Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – The list of things Tom Cronk tells his Liberty High baseball team it needs to do in order to be successful doesn’t change.

Throwing strikes and playing good defense are at the top of that list followed closely by having an approach at the plate.

Cronk added a new focus for his team prior to its Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader with cross town rival West High – competing.

Liberty High checked every item on the list on Thursday and the result was a doubleheader sweep of the Trojans that pushed the Lightning win streak to seven.

“More than anything tonight we talked about competing,” Cronk said. “Our guys competed all night long at the plate, in the field on the mound. It was just a really good night.”

Liberty High got a complete game from senior Ethan O’Donnell in a 6-3 win in the opener and handed West High ace Marcus Morgan just his second loss of the season with a 3-1 win in the nightcap while improving to 23-11 on the season and 19-9 in MVC play.

West High dropped to 20-14 on the year and 14-13 in conference play.

“We knew it was going to be a good team tonight and the second game it was going to be a great pitcher with Marcus,” Liberty High junior Luke Meyers said. “We just knew were going to have to compete and put balls in play and battle the best we could.”

O’Donnell struck out eight and walked one in a complete game win in the opener as Liberty High overcame an early 3-0 deficit.

The Lightning opened a four-run third inning with five consecutive singles as Keian Secrist, Jack Funke and TJ Kimm produced consecutive run-scoring hits.

Meyers provided some insurance with a two-run single in the sixth inning that was more than enough for cushion for O’Donnell.

“Runners in scoring position with two strikes I knew I had to barrel something up and put it in play, you can’t strike out in that situation,” Meyers said. “The ball was there, inside a little and I turned on it.”

O’Donnell allowed just three base runners after a three-run West High second inning and retired the final seven Trojan hitters in order.

The lone hit for West High over the final four innings was a two-out single by Morgan in the fifth.

“When you throw strikes and you play solid defense you have great chances regardless of what they are doing,” Cronk said. “Tonight we threw strikes for the most part and were again really good defensively.”

Liberty High got a couple of rare runs off Morgan in the second inning when Cody Schroeder and Hayden Vickroy each singled with two outs.

Jack Turgasen followed with a two-run single to right field that gave Liberty High a lead it would never give up.

“I went up there and sat first pitch curveball and fouled it off,” Turgasen said. “After that I just kept waiting and eventually got my pitch and took it to first.”

Liberty High added an unearned run in the fifth and wiggled out of trouble in each of the final two innings.

Morgan struck out eight and walked one while allowing three runs on six hits.

“Marcus, boy is he good,” Cronk said. “We knew going in we were going to have to scratch and claw and get some runs and we couldn’t give any up and our guys really competed.”

West High loaded the bases in the sixth as Cade Adkins, Nate Gudenkauf and Ian McAreavy all drew walks.

Hayden Vickroy who relieved starter Boyd Skelley got Schuyler Houston swinging to end the inning.

“Boyd didn’t want to come out of the game and he threw great but I went with my gut and made the change,” Cronk said. “I probably didn’t get Hayden as loose as I should have and we went to him and he’s tough as nails and he’s going to perform.”

West High had the tying run at the plate in the seventh after Mitch Frey walked but Cody Schroeder got Alex McKay to ground back to the mound and started a 1-6-3 double play to end the game.

“It could get real ugly if Cody doesn’t get the double play at the end,” Cronk said. “We work on (pitchers fielding practice) a lot and that’s exactly what he did. Our guys really performed today.”

Skelley earned the win allowing one unearned run on four hits in 5 1/3 while Schroeder worked a scoreless seventh for the save.

Liberty High committed one error in the doubleheader compared to six for West High.

“The biggest thing is fielding, our errors are way down,” Meyers said. “We used to put up three or four, five each game and now we are going zero or one and that is really helping us.”

Game 1

West High                  030  000  0  –  3   6   3

Liberty High              004  002  x  –  6   9   0

W – Ethan O’Donnell             L – Nathan Stephens

2B – ICL: Cody Schroeder. ICW: Nate Gudenkauf

Game 2

West High                  001  000  0  –  1   4   3

Liberty High              020  010  x  –  3   6   1

W – Boyd Skelley                   L – Marcus Morgan                SV – Cody Schroeder

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