Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Austin Schroeder loved playing baseball with his friends.

He loved the competition, the camaraderie and the companionship.

And he loved winning, which his friends from West High did on Saturday by edging Solon 4-3 in the third annual Fight with Flash Crosstown Classic at Duane Banks Field.

Junior catcher Lucas Karwal singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to cap an emotional day.

“It means a lot because a lot kids on this team were friends with Austin,” Karwal said. “The junior class was on his team. We all played with him. And it’s important for us to keep his memory going and make sure he stays important.

“He was a big-time baseball player. We like to play for him. We’ve got these little Fight with Flash things on our sleeves and always remember to play for him.”

Schroeder succumbed to cancer on April 28, 2015 after a courageous battle in which he refused to give up. His courage, toughness and popularity led to the creation of the Fight with Flash Crosstown Classic in his memory.

Schroeder’s nickname was Flash because of his speed on the base paths. He would have been a junior on the current West team, which improved to 16-5 with Saturday’s victory.

The West players honor Schroeder in different ways, including wearing a decal with the words “Fight with Flash” on their sleeves.

Senior third baseman Izaya Ono-Fullard also wears a bracelet honoring Schroeder in every game.

Ono-Fullard paid tribute to Schroeder on Saturday by belting a two-run home run to left field in the fifth inning that gave West a 3-2 lead. It was his third home run in the past two days.

“I’m seeing the ball really well,” Ono-Fullard said. “Three home runs in a week, I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. I had two home runs last year. I’m seeing the ball really well and trying to hit it hard and it’s working out well.”

Schroeder’s death helps to keep things in perspective for Ono-Fullard, who is one of West’s senior leaders. One-Fullard often thinks about Schroeder and uses his memory as motivation.

“Playing in this event with all these teams and this support, Flash would be on our team this year, it’s really special and has a close place in our hearts,” Ono-Fullard said. “I wear this Fight with Flash bracelet every game just to remind me to play hard and that I’m really lucky to be playing.”

West was leading 1-0 when Solon rallied for two runs on three hits in the fifth. West then answered with Ono-Fullard’s two-run blast in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead.

But then Solon answered back with a run in the seventh on Payton Bandy’s run-scoring single.

West senior Connor McCaffery led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, but was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Sophomore Jason Strunk then smacked a single to trigger a rally that ended with Karwal’s game-winning hit off Ryan Geistkemper that bounced near second base and into center field.

“I knew he was kind of struggling to throw strikes and I was just really waiting for him to run the count up to see if I could get a walk out of it,” Karwal said. “But he kept throwing strikes there at the end and I found one to hit.”

Karwal said there was no frustration or panic after Solon tied the score at 3-3 in the seventh.

“It’s not the first time where we’ve been in a close ball game at the end and I just think we’re kind of used to it, just good at it,” Karwal said.

Ono-Fullard thought his home run had a chance to clear the fence, but he didn’t take any chances out of the batter’s box.

“I thought I hit it well,” he said. “I wasn’t really sure. I wanted to run it out and at least get two bags.”

Ono-Fullard only has a few weeks left in his high school career, so his timing for getting hot at the plate couldn’t better.

“All my swings feel real good,” he said. “When I do get out, I feel like I put a good swing on it and maybe just missed it a little bit.”

West senior lead-off hitter Nate Disterhoft also stayed hot by reaching base three times, including twice with singles.

“We’re feeling good, and I think that’s big with baseball,” said West coach Charlie Stumpff, who has over 700 career wins. “Like Izaya feels real good at the plate. Nate Disterhoft feels really good at the plate.”

Disterhoft might not resemble a lead-off hitter with his slender 6-foot-3 frame. But in his case, looks are deceiving.

“When you put him on a basketball floor he looks a little different sometimes,” Stumpff said of Disterhoft. “But for us, he runs. He walks. He’s a good athlete for us in baseball.”

Disterhoft has thrived as the lead-off hitter after struggling in that role last season.

“Last year we wanted him to bat lead-off and he kind of got messed up in the head a little bit,” Stumpff said. “But this year, he’s embraced it again.

“Him and (Izaya) and Connor (McCaffery), we have to run off those guys, and hopefully, Strunk gets it figured out here pretty soon. He’s getting there.”

Junior Jack Wilson started on the mound for West and pitched four scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, both of which came in the fourth inning.

Solon coach Keith McSweeny was pleased with his team’s effort against one of the top 4A teams in the state. The Spartans, who compete in Class 3A, received a strong pitching performance from junior Luke Ira, who had to be lifted in the seventh because of the pitch-count rule.

“I think the difference was they had the last at bat,” McSweeney said. “We pitched really well. I thought all day Luke did a really good job against a good hitting lineup. The Fullard kid made us pay for going up and in. We thought we could go inside and it was a no doubter. So hats off to him. He put a good swing on it.”

Stumpff was pleased with how his hitters battled at the plate and made Ira work.

“We’ll grind out at bats and get pitch counts up,” Stumpff said. “We think we can be a scary team by the end of the year and just try to keep moving on.”

Solon fell to 13-8 with the loss, but the outcome was just part of what mattered on Saturday.

“Everyone understood who Flash was and the family is just so strong,” McSweeney said. “Their efforts and their willingness to open up their heats to all the people in Johnson County and around and allow us to share in this tremendous event benefitting kids, we’re just really happy and humble to be a part of it.”

Solon               000  020  1  –  3  8  0

West High      001  020  1  –  4 13 1

Luke Ira, Ryan Geistkemper (7) and Adam Bock; Jack Wilson, Aiden Crowley (5), Austin Curtiss (5), Dane Randall (6), Austin West (7) and Lucas Karwal.

W – Austin West        L – Ryan Geistkemper.

HR – ICW: Izaya Ono-Fullard