Normally on the receiving end of pitches, Jacob Cates got a chance to deliver them. It worked out just fine for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn as the Hawks played well all-around in beating Trinity Christian 5-3 June 30 at Hull. With the victory, the Hawks finish 3-7 in the War Eagle Conference. This was the third straight win for HMS which raised its season mark to 8-10 .
“With three games in three days, we were limited to who we could throw last night,” explained HMS head man Jeremy Gloden. “We decided to change it up and give Jacob Cates a chance. He has done such a nice job at catcher for us this year, I have been hesitant to move him away from there. He was tremendous and the defense was very solid behind him. Ben Haack did a great job of coming in and closing down the game for the save. The big key last night was putting all three phases of the game together. Solid pitching, tough defense, and timely hitting. It was fun to watch.”
Cates’ six-plus innings on the mound resulted in eight strikeouts and just one walk. He allowed all three runs on four hits. One of the runs was unearned. Haack relieved him and struck out two while giving up one single. The Hawks backed up the pitching with error-free defense.
HMS scored a run on two hits in the first inning. Samuel Heyn tripled and Cates singled him home. Two hits for the Tigers in the bottom of inning tied the score. In the fourth the Hawks moved back in front. Leadoff batter Trenton Vollink was hit by a pitch and took it out on the Tigers by swiping second. With two outs, Dawson Schiphoff, who assumed the catcher’s duties, delivered a triple to plate Vollink. Courtesy runner Ethan Diehm then scored on a passed ball.
With an unearned run in the fourth, Trinity narrowed the deficit to 3-2. HMS tacked on two more runs in the sixth. After two were out, Keith DeBoer singled and Schiphoff reached on an error. Following a walk to Jordan Ortega, Heyn singled to score both DeBoer and Diehm.
Heyn and Schiphoff each went 2-for-4 at the plate. Vollink was 1-for-2, Cates and DeBoer 1-for-3 and Hack and Nick Bronstad 1-for-4. HMS stranded nine runners on the bags. There were only four Tiger runners left on base.
HMS 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 – 5
Trinity 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 – 3