The Pella Christian Eagles baseball team started and ended their 2015 season against the Blue Demons of Albia, and fell to their Class 2A rivals 5-1 in a Class 2A Regional Semifinals game heard live on KNIA.

In the Class 2A Region 11 Semifinal, both teams were relatively kept in check until the bottom of the fourth, when former Eagle Nate Haveman scored the game’s first run on a solo shot. The Eagles responded with a run of their own with a ground ball by number nine hitter Kyle Sneller that resulted in an error and an RBI.

And for the second year in a row, Eagles fans may have felt slighted by a key play in the sixth. In a tie game with runners at 2nd and 3rd, a groundball was hit to Kade Vander Molen, who threw home to Scott Haveman. The throw beat the runner to the plate, but the umpire called him safe in a bang-bang play, which allowed the eventual winning run on the scoreboard.

Head Coach Nate Johnson told KNIA/KRLS Sports it’s a play that he won’t easily shake.

“I’ll replay that play in my head several times, tonight, over the next couple of weeks, months, and probably even years,” Johnson said. “I’m not quite understanding the call that was made, but that’s baseball.”

Senior Dillon Branderhorst finished his Eagles career with a gut check effort, tossing 4 1/3 innings of one run ball, striking out five on a day after pitching in relief. Johnson was proud of how his two seniors responded to less-than-ideal circumstances.

“Dillon left it all out there for us on the mound and battled, and that’s what a senior does and that’s the leadership he provides,” Johnson said.

LINE:
at Albia

P Ch 000 010 0 – 1 2 1
Albia 000 104 x – 5 9 1

WP – Tyler Maddison (6-2)
LP – Jason Holwerda (2-1)

HR – [Albia] Nate Haveman (1)

Pella Christian (14-19)
Albia (15-16)