GRANGER — When the postseason brackets were revealed Woodward-Granger loyalists saw the door of opportunity open for the Hawks, as they had earned at least one, if not two, games on their own field.
Tuesday’s 10-5 win over WCAC foe Pleasantville has secured W-G a Class 2A District 12 Final in their own dugout, with Saturday’s 7 p.m. contest a chance to avenge a doubleheader loss to WCAC rival Des Moines Christian.
Junior Brandon Worley improved to 5-2 with 6-1/3 innings of five-hit ball. He walked one batter and struck out eight, allowing five runs along the way, of which only two were earned. Jay Dorenkamp recorded the final two outs, one with a strikeout.
W-G (23-7) was the visitor in the game and wasted little time in scoring, plating three runs in their first at-bat. Each team scored once in the second frame, with three W-G tallies and two from Pleasantville (18-17) moving the score to 7-3.
The Hawks added a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth, easily offsetting a pair of Trojan runs in the bottom of the sixth en route to the win.
Joe Rhodes had two hits and scored twice while driving in a run, with Worth Henry hitting a double and a single, sending two runs home while scoring once. Pacey Moats had a hit, walked once and scored twice, with Reese Jamison scoring twice while Worley worked three bases-on-balls during his trips to the plate. Also scoring were Hunter Pifer and Christian Husmann.
DMC (26-8) was a 6-0 winner over Madrid (21-9) Tuesday. The Lions were 17-5 and the Hawks 16-6 in conference play, with DMC topping W-G, 2-1 and 10-5, June 27 in Des Moines.
Saturday’s winner advances to Tuesday’s Substate 6 Final, with a trip to the state tourney on the line. Awaiting the victor will be either Roland-Story (17-18) or third-ranked Dike-New Hartford (28-5). The battle will be held at Nevada at 7 p.m.
