity Christian with a flyout to right field, a strikeout swinging, and a 4-3 putout to win it 4-3 over the Knights.
Unity Christian’s season comes to an end with a final record of 21-8. Van Meter will try for a three-peat championship run as they move on to Thursday’s championship game against the winner of Centerville and Camanche.
Van Meter Stats
Jack Pettit: 1-2, RBI
Zach Pleggenhuhle: 2-3, RS
Jacob Blomgren: RS
Ganon Archer: 1-2; Pitching: 7 IP, 3 H, 3 RA, 3 ER, BB, 10 K
Ike Speltz: 1-2, 2 RBI
Alex Jones: 1-2
Austin Baumhover: 1-2, 3B, RBI, RSX
Chris Schreck: RS
Unity Christian Stats
Clayton Bosma: 1-3, HR, RS, 3 RBI; Pitching: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 RA, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Jacob Van Donge: 1-3
Tyler Wieringa: 1-3
Caleb Smit: RS
Braeden Bosma: RS, HBP
