An amazing chess game developed Saturday between Mid-Prairie junior slugger Aidan Rath and West Liberty baseball coach Troy Wulf.
With one swing of his bat in the first inning of the Class 2A …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you had a login with the previous version of our e-edition, then you already have a login here. You just need to reset your password by clicking here.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
|
An amazing chess game developed Saturday between Mid-Prairie junior slugger Aidan Rath and West Liberty baseball coach Troy Wulf.
With one swing of his bat in the first inning of the Class 2A District 8 championship game Saturday, Rath delivered a mammoth home run over the right field fence. The homer scored three runs and delivered a 3-3 tie after West Liberty had worked so hard to push across three runs in the top of the first.
Message received.
The next time Rath walked up to the plate, Wulf ordered him walked.
“No sense in letting this kid defeat me,” Wulf may have whispered to himself.
Next at-bat for Rath? Another walk.
Brilliant. This was almost like watching retired Red Sox star David Ortiz walk up to the plate and not get the chance to hit. It happened, what, a zillion times?
“We told him that’s probably in his near future,” Mid-Prairie coach Andy Greiner said of Rath. “When you hit like that, hitting .600 or whatever, that’s gonna happen. We just need to maintain our composure and adjust as things develop.”
Then came Rath’s fourth at-bat. Sixth inning. Mid-Prairie up by two runs. Runner on first base. Certainly, another walk was coming.
Nope.
“I kind of have patience,” Rath said, “but really anxious at the same time.”
Rath’s eyes lit up. He swung into a fat pitch. The ball soared into the summer sky and hit the center field fence nearly 400 feet away. Brad Tornow scored and Rath simply settled in at first base.
A perfect day. Four at-bats, four RBIs, two hits.
“He is an incredible hitter,” Greiner said. “We’re real proud of Aidan. He’s a presence.”
M-P football camp
The Mid-Prairie Youth Football Camp will not be held this summer due to coronavirus concerns.
“I don’t like having to make this decision, but we feel it is the best for our situation this year,” Mid-Prairie head football coach Pete Cavanagh said. “We will be back next year!”
Instead, Mid-Prairie will conduct a camp Aug. 3-6 only for Mid-Prairie High School players.
The middle school football season is yet to be determined.
Paul Bowker is sports editor of The News. He can be reached at sports@thenews-ia.com.
