Late inning magic helps Waterloo baseball hold off Highland for MVC victory
Heading into the fifth inning against Waterloo on Wednesday, April 19, things looked pretty promising for Highland righthander Trent Clemons and the HHS baseball team.
Clemons was rolling along with a shutout and a two-run lead going into the bottom of the fifth, but host Waterloo turned an empty day into a full one thanks to some late-inning magic.
Waterloo scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth off a Bryce Reese home run and added two more in the sixth off an AJ Sensel RBI triple and a Patrick O’Donnell sacrifice fly and held off a seventh-inning HHS rally for a 4-3 Mississippi Valley Conference win at Waterloo High School.
Waterloo notched its first league win of the season and is beginning to gain some momentum after winning for the fourth time in five games. Waterloo improved to 10-6 overall and 1-3 in the MVC.
“We’ve been (close) in the first three (league games) and every day we talked about that’s what playoff baseball looks like, and everything matters,” Waterloo coach Mark Vogel said. “Everything matters because you don’t know where you’re going to be in that situation when the game is on the line.”
Over the first three innings, the pitchers ruled as Clemons and Waterloo starter Nate Phillips kept the bats of both clubs silent.
In the top of the fourth, HHS got to Phillips with a pair of tallies. Chase Knebel led off with a single to right field and later scored on an errant throw from the Waterloo catcher that sailed into center. Then, Adam Munie delivered a run-scoring single, chasing home Delklan Riggs to make it 2-0.
Waterloo, however, responded in the last of the fifth as Kobe Osterhage ripped a wind-blown double off the left field fence and then Reese, with two out, pounded a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to tie the score at 2-2.
Reese’s blast rejuvenated the Waterloo offense.
“That kid (Clemons) did a good job of changing speeds and keeping us off balance and that home run by Bryce gave us a new life. And then we were able to tack on two runs and hold on for dear life,” Vogel said.
WHS added two runs in the bottom of the sixth as Jack Roessler doubled to right and Sensel tripled Roessler home making it 3-2. O’Donnell followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, which chased home Sensel for a 4-2 cushion.
“It was fantastic (to come through then). My heart was racing ... I was so excited about the hit,” Sensel said. “I was really looking for something down the middle to hit and the first one was high. I probably shouldn’t have swung at it, but then I saw the second one (fastball) come in and I just took it.”
Highland (9-7 overall, 2-2 in the MVC) got a run back in the top of the seventh on an RBI single to center by Mason Emig, but Waterloo reliever Evan Davis retired Knebel on a fly ball to right to end the final HHS threat.
Loss frustrates Highland coach
Dropping a one-run game to Waterloo just two days after beating them 4-3 at home did not sit well with HHS coach Joel Hawkins.
“Most of their hits were with two strikes and they just figured out how to finish those (at-bats). Then, on the other side, we had a guy at third and didn’t make it happen and then and then second and third with one out and couldn’t score. Those opportunities are the difference in a one-run game and that’s what we’re trying to talk to them about,” Hawkins said. “At any rate, it’s a real bad loss, and we’ll see what happens.”
This story was originally published April 19, 2023 at 10:59 PM.