It took a five-run rally in the 7th and extra innings overall, but the #9 in 3A Dutch baseball team was able to pull off a split with Norwalk to end the first half of Little Hawkeye Conference summer competition. Pella fell in game one 3-0 and came back to win game two 9-8 in 10 innings, with the second contest heard live on 92.1 KRLS Thursday.

The opener moved along quickly, with Norwalk cruising behind ace pitcher C.J. Davis and his shutout performance, scattering seven Pella hits and striking out five. Davis, Aidan Harder, and Briley Purcell each drove in a run in a contest that lasted around 90 minutes.

That set the stage for an error-filled nightcap that saw the road-team Warriors score six runs in the 1st and 3rd innings combined, largely from five Pella defensive errors. While Pella was able to muster three runs before the 4th inning, Colton Moore deposited a two-run home run in the 6th inning that felt like the decisive blow for the road team.

But the night flipped to the Dutch, who mounted a two-out, five-run rally in the 7th to save the game, headlined by a massive blast from Junior Outfielder Lake Cowman. His grand slam would tie festivities and force extra innings, where pitchers from both Little Hawkeye Conference schools would take over, before Cowman found himself at 2nd base in the bottom of the 10th and freshman Hayes Lautenbach would come up with his first ever varsity hit — as he was only at the plate since he was pitching in relief. The freshman would shoot a ground ball up the middle and send Pella into Thursday happy.

The Dutch move to 12-5 overall and finish the half of league play at 7-3, while Norwalk is now 8-11 overall and 5-4 against conference competition. Pella heads to West Marshall this evening, while the Warriors next travel to Oskaloosa on Friday.