PCM’s bats wake up in baseball win over rival Roland-Story

PRAIRIE CITY — The PCM baseball team entered Friday’s Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference matchup with Class 2A No. 10 Roland-Story with a batting average of .195.

And the only player on the roster who is hitting better than .300 is senior Easton Webb.

While Webb’s stellar hitting continued against the state-ranked Norse, several other Mustangs got their bats going, too, and it all resulted in an 8-1 triumph.

“It’s been a rough start to the season, but it was about time our bats exploded a little bit,” Webb said.

Roland-Story scored first, but PCM tied the game in the third and then blew it open with a five-run fifth.

That was more than enough run support for Trenner Van Dyke, who pitched into the sixth inning and improved to 2-0 following another stellar performance on the mound.

Van Dyke and Shay Burns combined to shut down the Norse, who came into the contest with an on-base percentage of .425. They limited Roland-Story to six hits and the Norse were plagued by four errors.

“The big thing was changing our approach at the plate,” PCM head baseball coach Lewis Daye said. “We need to be simple and be more contact-oriented. We don’t need to try to knock the ball out of the park every time. Getting rid of that mentality helped.”

Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, senior Nick Farver reached on an infield single and then stole second base. Kaleb DeVries also reached on an infield single and then Webb’s RBI single tied the game at 1-all.

All four R-S errors came in PCM’s five-run fifth. Farver started the rally with a single and then took second on a throwing error by the catcher.

With one out, Webb strolled back to the dish and delivered another RBI single to give the Mustangs (3-5, 2-2 in the conference) a lead they wouldn’t give up.

Webb finished with two hits, one walk, one run and two RBIs in the win, while Farver added two hits, two runs and a stolen base.

“I kind of went up there with an attack approach,” Webb said. “We needed to score in those spots so I tried to jump on the first fastball I saw.

“After drawing that first walk, every other at-bat seemed to be in my favor.”

The inning continued when senior Gabe Hobbs reached on an error and then took second on another miscue. He scored on senior Jack Jungling’s RBI single.

After Trigg Steenhoek doubled to put two runners in scoring position, Jensson Hood’s RBI single made it 5-1 before Steenhoek eventually scored on what turned out to be a double steal with Hood.

DeVries singled and stole second and third in the sixth. With two outs, Hobbs walked before Jungling’s RBI single. Hobbs scored on a wild pitch to cap the scoring.

“I’ve known that our group of seniors will take the reins and do what you saw tonight eventually,” Daye said. “I have been waiting for them and this moment since they were freshmen.

“We finally woke up a little bit. We maybe finally believed in our potential.”

Van Dyke allowed just an unearned run following a two-out error in the first. But it certainly wasn’t an easy night for the junior pitcher.

Roland-Story (7-5, 2-2) had several long at-bats and forced Van Dyke into a high pitch count.

He eventually left the game at around 114 pitches in the sixth. He’s now 2-0 though after allowing no earned runs with four hits, three walks and one hit batter. He also fanned six in 5 2/3 innings.

Burns got the final four outs and allowed two hits while striking out one.

The Norse stranded eight runners on base. They left one at third in the first, one at second in the fourth and two in scoring position in the third against Van Dyke.

Burns entered the game with runners on second and third and two outs in the sixth. Roland-Story loaded the bases after an infield single, but Burns got out of the jam after a ground out to shortstop.

“He gives the same thing every outing, which is a calm, cool and collected mindset,” Daye said about Van Dyke. “That really helps him battle through the tougher moments. He doesn’t let anything get to him. He just makes them hit the next one. He’s always got that next-pitch mentality. He’s battle tested and mentally tough.”

The defense also helped both Van Dyke and Burns get out of trouble.

In the fifth, Farver made a sliding catch in foul territory for the second out.

Steenhoek ended the game in the top of the seventh with maybe the best defensive play of his career at shortstop. Running away from the infield, he made a full-extension, diving catch in short left field after holding a Norse runner at second base before the pitch.

DeVries finished with three hits, one run and two steals, Jungling produced two RBIs on his two hits and Hobbs tallied one hit, one walk and two runs.

Steenhoek doubled, scored one run and stole one base, Hood singled, had one RBI and stole one base and Jacob Wendt was hit by a pitch. Jaden Houser scored as a courtesy runner for Jungling in the fifth.

The Mustangs stranded seven runners on base in the game, including two each in the first and third.

“It can give us a lot of confidence and shows that we can compete in this conference,” Webb said. “We have a big conference week coming up next week so having some momentum should help us.”

Brett Schmitz led the Norse with two doubles. William Zamzow also had two hits and Gavin Jeter collected one hit and one walk.

Cael Faber (2-3) took the pitching loss for Roland-Story. He was pulled in the fifth after allowing the five runs. Aiden Frey finished the game but allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Notes: PCM defeated Roland-Story for just the second time since 2020. “I think it will boost our conference and it tells them we are one of the best teams in this conference if we play our game like we did tonight,” Daye said. … The eight runs scored by PCM were a season high. The previous high was seven in a win over Greene County… Roland-Story has now lost four of its past five games and has been outscored 44-10 in those losses.

Perry 4, PCM 3

PERRY — PCM and Perry finished with the same number of hits in their HOIAC baseball matchup on Wednesday.

The Mustangs’ six hits helped them score three runs in the first three innings, but the Bluejays rallied in their final two at-bats and Owen Myers pitched into the seventh during a 4-3 home victory.

PCM plated one run in the first and two in the third but couldn’t prevent Perry from taking a lead in the game. The Bluejays scored twice in both the fifth and sixth frames.

Steenhoek finished with three of the Mustangs’ six hits, scored one run and had one RBI, while DeVries tallied one hit, one run, one RBI and two walks.

DeVries improved his team-best on-base percentage to .538 and he’s totaled a team-high six runs and nine walks.

Jungling doubled, had one RBI and was hit by one pitch, Farver tallied one hit and one run, Webb walked twice and Hobbs totaled one walk, one steal and one hit by pitch. Alex Wendt also was hit by a pitch.

Webb’s on-base percentage improved to .538, which is tied with DeVries for the team lead.

Farver (0-3) took the loss on the mound after allowing four earned runs on four hits with two walks and one hit batter in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight. Carson Hansen got the final out and did not allow a hit or a run.

Myers (1-1) lowered his earned run average to 1.94 after allowing two earned runs on four hits, five walks and three hit batters in 6 2/3 innings. He earned the win and struck out six.

Geren Kenney led the Bluejays (4-5, 2-2) with two hits and two RBIs and got a one-out save. Mason Hayes also had two hits.

Mustangs earn split with Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG — The Mustangs salvaged a non-conference split against Williamsburg on Tuesday after rallying past the Raiders in the nightcap.

PCM fell 5-1 in the opener but used a three-run fourth to down the Raiders, 4-2, in the second game.

The Mustangs totaled five hits and one error in both games. Williamsburg registered three hits and committed two errors in the nightcap.

Farver and Webb each had two hits in Game 2 to lead PCM’s offense. Webb also walked once, had one RBI and was hit by a pitch and Farver tallied one run and one RBI.

DeVries walked three times and scored one run, Hobbs finished with one hit, one walk and one steal and Jacob Wendt walked twice and scored one run.

Steenhoek walked once and had one RBI, Alex Wendt was hit by a pitch and scored a run and Jungling and Hood both walked once.

Van Dyke earned the win on the mound after allowing no runs and three hits with three strikeouts and one walk in four innings.

Jacob Wendt started the game and surrendered two runs — one earned — on four walks and he struck out three in three innings.

Nile Sinn led the Raiders (4-6) with one hit, one walk, two runs and three steals. Carson Grier added one hit and two walks.

In the opener, Farver, DeVries, Webb, Jungling and Hobbs all finished with one hit.

Jungling doubled, walked once and had one RBI, DeVries and Webb each walked once, Farver scored one run and Hobbs stole one base. Steenhoek also walked once. The Mustangs struck out nine times at the plate.

Hood (0-1) started on the mound and took the loss after allowing four earned runs on eight hits and two walks and he struck out three in three innings.

Burns tossed the final three innings and surrendered one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

Sinn doubled twice at the plate and earned the pitching win to lead Williamsburg. Logan Rethwisch had two hits and two RBIs.