July 16, 2024
Cards vs. Grandview Christian, July 9
The district semifinal in Earlham between the Cardinals and Grandview Christian on July 9 was already filled with enough excitement, but a surprise ending added even more drama, as the Cards hung on for a 4-3 win.
In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Thunder scored 2 runs to get within 1 of the Cards. With two outs, they still had the bases loaded. Potentially, they were one base hit away from winning the game. When the runner on 3rd base, sophomore Tate Moulton, dashed toward home as Cardinal pitcher Ty Forcht started his windup to deliver a pitch, he caught the Cards a bit by surprise—but they did not panic. Forcht continued with the pitch, Cardinal catcher Ryan Stiles rose up, moved forward, and caught the ball near the plate, walked a couple steps up the 3rd base line, and tagged Moulton out to end the game.
Trying to steal home is always risky. Trying it when a playoff game is on the line is especially bold. It may have worked out for the Thunder if the Cards had flinched, but they didn’t.
“I saw movement out of the corner of my eye,” said Forcht, “and I just knew to speed up the windup and try to get it home as fast as I could without making a mistake.”
Stiles’ actions were bold, too. He caught the ball right in front of the batter, Brexton Jordan. Had Jordan swung, Stiles would have been guilty of catcher’s interference, Jordan would have been awarded 1st base, a run would have been forced home, and the bases would have still been loaded. Luckily for the Cards (and for Stiles), Jordan did not swing.
“When I saw (Moulton) break, I got out of my stance and went up a little bit, and I caught the pitch,” said Stiles. “I was expecting him to be there, but he was still a little way back. I thought he was going to be closer than he was, but I still had time to set my feet and apply a good tag.”
Coach Mohr had options when deciding on a starting pitcher for this game. The day after the Cardinals opening playoff victory, he told junior Carter Hohertz that he was getting the nod against a good Grandview Chirstian lineup.
“I like having the big role,” said Hohertz. “It’s fun having all the pressure on me.”
The junior gave an eye-popping performance. For most of the night, he overpowered the Thunder with his fastball and kept them off balance with his curve. He stuck out 8 batters in his 6 innings of work and scattered 5 hits. He knew early on that he ‘had it’ that night.
“I was feeling good,” he said. “It’s all about the warmup. I have a really strict routine with weighted balls and bands in the bullpen. I just try to get as loose and as game ready as I can and just go out there and do what I can.”
Both teams stranded a runner at 3rd base in the opening frame. Cardinal right fielder Zach Day ended the 1st inning with a nice catch on a hard liner off the bat of the Thunder cleanup hitter.
The Cards got on the board in the top of the 3rd. Caleb Smith led off with a single, then was thrown out attempting to steal 2nd. Forcht followed with a hard grounder down the left field line for a double. He scored when Blake Tiemeyer delivered a line-drive single into center.
The Thunder threatened in the 4th. With 2 outs, they got their first hit of the game, a single. After a Cardinal error and a walk, they had the bases loaded, but Hohertz ended the inning by striking out the #7 batter.
The Cardinals took advantage of some Thunder misplays in the 6th. The 2nd baseman did not charge a ground ball by Stiles, who beat it out for a leadoff single. Day followed with a ground ball to short. The Thunder went for the force out at 2nd, but the throw was wild, and everybody was safe—with Stiles advancing to 3rd. Klayton Wolken was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Hohertz hit a hard grounder to the shortstop, but his throw home was wild and Stiles slid in for a run. Day was forced out at 3rd on the play. An out later, Kallin Nicholson was hit by a pitch. Caleb Smith then lined a single into right field that scored 2 runs, and the Cards led, 4-0.
Grandview Christian answered in their half of the 6th. With 2 outs, they got a single, a walk, and a single to plate their first run. They avoided more trouble by ending the inning with a defensive gem. The Thunder #8 batter hit a hard grounder up the middle that deflected off Hohertz toward 3rd base. Third baseman Wolken ran over, picked it up, and fired a throw to first baseman Nicholson to just nip the runner.
Hohertz allowed a single and hit a batter to open the bottom of 7th. After 11 pitches, his work was done, and he was replaced by Forcht. He was greeted with an RBI single, and the Thunder were within 2 runs of the Cards with nobody out and 2 runners on. Day caught a fly ball for the first out. Forcht hit the next batter and the bases were loaded. The next batter hit a grounder to Forcht, who threw to 1st for the out, but a runner scored to make the score 4-3. On the next pitch, Forcht and Stiles hooked up for the final out and the Cardinals were moving on.
Grandview Christian ended the season with a 19-10 record.
Cards vs. Ankeny Christian, July 13
The Cardinals got great pitching and the offense probably did enough to win, but misplays in critical moments proved disastrous, as the Cards lost to Ankeny Christian, 5-3, in the district final in Ankeny on July 13. Only one of the Eagles’ runs was earned.
A Cardinal overthrow on a 2-out bunt resulted in an Eagle run in the 2nd. After the Eagles’ leadoff batter walked in the 4th, the Cardinals made errors on two successive bunts, resulting in two more runs for Ankeny Christian. Another run scored that inning on a wild pitch. After 4 innings, the Eagles had a 4-0 lead without having hit the ball farther than 30 feet on any of the scoring plays.
“You have to give credit to Ankeny Christian,” said Coach Mohr. “They did a great job putting the pressure on us and tried to make us make plays. When you give a team of that quality a couple extra outs, when you give those teams a little extra room to breathe, they’re good at taking advantage of it. And that’s kind of the story tonight.”
Starting pitcher Ryan Stiles went 5 innings, allowing 5 hits and striking out 5 batters. The Eagles had trouble squaring him up all night and only had a couple hard-hit balls. All 3 of Stiles’ walks (1 was intentional) came in the 4th inning, though, and were costly.
“We always feel good when Ryan’s on the bump,” said Coach Mohr. “We think we have a chance any time he’s out there. He pitched his heart out and gave us a chance there at the end.”
Eagles’ starter Eli Christensen cruised through the first 4 innings, but the Cards got to him in the 5th. Jeret Petersen led off the inning with a line drive into the gap in left center and he raced to 3rd with a triple. Kallin Nicholson followed with a good bunt. The Eagles threw home to get Petersen, but he was safe, and when the ball was jarred loose, Nicholson went to 2nd. Next, Caleb Smith bunted Nicholson to 3rd. Ty Forcht followed with an RBI single, and the Cardinals had cut the Eagles’ lead in half, 4-2.
Ankeny Christian answered with a run in their half of the inning. They got 2 hits, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly to go up, 5-2.
The Cardinals went down in order against new pitcher Tyler Mahoney in the 6th, but they got a rally going in the 7th. Petersen led off with another gapper to left center, this time for a double. Kallin Nicholson had a good at bat, fouling off some tough 2-strike pitches, but was eventually retired when Mahoney made an excellent running catch of a popup in foul territory. Caleb Smith followed with a solid ground ball single into left field, Petersen advancing to 3rd. With Forcht at the plate, Petersen scored on a passed ball. But Mahoney squelched the rally and ended the game by getting Forcht to pop up and striking out Blake Tiemeyer.
“Until there are literally no pitches left, we knew we were going to keep fighting,” said Coach Mohr. “And we did. They put up a fight and never quit, and that’s one of the things I’m most proud about.”
It was a tough loss for the Cardinals, but especially for senior starters Stiles, Forcht, Petersen, Nicholson, and Zach Day, and reserve Collin Adams.
“There aren’t down sides to being a coach here in Earlham and getting to work with these guys,” said Coach Mohr. “At the end of the season, it doesn’t matter if you’re the last team standing or not, you still have to say goodbye to the seniors and that’s always difficult. Especially when you have a group like this. They’re great young men.”
The Cardinals ended their season with a 15-15 record.
Earlham Echo 
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