Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Regina entered the Class 2A state semifinals playing as well as any team in the state.

The Regals simply ran into a buzz saw on Thursday in the form of Dyersville Beckman.

Seventh-ranked Beckman scored three runs in the first inning and Conner McDermott struck out 13 in a three-hitter in an 8-0 win over No. 9 Regina in a Class 2A state semifinal on Thursday at Principal Park in Des Moines.

“We were definitely prepared, we had a game plan but the hard part about baseball is when you are on offense you don’t have the ball in your hands so you can’t always dictate when you are trying to do something, somebody’s ability doesn’t allow you to do it,” Regina coach Jeff Pacha said. “That is the hard part about baseball and that is what Conner did to us today.”  

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The win was the 10th straight for Beckman (31-11) and sent the Blazers into the 2A title game for the fourth time in the past six seasons.

Beckman will go for the sixth title in program history when it faces the winner of the semifinal between Carroll Kuemper and Centerville in the 2A title game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

It will be the first title game appearance for Beckman without hall of fame coach Tom Jenk Jr. who has missed the season after being diagnosed with brain cancer in December.

“This whole season has been for coach Jenk,” McDermott said. “We’ve had a huge motivation boost throughout the season, ‘weve just been doing whatever it takes for him.

Regina (28-8) had a nine-game winning streak snapped with its first loss since June 27 and was shutout for just the second time all season and first since a 3-0 loss to Durant on June 5.

The Regals had scored five or more runs in eight straight games but couldn’t get anything going against McDermott.

McDermott allowed just three Regina singles and hit three batters but didn’t issue a walk.

The junior right-hander relied on a big breaking curveball and tight slider to match his season-high strikeout total with 13.

“He has a really tight slider, he’s the best we’ve seen all year,” Regina junior Ryne Schooley said. “He did a great job of commanding it. He’s a real good pitcher and a he did a good job of mixing his pitches. He did a good enough job to keep us off balance and hold us off.”

Beckman took control early with three runs in the first inning.

Sam Stelken plated a pair of runs with a two-run triple to right field and the Blazers added another run when a Brock Marbach got by Regina shortstop Masen Miller.

Regina had a chance to answer in the bottom of the inning but McDermott wiggled out of the only jam he got himself into on Thursday.

The Regals loaded the bases with no outs when Ryne Schooley singled and Blake Berns and Mitch Gahan were both hit by pitches.

McDermott struck out Hunter Liebermann and got Nick Brandt to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.

“That was a big momentum swing for them,” Schooley said. “Credit to them they were in the right place at the right time and made the play. It happens, it’s baseball.”

Beckman than added to its lead with two runs in the bottom of the inning and tacked on two more in the third to build an insurmountable 7-0 lead.

McDermott was dominant after the scare in the second.

He struck out the side in the fifth and seventh innings and fanned nine of the final 11 batters he faced many coming via the slider.

“All through the season I have been throwing that pitch, I threw it last year too,” McDermott said. “My catcher and I really click on that pitch so we throw it a lot to any batter we want.”

Trent Hoogerwerf went 2-for-3 for Regina while Schooley had the other hit.

Mitch Gahan (6-2) took the loss for Regina allowing five runs on six hits in two innings.

Regina, which doesn’t have a senior on its roster, figures to be back in the title mix next season.

“That is the positive takeaway,” Pacha said of returning everyone. “I can promise you that our players aren’t going to be satisfied with where we are at. I don’t want to take anything away form the season that we had, we had a really good season overall but just knowing the guys that we have I am pretty confident that they are going to be getting back to work pretty soon

Class 2A Semifinal

Regina                         000  000  0  –  0   3   3

Dyersville Beckman   322  000  x  –  8  10  0

W – Connor McDermott                     L – Mitch Gahan

2B – DB: Nate Funke

3B – DB: Riley LeGrand, Joel Vaske, Sam Stelken