Cyclones sweep Panthers in doubleheader

After being down 7-0 early, the Cyclones fought their way back to an 8-7 victory in game one of their doubleheader Tuesday against the Creston Panthers. Senior Cyclone Cael Goshorn hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 7th inning to win the game.

“I was thinking base hit wins it, so first good pitch I get, swing it,” Goshorn said.

The Cyclones got put in an early hole when Franz Reisz gave up a grand slam to Junior Panther Dylan Hoepker in the top of the 1st inning.

The Panthers added three more runs in the top of the second inning to put them up 7-0. Reisz exited the mound after one inning of work and was replaced by Brock Lemrick.

“For Franz, there were a couple of pitches that didn’t go his way early that got him into that jam,” said Cyclones Head Coach Heath Stein. “He’s still going to be one of our guys. We’re definitely not giving up on him and he’ll keep getting starts.”

Lemrick shut down the Panther offense striking out six batters over five innings of work, and gave up four baserunners on two hits and two walks.

The Cyclones first runs of the game came in the bottom of the 4th inning when they scored two runs and then three more in the bottom of the 5th. Multiple Cyclones contributed to the offense, including Stephen Leinen who hit a home run and scored three runs for the Cyclones.

The Cyclones came back and won the game with a 3-run rally when Goshorn delivered a walk-off 2-run single with two outs in the 7th sending the Cyclones immediately out of the dugout to jump on the back of Goshorn.

“Cael had one heck of a night,” Stein said. “He was having good at bats each and every time at the plate and was putting good swings on balls, so that was fun to see. It’s a good senior moment for him, so I’m happy for him and proud of him for all the work he has put in through the years and it’s paying off for him right now.”

Game 2: Cyclones 15, Panthers 6

Junior Braydon Ernst was on the hill to start game two of the doubleheader against Sophomore Panther Parker Varner and Ernst won the battle going five strong, striking out four batters while giving up six runs on five hits.

“He was good,” Stein said of Ernst. “He had a couple of lapses in maybe focus and pitch execution out of him that let them to kind of claw their way back in, but pitching with a lead, he was a little sharper and going at hitters a little better.”

The Cyclones offense produced 15 runs in game two, but their biggest inning was the bottom of the 2nd when they had six runs.

Leinen opened the inning with a triple. Matthew Sorfonden dumped a single into right field scoring Leinen to tie the game at 1. The Cyclones then took the lead when Weston Reisz hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Sorfonden giving them their first lead of the night.

Back-to-back singles by Goshorn and Landen Kaufman followed by Quinn Koesters being hit by a pitch to load the bases. Cade Sears stepped to the plate, hit a bases clearing double to break the game wide open at 5-1.

“Cade is just too talented of a kid to continue to slump, so he’s getting more at bats under his belt, looking more comfortable and he’ll keep getting better as well,” Stein said.

Cyclones added nine more runs in their final three innings at the plate, ultimately taking both games of the doubleheader and winning their second and third consecutive game after an 0-5 start.

“They’re a scrappy bunch,” Stein said of Creston. “They’re always tough and it’s good to get conference wins early on.”

The Cyclones will head to Lewis Central Wednesday to take on the 7-1 Titans. The Titans are led by Luke Woltmann with 14 hits and 17 runs batted in. Woltmann has two wins on the mound, but Ty Thomson leads the team with 18 strikeouts.

“They’re a big school,” Stein added. “They’re very talented every year. They always seem to have a couple of good lefty’s on the mound and we’re going to fight with them like we always do and see what happens.”

 
 

 

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