The Lakers earned a series split with the Beavers from Pratt Community College wth a doubleheader sweep. What a difference a day makes. On Saturday, the wind was blowing 30 mph out and it looked like a home run derby. Sunday was a total change of game play with the wind blowing 30 mph in from right field. It came down to timely hitting, good pitching and good defensive that would determine the outcome for both games.
Game 1 saw Zach Meyer (Omaha, Nebraska) take the hill and he would control the game through 5 innings giving up just 2 runs, with only 1 being earned. The Laker offensive struck early once again by getting production from the top of the lineup when BJ Johnson ( Tallahassee, Florida) reached on a error and Spenser Larson (Eden Praire, Minnesota) would single to put runners on first and second. Mallard Holland (Tampa, Florida) would drop down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third with one out. A wild pitch and an RBI groundout by Tavan Shahidi (Ames, Iowa) would bring home the runs and give the Lakers the early 2-0 lead. The offense would tack on 2 more runs by stringing together 4 hits off of the Pratt pitching staff in the second inning and from there, it was all about the Iowa Lakes pitching staff. With the score being 4-1 through four and a half, the Beavers would add 1 run in the fifth, but would not convert for any more. Freshman, Carl Renz (Pewaukee, Wisconsin) came into close the door in the 4-2 victory by pitching the final two innings of the game and striking 4 of the final 6 outs recorded.
Game 2 would see early runs put up on the board with the Lakers scoring 2 in second and then were answered by the Beavers with 3 runs of their own. Pratt would again add more in the fourth inning by putting 3 runs on the scoreboard bringing the score to 6-2. That was all the Beavers would get as freshman pitcher Chris Isensee (Shakopee, Minnesota) would bridge the gap to the eighth and ninth innings by pitching 2 2/3rd innings without giving up a run. With the Lakers down 6-5 heading into the ninth, freshman infielder Spencer Keane (Palm Springs, California) would lead the inning off with a single center which was then followed up by several big at bats by the top and middle part of the Iowa Lakes lineup. The Lakers would score 2 runs in the top half of the ninth to take the 7-6 lead heading to the bottom ninth. From there, sophomore pitcher Dillon Van Oosbree (Emmetsburg, Iowa) would come in to close the door by throwing the final inning and a third and striking the final two hitter of the games to secure the win and the doubleheader sweep of Pratt Community College with the Lakers splitting the series 2-2.
The four game series saw a lot of new faces in the Laker lineup which will only help with growth down the road.
Iowa Lakes next bout will be February 24th and 25th as they take on Southeastern Illinois College in Carbondale, Illinois. Follow us on Twitter, @Lakersbaseball, to get all updates on Iowa Lakes baseball.