Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – West High pitcher Braden Houston owes much of his success in baseball to his senior teammates.

The junior showed his appreciation by helping to turn Senior Day into a convincing win by pitching six strong innings during a 10-1 victory over Davenport North in a Class 4A substate semifinal on Friday at West.

It was the first step for West High in its quest to go one step further in the playoffs after finishing as the Class 4A runner-up in each of the past three seasons.

“It would mean a lot,” Houston said of winning a state title with the current senior class. “They’re my mentors. I look up to them in everything. They’ve been there three times. They deserve it.”

West High showed no signs of looking past a Davenport North squad that limped into Friday’s playoff game with an 11-27 record.

The Trojans broke a 1-1 tie by scoring three runs in the second inning. Senior first baseman Nate Disterhoft keyed the rally by smacking a two-run double down the left-field line.

West High scored two more runs in the fourth and four in the sixth to put the game away.

The Trojans improved to 30-8 on the season and now have a bye in the next round before playing for a chance at another berth to the state tournament in Des Moines.

“It’s been quite a ride,” Disterhoft said. “A lot of these guys I’ve known since the fourth and fifth grade. So we definitely wanted to go out on Senior Night on a good note.”

Houston scattered five hits over six innings and finished with eight strikeouts and just one walk. North’s run came on a solo home run by junior Jared Beck in the second inning.

“He hit it well, I’ll give him props for that,” Houston said. “But I was fine. I was still in my zone and I had my stuff. So I was ready to go battle for the rest of the way.”

Junior Austin West pitched the seventh inning for West High in relief and retired the side in order.

Davenport North, on the other hand, used four different pitchers who combined to allow 10 hits and nine walks.

West High senior third baseman Izaya Ono-Fullard scored the game’s first run on a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the first. It was Ono-Fullard’s team-leading ninth home run on the season.

Houston seemed to get stronger on the mound as the game progressed. He struck out two batters in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.

Houston consistently got ahead of the hitters by pounding the strike zone with a mix of fast ball and off-speed pitches.

“Getting ahead is everything for me because then I can throw whatever I want to the guy and they have no idea what’s coming, so it helps a lot,” said Houston, who improved to 7-1 on the mound this season.

Junior catcher Tony Comellas also contributed to Senior Day by belting his sixth home run this season with a solo blast in the second inning.

Houston did his part on offense, too, by hitting two singles and scoring two runs.

Some kids don’t hit when they’re pitching in order to lessen the workload and limit the distractions, but Houston always wants to both.

“I love batting,” said Houston, who starts at shortstop when he isn’t pitching. “I think they benefit each other, but they don’t hurt each other. So if I’m doing bad at the plate, I’ll just go out on the (mound) and do my own thing.”

The game ended in unusual fashion thanks to another West High senior as Connor McCaffery stole a base hit by fielding Tyler Glover’s liner to right field and then throwing him out at first base.

McCaffery, Ono-Fullard and Disterhoft were among eight West High seniors who were honored before Friday’s game.

West High coach Charlie Stumpff then honored the seniors after the game by paying them the ultimate compliment.

“It is arguably the best,” Stumpff said of where the current senior class ranks under his watch that dates back over two decades. “There never has been a three-year period with all the wins and three conference titles.”

Disterhoft, Ono-Fullard and McCaffery bat one, two and three in the West High order and each of them entered Thursday’s game hitting at least .387.

“They’re good friends, they hang out and they’ve been up (on varsity) for three years,” Stumpff said of his senior triumvirate. “It’s really cool when they play well and they get along. That’s what it’s supposed to be like.”

Adding to the emotion on Friday was the situation involving long-time West High assistant coach and former Trojan catcher Tom Cronk.

A loss would have meant the end to his run at West High with Cronk set to become the first head baseball coach at Liberty High.

“I’ve been here a long time,” Cronk said. “Every time I put on the uniform it could be the last one in 25 years of being here.

“It’s always going to be a big place in my heart. And at the same time, I’m ready to try my own thing.”

Cronk also had high praise for the senior class.

“Those guys have put up big numbers and taken our team to the next level,” Cronk said of the seniors. “They come to work every day and they get better and that makes it great to be around.”

Davenport North       010  000  0  –   1   5   0

West High                  130  240  x  –  10 10  0

Jared Beck, Bryan Verdon (3), Ryan Healey (5), Carter Josund (6) and Carson Behrens; Braden Houston, Austin West (7) and Tony Comellas.

W – Braden Houston              L – Jared Beck

2B – ICW: Nate Disterhoft

HR – ICW: Izaya Ono-Fullard, Tony Comellas. DN Jared Beck.