Photo courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography

Despite outhitting Class 2A #2 Des Moines Christian 4-2, the Pella Christian baseball team was unable to crack the scoreboard in a 2-0 loss in the Substate Semifinals Saturday night.

Tysen De Vries’ lead-off double set up the Eagles’ first scoring opportunity of the night, but the threat came to pass and the Lions managed to capitalize on that momentum in the bottom of the first. After a 1-out walk, Des Moines Christian used a stolen base, a ground out, and a wild pitch to take the early 1-0 lead. Pella Christian continued to apply pressure on the Lions, putting a runner in scoring position in each of the second, third, and fifth innings, but timely hits eluded the Eagles with all three scoring chances ending without a run. Des Moines Christian extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth, using a walk and an RBI double to push the advantage to 2-0. Down to their final six outs, Pella Christian put a runner on in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but the Lions got out of both frames unscathed to end the Eagles’ season.

On the mound for Pella Christian, Grant Kelderman and Trevor Veenstra each tossed three innings in the loss. Kelderman allowed one run on no hits and four walks while striking out four in his three innings on the bump, while Veenstra allowed a run on two hits and two walks while striking out seven in the final three innings. 

Pella Christian ends the season with a 14-21 overall record and graduates seven seniors in De Vries, Veenstra, Caleb Van Arendonk, Luke Fynaardt, Trae Van Maanen, Isaiah Breems, and Keagan Fopma.