VAN METER — The “Thursday Throwdown” WCAC doubleheader between No. 4 Woodward-Granger and eighth-ranked Van Meter provided all the excitement expected from such a meeting, with each winning once and each leaving the diamond a conference champion.
The West Central Activities Conference does not award “shared” titles, so each squad can rightly claim the moniker of “champion” after W-G (26-2, 15-1) won the opener, 7-4, and Van Meter (23-3, 15-1) the nightcap, 4-1.
W-G ran off 25 straight wins before suffering an 8-0 loss to Greene County, while Van Meter began 16-0 and has dropped decisions of 6-3 and 7-5, on two separate dates, at Class 3A No. 7 Saydel before each WCAC rival beat the other Thursday.
The visitor on the scoreboard in the first game, W-G scored once in each of the first two innings, but a Van Meter run in the fourth and two more in the fifth gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.
The Hawks then took control of the game, and their fate, with a five-run seventh inning. A single tally in the bottom of the inning was not enough to reverse fortunes, and W-G seized a league title for the first time since winning crowns in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
“This win was for our seniors, Brady Aunspach and Marcus McConahay,” W-G head coach Eric Evans said. “These two young men have been through a lot of tough losses throughout their careers and to cap off a conference championship in their last year … it is much deserved for two terrific young men.”
Both played key roles in the win, with McConahay going Matt Rhodes and Bryce Achenbach in providing two hits apiece. Rhodes and McConahay had RBIs, with McConahay stealing his 34th base in 36 attempts to break Race Brant’s school record of career thefts with his 84th. He is four shy of tying Brent Achenbach (Bryce’s father) and his single-season school mark of 38, set in 1990.
Aunspach had a single and Spencer Hanson a single and a RBI.
Reese Jamison had the big blow with a two-run home run. He added a RBI-single and now has 42 RBIs, second in Class 2A only to teammate Rhodes, who has 45. Jamison, Hanson and Aunspach are tied — with three others — for third place in 2A with 39 hits this season.
Hanson went the distance to collect the win. He allowed four runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk while striking out four. Now 8-0, he lowered his ERA to 1.16 in the victory.
Neither team could make headway against the opposing pitching in the nightcap until Van Meter scored single runs in the fourth and fifth and then added two tallies in the sixth for a 4-0 lead.
W-G scratched a run across in the seventh when Hanson scored on a Cole Theisen RBI-single, the lone hit of the game allowed by Owen Crawford.
The Van Meter hurler walked only one batter and struck out six in earning the win and allowing his team, too, to call themselves “champion.”
Evans credited the Bulldog defense with helping their starter, as he noted the hosts “had some great defensive plays as we smoked the ball several times.”
Theisen received the tough-luck loss. The lefty tossed five frames, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out six. Brandon Worley pitched 1-2/3 innings, allowing one hit, with Jamison yielding two runs on two walks while striking out one.
No additional information from Van Meter was available.
W-G is at CMB (game in Baxter) today. The Hawks host Gilbert Wednesday, visit Audubon Thursday, then conclude the regular season July 7 with a trip to Eddyville to face Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.
