Making the short trip to Prairie City Tuesday night, the Pella Christian baseball team got back in the win column with an 8-7 victory at PCM.

The Eagles jumped ahead early in the contest with a 2-0 lead after the second inning, only for the Mustangs to respond with three runs in the bottom of the third. Pella Christian bounced back in the top of the fourth with five runs to regain a 7-3 lead, but PCM battled back to pull within one with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Connor Van Zee scored Luke Fynaardt in the top of the sixth to give the Eagles a much-needed insurance run, as Jacob Wendt’s solo home run for the Mustangs in the bottom of the seventh cut the lead to 8-7. Chase Wagaman singled to put the game tying run on first base for PCM, but a game ending strikeout gave Pella Christian the win.

Strikeouts played a major factor in the game for the Eagles and the Mustangs. Fynaardt and Brecken Ritzert combined to recorded 15 of the 21 outs in the game via the punch out for Pella Christian, while PCM’s Kaleb DeVries and Jacob Wendt recorded a combined 10 strikeouts. Van Zee led the Eagles at the plate on the night, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Gabe Hobbs led the Mustangs’ offense with three RBIs of his own. 

Pella Christian improved to 13-12 overall on the season with the win, and they will try to add to the win column tonight with a 7:30 p.m. Little Hawkeye Conference game at Oskaloosa. PCM fell to 11-10 on the season, and they will look to bounce back tonight with a Heart of Iowa Conference game at West Marshall at 7:30 p.m.

The Pella Christian softball team is also in action at Oskaloosa tonight and the game can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS, beginning with pregame coverage at 7 p.m.