The Pella offense put on a 12 inning show and it wasn’t until game two until the Eagles joined them in a doubleheader sweep 14-0 and 14-10 for the green and white in a baseball twin bill heard live on 92.1 KRLS Wednesday.
Scoring in four of five innings in game one and in all but two innings in the night cap — Pella had no trouble driving in runs after stranding several on base earlier in the week, and Jason Knox cruised to victory with a five-inning one-hitter, adding eight strikeouts on the mound.
After jumping to a 4-0 lead in game two with a two-out rally, Pella Christian responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the 1st, and took their first and only lead of the twin bill in the 2nd inning 7-6. Despite a tough task, Lincoln Vander Molen gutted out five plus innings after giving up eight runs. P.C. left the bases loaded in the 7th with the tying run in the on-deck circle.
Isaiah Kettler of Pella finished the doubleheader 6-for-8 with a home run, Cole Hillman went 3-for-3 with three doubles in game two, and Keegan Hansen had a pair of doubles in the nightcap as well with 17 of 18 Pella batters reaching base safely between the 14 innings. For the Eagles, Bennett Spronk, Micah DeHaan and Caleb Belzer had a pair of hits in game two and Ty Vander Molen drove in a pair in the night cap.
Pella improves to 18-13 with the season sweep of the Eagles, ensuring a winning season in the conference this summer at 11-9 and a 4th place finish. They wrap up league play Friday in Indianola (94.3 KNIA only). Pella Christian falls to 8-18 and 4-16 in the LHC, and await district competition Saturday in Centerville against Albia (92.1 KRLS at 4:30 p.m.).