Our top moment of the 2022-2023 school year at Pella Christian High School was 29 years in the making, as the Eagles stunned four-time defending State Champion Van Meter 2-1 in 10 innings to qualify for the Class 2A State Baseball Tournament on Tuesday, July 11th.

The Eagles and Bulldogs combined for just six baserunners through the first five innings, with no runners advancing past second base. Pella Christian finally got a runner to third base in the sixth inning and put two runners on the base paths in the seventh, but couldn’t break the scoreless tie in either opportunity. After another scoreless inning, Simon Belzer’s bases loaded sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth plated Caleb Van Arendonk to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Back-to-back doubles by Van Meter to lead off the bottom of the ninth evened the score at 1-1. The Bulldogs then loaded the bases with just one out, but Lincoln Vander Molen worked out of the jam to extend the game into the 10th. 

Recording his third single and stolen base with one out in the top of the 10th, Corbin Westerkamp put the go-ahead run on third base on a Vander Molen ground out. An Eliot Menninga chopper was then mishandled by the shortstop and Westerkamp scampered home to put Pella Christian back on top 2-1. In the bottom of the tenth, Vander Molen recorded a strikeout and produced two weak grounders to Van Arendonk at second base to finish off the stunning upset. 

Westerkamp dominated Van Meter on the bump, striking out 11 in 7.2 innings of no-hit baseball. In relief, Vander Molen threw the final 2.1 innings and struck out two while allowing just the one run in the ninth. 

In their first State Tournament appearance since 1994, Pella Christian played yet another extra inning contest in the first round, but fell to eventual Class 2A State Champion Beckman Catholic 5-4 in eight innings.

Highlights from Pella Christian’s extra innings win over Van Meter: