GRANGER — Good pitching can take a team a long way, and Van Meter displayed just that in sweeping host Woodward-Granger in a WCC baseball doubleheader Thursday.
Cade Nablo blanked the Hawks on just three hits in a 7-0 win for Van Meter (21-3, 17-1) in the opener, with Brady O’Brien holding W-G (13-9, 12-6) to one run on five hits in a 12-1 Bulldog victory in the nightcap.
Van Meter was the home team in game one and scored twice in the bottom of the first for a quick 2-0 lead. Three runs in the fourth opened a 5-0 gap, with two tallies in the fifth the final scoring in the game.
J. J. Durflinger was 3-for-3 for the Bulldogs, with Zach Forret 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Carson Rhodes was 2-for-4 and scored twice, with Anthony Lowman 2-for-4 with a run, a RBI and two steals.
Niblo issued no walks, struck out one and allowed three singles — to Race Brant, Jackson Larson and Mitch Knuth — in claiming the win off the bump.
Cole Theisen suffered the loss after yielding seven runs on 13 hits and a walk. The southpaw stuck out two, with five of the Bulldog runs unearned.
The nightcap quickly got out of control from the point of view of the Hawks as the Bulldogs scored four times in the top of the first before adding single tallies in each of the next three frames for a 7-0 lead.
Austin Scharlau singled home Larson in the bottom of the fourth for the lone W-G run, which was countered by a Van Meter tally in the sixth and four more in the seventh.
Larson, Theisen, Brady Aunspach and Jordan Pierce each had singles, with Brant hitting two singles.
Aunspach, Larson, Dillon Fogarty, Jay Dorenkamp and Austin Ober all saw time on the hill for the Hawks, with Aunspach taking the loss.
Durflinger was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs whie Jake Koch was 3-for-3 with three runs and two steals for Van Meter. Connor Guess was 1-for-2 with three RBIs with Forret scoring twice and driving in two runs.
O’Brien yielded one run on five hits while striking out five in picking up the complete game victory.
W-G hosts CMB tonight before visiting Gilbert Tuesday. Home games with Audubon July 7 and Colfax-Mingo July 8 will conclude the regular season.
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