Pella Christian Drops Heartbreaker in the First Round of the State Baseball Tournament

Posted By: Tyler Crabb
July 19, 2023 @ 6:01 am
Today’s Local Sports

Photo Courtesy of Lisa K. Morgan Photography

Eighth-seeded Pella Christian gave top-seeded Beckman Catholic all they could handle for eight innings in the opening round of the Class 2A State Baseball Tournament Tuesday, but ultimately fell 5-4 in a game heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

After playing eight of ten innings scoreless against Van Meter in the Substate Final, the Eagles continued that trend as both they and the Trailblazers were scoreless through three frames. Beckman finally broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth, scoring a run on two hits to take a 1-0 lead. Pella Christian responded in a big way, scoring four runs on five hits and an error in the top of the fifth. The three-run cushion was short lived however, as the Trailblazers plated two runs in the bottom of the inning to pull the score to 4-3. After a scoreless sixth inning, the Eagles got within two strikes of pull off the upset in the seventh, but a two-out RBI double sent the game to extras.

In the eighth, Pella Christian put two runners on base with two outs, but the go-ahead run would be thrown out at the plate. Beckman loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the inning, and the Eagles nearly got out of the jam with a strikeout and a potential double play, but an error on what would have been the third out brought home the game winning run.

Pella Christian showed resiliency throughout the game despite the loss, stranding the bases loaded four times and leaving 15 Trailblazers on the base paths on the day. In their final pitching appearances for the Eagles, Corbin Westerkamp and Lincoln Vander Molen combined for five strikeouts, while allowing four runs on eight hits in seven innings of work. Grant Kelderman pitched the eighth inning and gave up an unearned run on two hits and a strikeout. Vander Molen, Kelderman, and Simon Belzer powered the Pella Christian offense, each going 2-for-4 on the day.

Pella Christian ends their season with a 18-17 record overall and graduates five seniors in Westerkamp, Vander Molen, Belzer, Collin Vander Wal, and Spencer VerPloeg.