Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Keith McSweeney has games like Wednesday’s non-conference contest with Davenport Assumption on the schedule for a reason.

The long-time Solon coach wants to give his team a chance to see some of the best competition possible.

Solon saw first-hand on Wednesday why Assumption is considered one of the best in Class 3A.

Second-ranked Assumption (20-2) scored six runs in the first inning and never let up in a 19-0 four-inning win over No. 7 Solon (12-7).  

“They were squaring balls up and hitting them where we weren’t,” McSweeney said. “They were sitting back and driving the ball so hats off to them tonight.”

The first four batters of the game reached base for Assumption, all via walk or hit by pitch as the Knights took a 1-0 lead before the teams cleared the field for a 30-minute lightning delay.

“We started the game giving them five extra bases and they are too good of a hitting team to do that,” McSweeney said. “Obviously we got off on the wrong foot and then it snowballed on us.”
 When play resumed Assumption picked up where it left off.

A sacrifice fly by Tavien Gillette and an RBI single by Daniel Powers made it 3-0 Assumption.

Number eight hitter Justus Burke put an exclamation point on the six-run first inning with a three-run home run to left center field.

“Their guy struggled with the zone and when we got pitches we could hit we capitalized on them early,” Assumption coach Billy Argo said. “That was a big advantage for us.”

Assumption added two more runs in the second, four in the fourth before sending 13 batters to the play in a seven-run fourth.

The Knights hammered 14 hits against four different Solon pitchers while scoring double digit runs for the 11th time in 22 games.

Meanwhile Solon got next to nothing against Assumption starter Powers.

The Kansas State commit allowed just two hits and struck out six in a four-inning complete game.

“He was around the zone all night and he threw his breaking ball for a strike better,” Argo said. “For him everything starts with locating his fast ball in and out and if he can do that everything else works.”

Payton Bandy and Kendrick Harris each had singles to left field against Powers for the only Solon hits.

Nick Hoffsommer was hit by a pitch twice to account for all the Spartan baserunners against the junior right-hander.

“We haven’t seen a high 80s fastball this year,” McSweeney said. “That was good for us to see and we had some guys square up some balls and that was the positive from today is that we got to see a high caliber arm.”

Solon returns to action on Wednesday hosting Clear Creek Amana in a WAMAC doubleheader that starts at 5 p.m.

“We have a good Clear Creek team coming in here and they are as good as anyone in the WAMAC,” McSweeney said. “Anyone can beat anyone on any given day in this league.”

Davenport Assumption        624  7  – 19  14  0

Solon                                        000  0  –  0    2   3

W – Daniel Powers     L – Nick Hofsommer

2B – DA: Trenton Wallace, Luke Fennelly

HR – DA: Justus Burke