Earlham Echo

July 9, 2024

The Cardinals will need everybody to contribute if they want to make a deep playoff run this season. In a 12-2 win over Collins-Maxwell at home on July 6, all 11 Cardinals that played ended up notching something good in the scorebook. Eight of the 9 Earlham batters in the lineup got at least 1 hit, 7 different Cardinals drove in runs, and 8 players scored.

The 3^rd-seeded Cardinals took a while to get going, though. In the first two innings, Spartans’ starter Cooper Wierson struck out 4 batters and the Cards also had a baserunner picked off. The 6^th-seeded Spartans were making plays on defense, scored single runs in the 1^st and 3^rd innings to take a 2-0 lead, and looked like a confident team capable of pulling off an upset.

And the Cards seemed to be a little anxious.

“We came in a little tense today,” said Blake Tiemeyer. “But once we got the jitters out, we flew around and had fun.”

The fun started in the bottom of the 3^rd when the Cards scored 3 runs. Kallin Nicholson hit a sharp grounder into left field for a single, Caleb Smith followed with a bunt single, and Ty Forcht was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tiemeyer then dumped a humpback liner into right field to score Nicholson. Smith barreled around 3^rd base, but was held up by Coach Mohr. Forcht was well on his way to 3rd—thinking Smith was going to score— so he got hung up between bases and was eventually tagged out. Tiemeyer advanced to 2^nd base on the play. Stiles then smashed a line drive over the right fielder’s head that one-hopped over the fence for a ground rule double and 2 RBI. The Cards led, 3-2.

The Cardinals broke the game open in the 4^th, scoring 8 times. Carter Hohertz reached on a two-base error, Jeret Petersen walked, and after a wild pitch, the runners were on 2^nd and 3^rd. Nicholson laid down a great bunt and was thrown out at first, but Hohertz scored on the play. Smith followed with an infield single, then Forcht hit a sharp grounder into the hole. The shortstop fielded it and made a strong throw, but Forcht beat it easily for an RBI single. 5-2, Cards. Tiemeyer stroked his second single of the night, this one plating 2 runs. After Stiles was issued an intentional walk, Zach Day ripped a line drive into right field for an RBI single to make the score 8-2. Klayton Wolken drove in another run with a groundout. The Spartan defense imploded after that. Hohertz, Petersen, and Nicholson all reached on errors and the Cards scored 2 more runs. They led, 11-2.

The Cards won the game by run rule in the 5^th. Forcht was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Josh Winey ran for him and stole a base. He advanced to 3^rd on a groundout by Tiemeyer. The Spartans chose to intentionally walk the next two batters, Stiles and Day, to load the bases and set up a force play at home plate. Wolken foiled that plan by grounding a single into centerfield to score Winey, ending the game.

Wierson threw hard and had a sharp curve. After 2 innings, it looked like the Cards might be in for a long night against him. But the Earlham batters went to school, made the correct adjustments, and ended up pounding out 12 hits.

“He had a snappy curve ball,” said Tiemeyer. “But once we got through the lineup, we knew he was first-pitch fastball, usually. So we’d jump on that. And we recognized the snap on the curve ball, so we just fouled it off and kept going.”

In addition to his RBI double, Stiles hit a screaming line drive in the 1^st inning. The center fielder raced in, dove for the ball and missed, and Stiles was off to the races. The crowd was on its feet, hoping for an inside-the-parker—and that was in the back of Stiles’ mind, too.

“I saw (the center fielder) dive by it and saw the ball roll to the fence,” he said. “I was on my horse—just running. I was looking at (Coach Mohr). I was going as fast as I could.”

Stiles settled for a triple when the coach held him up. That hit, and his double later in the game, were both the result of good baseball intel and a disciplined approach.

“It helped when Ty and Blake came in and told me he’s got a curve ball,” said Stiles. “So I recognized the spin right away. I only saw one pitch my first at bat and I hit it well. The second time, he got me good on a curve. Then I think I had a 2-1 count, and I knew a fastball was coming, so I sat on that and drove it well.”

Stiles got the pitching assignment for the Cards. Like the Cardinal batters, he started a little slowly, too, but eventually found his rhythm.

“After the first couple of innings, I wasn’t using my legs as much as I should,” he said. “Coach Deling came over to me after the 2^nd inning and told me to get my legs into it. So I started to sit into my pitch and I found a good groove there.”

He ended up with 6 strikeouts and allowed just 3 hits.

Tiemeyer, Stiles, Wolken, and Smith all had 2 hits. Tiemeyer drove in 3 runs and Stiles and Wolken had 2 apiece.

Next up for the Cardinals is Grandview Christian in the district semifinal in Earlham at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The Thunder advanced by beating Southeast Warren, 4-1, in their playoff opener.