The ninth-ranked Akron-Westfield baseball team picked up a high-scoring 10-6 victory over Gehlen Catholic in Le Mars on Wednesday night.
Akron-Westfield jumped out of the gates in this one with their bats on fire scoring seven runs in the first three innings to take a convincing lead that they would not let go. Head coach Gordon Johnson says he liked the aggressiveness at the plate early in the game, but he wanted to see it continue longer.
Out of those seven runs to start the game, five of them came in the third inning alone. Coach Johnson says the guys followed the gameplan to perfection in that inning.
After four full innings, the Westerners held an 8-2 lead, and things looked pretty bleak for the Jays. Heading into the fifth, the Jays were starting to time up Arik Allard and sprayed three hits with a couple of walks to score three in the fifth inning. Head coach Loi Kraft says it was nice to see a young team battle back when the scenario called for it.
In the end, Akron-Westfield’s big third inning was enough to carry the Westerners through the game and to a 4-0 record. Akron-Westfield had all kinds of contributors at the plate, but it was Kasey Nielsen who stood out going 3-5 with three runs batted in. After a 2-12 start to the season, Coach Johnson was happy to see Nielsen’s extra work in the batting cage pay off in the end.
Gehlen Catholic dropped to 0-2 with the loss getting their top offensive output from Brayden Horkey who drove in a pair of runs. The Jays now turn their focus to two more games to finish out the week with a road contest at West Sioux and a home matchup with George-Little Rock. Coach Kraft says he is hoping the guys can take some positive things out of the two losses into these matchups.
Meanwhile, Akron-Westfield turns their attention to a top-ten showdown at Sargent Field when they take on sixth-ranked Remsen St. Mary’s. Coach Johnson knows making sure his guys are defensively sound is going to be crucial in taking down the defending state champions.
Akron-Westfield’s matchup with Remsen St. Mary’s is our Plymouth County Game of the Week. You can tune in to our broadcast starting at about 7:15 with first pitch scheduled for 7:30 in Akron.
