For the second night in a row, the Gehlen Catholic baseball team staged a late-inning comeback to pick up a win. The Jays defeated Akron-Westfield 6-5 on Wednesday night in Le Mars.
While Gehlen picked up the win, it was the Westerners that got on the board first. Their opening salvo came off the bat of Matthew Swancutt who hit a two-run homer over the centerfield fence in the first inning. Akron-Westfield head coach Gordon Johnson says Swancutt has been preparing well in the spring.
As the game progressed, Gehlen Catholic tried to utilize their baserunning to their advantage by putting themselves in scenarios to score on wild pitches. Three of their six runs came on wild pitches, and head coach TJ Britton says that is a result of an emphasis on aggressive baserunning.
Despite the wild pitches, Akron-Westfield starter Kaleb Johnson threw well by limiting solid contact. Coach Johnson says he will have time to grow as a pitcher and a solid arm for his staff.
Midway through the game, Gehlen was looking for some stability on the hill and turned to Dane Lehmann. The senior pitched final 3.1 innings and allowed just one run while striking out nine batters. Coach Britton says he was happy to see Dane utilize his talents to their fullest.
Down 5-1 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the Jays found a way to stage a comeback. They scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and three runs to ultimately take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Coach Britton credits the experience of his team to stick with it and finish the job.
With the loss, Akron-Westfield drops to 1-3 on the season. They are a young team that will continue to get better as the season goes along. Coach Johnson says he and the team have already seen that progress and will look to keep building on it week after week.
The Jays continue a busy stretch with another set of games on another back-to-back night. Coach Britton says having two wins in a row gives the guys some confidence and should carry them through some more tough matchups.
Gehlen Catholic will take a 2-1 record into a doubleheader at Sioux Central tonight. Akron-Westfield returns to the diamond on Friday at home against Hinton.
