UPDATE at 11:30 a.m.: The Eagles baseball team lost game one 13-2 and had to forfeit game two against the Indians due to a pitch count violation, with the second game heard live on 92.1 KRLS. Pella Christian’s Micah DeHaan had pitched the night before in the JV game, and thus, should have been limited to 98 pitches. Instead, he threw 110, which gave him a two-day total of 122 and he was ineligible to pitch in the final inning.
ORIGINAL STORY:
It was a wild doubleheader split at Eagle Lane Wednesday night, with the road team Oskaloosa dominating both the first baseball and softball game, but the Eagles finding key rallies in both nightcaps.
The Eagles baseball team lost 13-2 and won 9-5 against the Indians, with the second game heard live on 92.1 KRLS, while the softball girls fell 8-0 and won 8-7 over No. 8 in Class 4A Oskaloosa on senior night.
After being outmatched in game one, 13-2 in five innings, the Eagles baseball team had a resilient bounce back in game two, a 9-5 win in a back-and-forth contest. Oskaloosa briefly took a 2-0 lead after the first half inning, but Pella Chrsitian responded in the bottom of the frame. Matthew Bokhoven drove in the team’s first run, which was followed by back-to-back bases-loaded walks issued by the Indians. Oskaloosa responded with three runs of their own in the top of the third to go up 5-3, but that would prove to be their final scoring of the evening.
A passed ball allowed two Eagles baserunners to score in the bottom of the third, as well as one run scored on a bases-loaded hit by pitch. But Bokhoven came through again to drive in two more runs to put the Eagles on top 8-5. Each team was held scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when Pella Christian tacked on an insurance run to help seal the game. Head Coach Jeff Bruxvoort says that it was wonderful to see his team respond and perform at a high level in game two, especially after an underwhelming outing in game one.
“One thing I’ve noticed with this group is that they just keep grinding, stay focused, and keep working hard, no matter how far down we might be. We responded multiple times in game two and that’s just who they are. They’ve done that multiple times throughout the year, and I’m happy for them. And we did it in multiple ways, so it was pretty awesome.”
Matthew Bokhoven led the way at the plate with two hits and three RBI’s. On the mound, Micah DeHaan pitched five innings of relief, giving up three hits and five walks while striking out five. He reached the pitch count limit of 110 on the final pitch of the night, a strikeout to end the game. Pella Christian is now 4-8 overall and 4-7 in the Little Hawkeye.
Pella Christian was overmatched by Faith DeRonde in game one on the softball diamond and couldn’t contain the Indians bats in the middle innings. In game two, it appeared to be more of the same, even with Cheyanne Collins opening the evening contest with a first inning two-run home run, as Oskaloosa answered with a five spot in the bottom of the 1st.
The Eagles only mustered one hit in innings two through six, unable to solve 2019 All-State pitcher Hayle (Pronounced Haley) Hacker and her dominating change up, and entered the 7th inning down 7-2. But Pella Christian was able to pull together a rally with the bottom half of the order, loading the bases for Chloe Morgan to rip a two-run single into left field. An RBI groundout by Collins and RBI single by Anna Bonnett loaded the bases, with the winning run standing at second base.
The game ended after just one pitch from Oskaloosa’s DeRonde, as after missing wide of the mark following ball one, threw the ball out from the center circle and into the Oskaloosa dugout. Following an appeal by Eagles Head Coach Karen Harrill, it was determined by the umpires that time was never called, and since the ball left the field of play, two bases were granted, and the winning run scored for P.C., capping a six run rally.
Pella Christian baseball is now 4-8, while the softball team moves to 5-7, and both will host Pella for the final regular season home games of 2020.