Crusaders top Spartans 3-1 to even season series

 ELK HORN -- If you told Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton baseball coach Tony Petersen that his team would hold Coon Rapids-Bayard to just two hits on Wednesday, he would have liked his chances.
 But two singles were enough on this night as the Crusaders took advantage of seven walks, two hit batsmen and a crucial error and wild pitch in the sixth inning to knock the Spartans out of first place in the Rolling Valley Conference with a 3-1 road victory.
 In a quality pitching matchup between Exira-EHK senior right-hander Brady Hansen and CR-B junior lefty Michael Dentlinger, the two rivals combined for just five hits and neither side scored through five innings.
 The outcome was a reversal from the first meeting on May 27, when the Spartans scored five runs in the last two innings to win 5-4. This time, CR-B scored all three of its runs in the last two frames, then narrowly escaped a wild bottom of the seventh when the Spartans stranded the tying runs in scoring position against Crusader closer Zach Evans.
 CR-B, ranked 10th in Class 1-A, improved to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the RVC, tied with Glidden-Ralston for second place behind C-A-M (8-1). E-EHK and Ar-We-Va, who play Friday at Westside, are essentially tied for second as well with 4-2 league records.