Bishop Garrigan exploded open a tight game with a 12-run fourth inning to beat Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 15-3 in a Class 1A District 3 opening round game played July 2 at Algona. Eight of the nine HMS errors occurred in that inning with the Golden Bears adding five hits to the mix.
The Hawks actually opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the third. Bishop Garrigan answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, setting the stage for the fireworks in the fourth. HMS managed one final run in the fifth.
“I was very happy with how we started the game,” commented Hawk head coach Jeremy Gloden. “I liked the attitudes we had and guys came ready to play. One thing that hurt us early was leaving the bases loaded without scoring a run in the second. However, Jacob (Cates) helped his own cause by hitting a two-run home run to give us the early lead. That gave us a lot of momentum at the time, but we gave it right back, unfortunately, in the bottom of the inning.
“It was a close ball game until the bottom of the fourth. It was almost like deja vu from last year’s district game (where George-Little Rock produced a 14-run inning in a 14-1 HMS loss). The one inning that would not end. One error turned into several, which led to our defense giving multiple runs away before we could find three outs. I believe Jacob and Jordan (Ortega) only gave up three earned runs. Credit Bishop Garrigan. They were hitting the ball hard and we just couldn’t make the plays we needed to in that inning to keep ourselves in it. It was a disappointing end to the game after the way we came out and started the game.”
In the HMS second, Cates singled but was replaced by Tanner Tesch on a fielder’s choice. Nick Bronstad and Tyson Tessum followed with singles but a pair of strikeouts scuttled the scoring opportunity. In the third inning Jonny Ortiz doubled but was the victim of a fielder’s choice off the bat of Ortega. Cates followed with his two-run blast. The fifth inning saw Cates get hit by a pitch. Tesch eventually singled home the Hawks’ third, and final run. A single by Ethan Diehm in the fourth helped HMS reach its total of seven hits.
Cates went 3-1/3 innings on the mound. He allowed 11 runs on seven hits with just the initial three runs being earned. Cates walked five batters, struck out three and hit one. Ortega took the baseball to get the final two outs of the fourth. He yielded four unearned runs on two hits and two walks.
HMS closes out the season with a record of 5-15, including 2-8 in the War Eagle Conference. “Looking back on the season, it was definitely a season of ups and downs,” said Gloden. “The War Eagle was very tough once again and doesn’t look to be slowing down. We didn’t quite reach the marks we had set for ourselves, but I saw a lot of improvement from several guys this season. We will look to build on that moving forward. We should have an older group next year which I see as a major positive.”
Unable to be a part of next year’s mix are seniors Ortega, Bronstad and Keith DeBoer. “We will be sad to see Jordan, Keith, and Nick go,” admitted their coach after the game. “These guys have been with the program for 4-5 years and have definitely left their mark. Jordan was always willing to play whatever spot he needed to on the field. He was also a competitor on the mound.  He was always willing to go out and battle for us. Keith became a mainstay in our outfield over the past three years and always gave it his all. He was always looking to improve and get better and was willing to do whatever he needed in order to help the team. Nick became a cornerstone for us at first base the past two seasons. Having his size and length at that position was a major boost for our defense. His bat also caught fire here at the end of the season. I was sad to see their careers come to an end tonight, but they all have very bright futures ahead of them.” 
HMS 0 0 2 0 1 – 3
Garrigan 0 0 3 12 x – 15