GRANGER — Host Des Moines Christian handed the Woodward-Granger baseball team their second-consecutive 11-1 loss Thursday.
How did the Hawks respond? By beating Earlham, 8-5, and Adair-Casey, 9-5, in a pair of home games Friday.
The loss to DMC followed a surprising 11-1 setback to WCV two days earlier. W-G scored their lone run in their first at-bat to take a quick lead, with Marcus McConahay singling, stealing second and scoring after a sacrifice bunt when Logan Lande beat out a dropped third strike.
From that point on it was all Lions, as the Hawks were guilty of five errors and seven passed balls while stranding seven runners on base.
Brady Aunspach suffered the loss, allowing seven runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out two in four innings.
Ryan Renshaw tossed 1-2/3 frames in relief, yielding four runs on five hits and a walk while fanning one.
Alex Bodermann had two hits for W-G, with Dylan Garland adding a single while Race Brant doubled.
Friday afternoon found the Hawks hosting Earlham in a rescheduled contest, with the hosts wasting little time in jumping on the visiting Cardinals.
Brant singled, swiped second and scored when McConahay bunted but reached as the throw went wide. An Aunspach single later in the frame plated McConahay, with Aunspach scoring on an error for a 3-0 W-G lead.
Singles from Aunspach, Lande and Jackson Larson combined with a passed ball to make it 5-0 after three frames.
Earlham tied the game with five runs — only one of which was earned — in the fifth inning.
W-G put the game away with a three-run sixth, with Tre Loge and Jordan Pierce singles and a walk to Bodermann loading the bases. Brant drove in two runs with a base hit, with an Aunspach sac fly driving in the final run.
Garland went the distance on the hill to record the win. He allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks and finished with four strikeouts.
Adair-Casey visited a few hours later and suffered almost the same fate as the earlier guest by falling, 9-5.
A seven-run first inning propelled the hosts to the win.
The Bombers scored once in the second, three times in the third and once in the fourth to close to within 7-5, but W-G answered with single marks in their half of the fourth and again in the fifth en route to the win.
Renshaw gained the win in 2-1/3 frames. He allowed four runs — all unearned — and the one hit A-C recorded. He walked three and struck out one, with Lande walking one and striking out one while finishing the third inning.
Larson came on the toss the final four frames to earn the save. He surrendered an unearned run on one walk and one hit batsman while notching five strikeouts.
Pierce had a double, with singles from Brant, Aunsapch, Garland and Ben Krehbiel accounting for the W-G offense. The Hawks were issued six walks, with Bodermann taking three free passes. The team finished with 10 stolen bases.
W-G is off Saturday and will return to action Monday with a 5:30 p.m. varsity game at the Woodward Academy.
