Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Thursday’s first game of a doubleheader between Solon and Clear Creek Amana started as a pitcher’s duel and then turned into a slugfest and finally into a battle of endurance.

The Spartans ultimately prevailed 8-7 when Lucas Walker scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Both teams combined for 30 hits, including 17 by Solon, in a game that was tied 2-2 at the end of seven innings.

“For us, it was a great team effort, and they obviously did a lot of great things, too,” Solon coach Keith McSweeney said of his opponent. “They were obviously getting ahead and putting pressure on us with their bats. They were swinging the bats all night.

“But that’s why you play them all and we had a lot of guys that hadn’t played a lot make some big plays.”

Solon was clinging to a 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh with starting pitcher Ryan Geistkemper trying to finish what he had started.

However, the Clippers evened the score at 2-2 on Sam Young’s run-scoring double that scored Stirlen Roberson, who had led off the inning with a double.

Clear Creek Amana then scored two runs in the ninth on a suicide bunt single by sophomore catcher T.J. Bollers, making the score, 4-2. Grant Jensen scored the second run all the way from second base on a close play at home plate.

McSweeney said he was surprised that Clipper head coach Brent Henry had the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Bollers bunt instead of hit away in that situation, but the strategy worked brilliantly.

Bollers also hit a deep fly ball in the 11th inning that was caught near the fence by Solon centerfielder Jackson Pipolo.

“I thought it was gone off the bat,” McSweeney said. “Our centerfielder got to the ball in his own park.”

Pipolo also provided a spark on offense by belting a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth to even the score at 4-4.

The Clippers took the lead at 5-4 when Casey Ogden scored on a wild pitch in the top of the 10th inning.

Solon catcher Adam Bock started yet another comeback by stretching what probably should have been a single to shallow right field into a double with his hustle on the base paths.

Jax Flynn then drove in Bock with a double, which made the score 5-5 heading into the 11th inning.

The Clippers answered with two runs in the 11th inning on run-scoring doubles by Ben Swails and Ogden, who finished with four hits

Solon then finally secured the victory by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 11th, ending a game that had lasted over 3 ½ hours. The Spartans loaded the bases with no outs and scored their first run in the 11th on a single by Cam Miller.

Solon improved to 14-5-1 with the victory, while Clear Creek Amana fell to 9-11.

“I was ready for a twenty-inning game, we just kept going back and forth every inning,” Bock said. “It just shows the toughness of our team. We’ll do anything to win, I guess.”

Grant Jensen started on the mound for Clear Creek Amana and allowed just two runs over eight innings. He also smacked a one-out double in the fifth with his team trailing 2-1 and was close to scoring what would’ve been the tying run in that inning when the ball slipped past Bock on a third strike to Bollers.

However, Bock scooped up the ball and threw to first base just in time to get Bollers for the third out.

Both teams then spent the time in between games resting and refueling in preparation for the second game.

“Both sides had a lot to be happy about offensively,” McSweeney said. “It’s just a weird game.

Asked what it felt like to win a game with some many momentum shifts, McSweeney said:

“Especially on a wild pitch when there has been so many other swings. It’s different, just a lot of emotional swings.”

Clear Creek Amana scored in each of the final six innings in the nightcap, salvaging a split with an 18-7 win.

Roberson, Jensen and Reade all had two hits in the nightcap. Roberson, Reade and Young all drove in two runs in game two while Jensen drove in three for the Clippers.

Tyler Schrepfer picked up the win allowing five runs on nine hits in game two.

Game 1

Clear Creek Amana   100  000  102  12  –  7  13  2

Solon                         101  000  002  13  –  8  17  0

W – Brayden Rickertsen            L – Ben Swails

2B – CCA: Grant Jensen, Casey Ogden, Ben Swails, Stirlen Roberson. SOL: Jackson Pipolo, Adam Bock, Jax Flynn

Game 2

Clear Creek Amana     031  612  5  –  18  9  1

Solon                           120  020  2  –   7   9  4

W – Tyler Schrepfer               L – Jake Van Roekel

2B – CCA: Cody Ogden, TJ Bollers, Brock Reade. SOL: Adam Bock, Nolan Pattison

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