July 11, 2023
When the Cardinals lost their district semifinal game last week, the Cardinals walked out of the park the same way they walked in.
“Our heads were high, our chests were out,” said Coach Mohr. “They should be proud of what they did this summer.”
Only a handful of teams get to end their seasons with a win, and the Cardinals weren’t one of those teams. But by most every measure, their 2023 season was a definite ‘win.’ Their 15 victories were the most for a Cardinal team since 2018—and they produced the first winning record for Earlham since that same year.
Many good coaches in all sports have struggled in their first years coaching a new team. Getting a team to ‘buy in’ isn’t easy. But Coach Mohr and his team found common ground early on, connected on and off the field, and ended up putting a positive, winning baseball product on the field.
“It’s a credit to the guys,” said Coach Mohr. “It can be really easy to be set in your own ways, stick to what you think is best, and go about your business with an, ‘I’m going to do it for me’ attitude. And these guys really didn’t. They were receptive and they did what I was asking them to do. Once they got a little taste that it works—that it’s helping them on and off the field—it becomes that much easier for me. And that came from the three 8th graders we had all the way up to the seniors, Brody (Morrison) and Kaden (Kasal). Every guy was doing it. For me, that’s awesome. That’s more important than wins and losses.”
Cards vs. CAM, July 1
If there was ever a logical time for a team to panic, the 1st inning of the opening round district game in Coon Rapids may have been the time to do it—because the Cardinals were down 6-0 before they even came to bat. Instead, the Cards gathered themselves, got to work, kept making dents in their deficit, and eventually beat CAM, 11-8.
The team gathered in a huddle after that long half inning—and the discussion was short and simple.
“Just know that it’s a long game,” said Zach Day. “One inning isn’t going to decide the whole game.”
The Cardinals have shown the ability to rally from behind during the regular season. Nobody likes to be down by a ton of runs, but perhaps having been in this situation more than they wanted gave them the confidence to do it again.
“I think it helped a lot,” said Jeret Petersen. “The DMC game, we were down by—I don’t even remember by how much. But we just kept chipping away. It’s not always going to come in one inning.”
Petersen found himself in the center of the crucible in the top of the 1st inning. After 6 batters, he replaced starting pitcher Kaden Kasal with nobody out, 3 runs already in for the Cougars, and the bases loaded. The Cougars got 3 more runs—on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, and a single—but at least Petersen had helped stop the bleeding.
“I needed to throw strikes,” he said.” It didn’t have to be hard; it didn’t have to be fancy. I just needed to get the ball into play so we could make the outs. Which we did. They may have scored some, but we came back with our offense.”
The Cardinals responded with 1 run in the bottom of the 1st when Ty Forcht singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch. The Cards got 2 more in the 2nd. Day walked, Carter Hohertz reached on an error, and both runners moved up a base on Blake Tiemeyer’s sacrifice bunt. Forcht delivered an RBI sacrifice fly to score Day. When Klayton Wolken reached on another Cougar error, Hohertz scored on the play.
With two outs in the 3rd, Kasal laced a line drive into left center for a double. Day then smashed a high fly into left field that cleared the fence by about 10 feet for his first homer of the year.
“I didn’t even feel the ball hit the bat, so I knew it was pretty good,” said the junior. “I took a look up and she was clear up in the sky. I didn’t know if she was going to get out or not. It was my pitch. It was a little high; middle, middle. My favorite pitch, right there.”
The Cards had been steady and workmanlike until that, but having cut the Cougar lead to just 1 run, Day’s homer ignited the Cards and provided a much-needed release of pent up energy.
To their credit, the Cougars came back with 2 runs in the top of the 4th to push the lead to 8-5. But the inning was just a minor setback. When Petersen came into the game in the 1st, he sensed there was little room for error for him and his defense. They were not perfect after the 1st inning, but they were close enough.
“It was kind of in my mind,” said Petersen, “but I was just real focused on being consistent with my strikes. I wasn’t fully consistent, but I think I pitched well enough to keep us in the game.”
The Cardinals matched the Cougars’ pair of runs with 2 of their own in the bottom of the 4th. Forcht singled, advanced to 2nd, and scored on a line-drive single by Wolken. Wolken advanced to 2nd on a ground-ball out by Ryan Stiles, then scored on Brody Morrison’s hump-back single into right center.
The Cards took the lead for the first time—and for good—in the 5th inning. With 1 out, Kasal was hit by a pitch and then was balked to 2nd. Day came through again—this time with a line drive double into right center. While he didn’t get his ‘favorite’ pitch again, he was able to adjust.
“The pitch was a little outside,” said Day. “I threw my hands at the ball, and it came out good. I like to change my approach every time. I like to read where the pitcher’s hand slots are so I can figure out where the ball is coming in at.”
The Cards got two runs for the 5th straight inning in the bottom of the 6th. With 1 out, Stiles belted a fly ball off the center field fence for a double. Morrison then lined a ball over the right fielder and wheeled into 3rd with an RBI triple. One out later, Kasal delivered a single, and the Cards led, 11-8.
Petersen started the 7th inning with 94 pitches and nearly finished the game, but with two outs, a Cougar reached on an error on Petersen’s 110th pitch. At the game maximum, Petersen gave way to Stiles, who got the final out.
Day had 2 hits and 3 RBI. Morrison had 2 hits and 2 RBI, while Forcht and Kasal had 2 hits apiece. Petersen scattered 7 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 7 in his 6-2/3 innings of work.
Cards vs. Woodbury Central, July 5
A few lower-seeded teams had long road trips in round 2 of district play this season, and the Cardinals were no exception. After nearly 3 hours on the bus, the Cards played well in Moville against a good Woodbury Central Wildcats team, but lost 2-1.
The Cards had their chances on offense against two hard throwing pitchers, but left too many baserunners stranded.
“We were able to get guys on and do some of the things we wanted to do as far as a little bit of small ball. We bunted, stole a couple bases, things like that,” said Coach Mohr. “We just couldn’t get that one big hit when it mattered. Sometimes that’s just how the game works.”
The Cardinals drew first blood in the top of the 2nd inning. Morrison hit a line drive into center for a single, then stole 2nd base. Kallin Nicholson then reached base when the Wildcats’ pitcher booted his bunt, with Morrison moving to 3rd. Kaden Kasal followed with a fly ball to center that was caught, and Morrison tagged up and scored. Nicholson eventually advanced to 3rd base, but the Cards couldn’t get him home.
The Cards got two runners on in the 3rd inning, but a well-executed double play by Woodbury Central ended the inning.
Woodbury Central’s first two batters in their half of the 3rd reached base, but pitcher Ryan Stiles worked out of trouble by getting 2 strikeouts and inducing a fly ball out.
In the Cardinals’ 4th, Kasal got a 2-out single and Zach Day followed with a walk, but both were stranded.
The Wildcats tied the score in the bottom of the 4th without getting a hit. Their leadoff hitter walked, advanced to 2nd with a bunt, went to 3rd on a passed ball, then scored on a wild pitch.
The Cards threatened again in the 5th but came up empty. With one out, Ty Forcht reached on an infield hit and then Klayton Wolken walked. Forcht stole 3rd, but was later picked off on a close call that was disputed by Coach Mohr. Stiles walked, but the Wildcats got a strikeout for the last out.
Woodbury Central got the run that turned out to be the game winner in the 5th inning. The leadoff hitter singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd when the throw got away, and then scored on a groundball out. The Wildcats later had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs, but Morrison ended the inning by making a sliding catch in center field.
A new pitcher came in for Woodbury Central in the 6th. He retired the Cardinals in order in that inning and then again in the 7th, ending the Cardinals’ season.
Stiles got the tough luck loss. He allowed 5 hits and was able to work around 4 walks, while striking out 4 batters. Only 1 of the 2 Wildcat runs was earned.
“He was nails. I couldn’t ask for anything more out of him,” said Coach Mohr, “He’s a competitor. He doesn’t throw it quite as hard as everybody else, but he mixes it up well, he’s around the zone, and the guys make plays for him. He definitely gave us a chance to win the ball game.”
The Cardinals got just 3 hits, all singles.
Earlham Echo 
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