Golden Hawks come back against Northeast

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 6/4/22

The Golden Hawks experienced some frustration in the early innings on Thursday. An error on the infield and a couple of outs on the basepaths had Mid-Prairie playing from behind most of the night …

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Golden Hawks come back against Northeast

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The Golden Hawks experienced some frustration in the early innings on Thursday. An error on the infield and a couple of outs on the basepaths had Mid-Prairie playing from behind most of the night against Northeast. 

But those frustrations were forgotten in the sixth as the Golden Hawks put up five runs on four hits and held on for an 8-4 win over their rivals from the RVC North. 

Mid-Prairie senior Will Cavanagh bunted the tying run into scoring position for junior Alex Bean in the decisive inning. 

“Today we actually worked on just choking up and putting the ball in play,” Bean said. “And so I just went up there expecting fastball. I missed on the first one, but I got it again and I capitalized.”

He sent the ball through a hole in the infield into right field to score Dylan Henry, who led off the inning with a single. At first base, assistant coach Jed Seward pointed out that Bean’s first two hits to center prompted an adjustment from the Rebel defense. 

“They shifted over and I put it right in the gap,” Bean said, “so that was pretty cool.”

A single from Tyler Helmuth and a double by Cain Brown each drove in a run to give Mid-Prairie its first lead of the game. They would both score on a throwing error to extend the lead to four. 

“It was just timely hitting,” Mid-Prairie coach Kyle Mullet said. “When we needed a hit, they produced. Brady Weber had a big walk there and was patient in the box. It was just good execution, our guys being patient and ready to go.”

Brown finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs. Henry went 2-for-3 and Bean finished 3-for-3. Mid-Prairie trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning when Bean scored on a passed ball with two outs. 

“We were making mental errors and we weren’t running the bases well,” Bean said about the early struggles. “We weren’t doing our job — what Mullet wants us to do, which means bunting, running the bases and putting the ball in play.”

Weber, a Golden Hawk freshman, pitched the final two innings. It started out rough as the first two Rebels reached base with a single and a walk. A sacrifice bunt and a fielder’s choice scored the go-ahead run, but Weber limited the damage with a fly ball out to Will Cavanagh, who made several nice catches in center field on Thursday. 

Collin Miller made the start and allowed one earned run on five hits and two walks over five innings. 

It was an important win for the Golden Hawks, who bounced back from a 5-4 loss at Durant the night before. 

Mid-Prairie took  a 4-0 lead in the first inning as the first four runners reached base on a hit, two walks, and an error. Henry and Cavanagh each drove in a run with a sacrifice grounder. Durant came back to take the lead in the second and neither team scored again. 

“We didn't really like where we were, mentally with our approach last night,” Mullet said. “So we had a really good mini practice before the game today. And we talked about where we need to be and what we wanted to do in this game. And with what we talked about, we definitely made a step forward. We’re not where we want to be as a team. We're not playing our best baseball right now. But we definitely took a great step forward tonight.”

Mid-Prairie 8, Tipton 2

The Golden Hawks put up seven runs on five hits and three walks in the fifth inning of an 8-2 win at Tipton on Friday.

Mid-Prairie had one hit in each of the first four innings, but couldn’t string them together until Brown and Brock Harland led off the fifth with back-to-back singles. Mid-Prairie trailed 2-1 before Brown scored on a wild pitch. Miller doubled to score a pair of runs and Cavanagh’s 2-out single put the Golden Hawks up 5-2.  

Mid-Prairie sent 13 batters to the plate in the big inning. Brown drew a bases-loaded walk in his second at bat of the fifth and Harland had an RBI hit-by-pitch. Karson Grout also drew an RBI walk in the inning. 

Harland earned the win on the mound, allowing two runs (both unearned) on two hits and two walks over five innings. 

Mid-Prairie 6, Wilton 1

Alex Bean allowed just two hits and struck out eight batters over five innings for Mid-Prairie in a 6-1 win over Wilton on Tuesday. He walked just one batter and drew three walks himself. 

Henry worked a full count and drew a leadoff walk in the fourth before Miller and Cavanagh singled to score the game’s first run. The Beavers got a leadoff double in the fifth and cut the lead to 2-1, but the Golden Hawks got that run back in the bottom half and added three more in the sixth. Henry had a hit, walked twice, and drove in two runs for Mid-Prairie. Miller finished 2-for-4 and Helmuth was 2-for-3.