Grout's haymaker helps Hawks down Warriors in district final

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 7/10/22

The Warriors struck the first blow in Saturday’s district final bout when Jackson Manning drove the second pitch of the game over the fences in Wellman. But the Golden Hawks countered with two …

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Grout's haymaker helps Hawks down Warriors in district final

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The Warriors struck the first blow in Saturday’s district final bout when Jackson Manning drove the second pitch of the game over the fences in Wellman. But the Golden Hawks countered with two runs in the bottom half of the first and loaded the bases for sophomore Karson Grout in the second. 

“I just told myself to put the ball in play,” Grout said. “I think we had one or no outs. So I was like, a ball in play scores a run — that's all I was trying to do. He gave me a fastball low with two strikes, and I just turned on it, put a barrel on it, and worked out.”

Grout’s line drive to right field carried over the fence and sent the home crowd at Bailey Field into a frenzy as his grand slam gave Mid-Prairie a 6-1 lead. 

It’s unexplainable,” Grout said. “I didn't even know what to do. I was jumping up and down. I was sprinting around the bases. It was just unbelievable.”

Mid-Prairie finished with a pair of six-run innings in the 15-3 five-inning knockout of Van Buren. 

It was the third straight district championship for the Golden Hawks. 

“We didn’t think we were going to be back, so it feels amazing that we were able to play a district final here,” said Mid-Prairie senior Will Cavanagh. 

Saturday’s contest was moved to Wellman after Van Buren upset the district’s number one seed, Mediapolis, on Tuesday. 

“This field — always a great crowd, always a great environment and the best place I’ve ever played,” Cavanagh said. “I’m really happy that we were able to get it done here tonight.”

The Golden Hawk offense put 23 runners on base in just four innings. Mid-Prairie had 12 hits, led by Grout, who was 3-for-3 with a walk and six RBIs. Alex Bean also had three hits, drove in a run, and scored twice. 

“I felt like not a single one of our batters gave up an at bat,” said the Golden Hawks’ second-year head coach Kyle Mullet. “Everybody went and competed. Whether they put the ball in play, or they didn't swing at a bad pitch, or were patient and tried to draw a walk. Everybody did an awesome job.”

Dylan Henry gave Mid-Prairie a 2-1 lead with an RBI single in the first inning, the first of two hits for the sophomore third baseman. Brock Harland and Tyler Helmuth each had a hit and two RBIs. 

“The energy in the dugout was great tonight, and I hope that carries on to the next game,” Helmuth said. “At the beginning of the season, sometimes we struggled to find energy, but tonight we did that.”

Golden Hawk junior Collin Miller bounced back after allowing a run and three hits in the first inning. He would not allow another hit in four innings of work and struck out the last five batters he faced to finish with seven strikeouts. 

“I just had to bounce back and start throwing strikes again, and really locate,” Miller said. “It was great just knowing we had a cushion that I could work with. Everybody started firing on all cylinders and that’s the best I think we’ve looked all year.”

Cain Brown was the first baserunner of the night for the Golden Hawks. He drew a four-pitch leadoff walk and scored the tying run in the first inning. He singled and scored on Grout’s grand slam in the second inning and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth. 

Mid-Prairie (17-10) will face No. 6 West Marshall (28-8) in a substate final at Solon on Tuesday at 7 p.m. 

Mullet has been happy with the attitude of his team in the two district victories. 

“Honestly, the thing I liked the most about tonight was the energy that we have coming out competing,” he said. “I really feel like they're really locked in and they're not concerned about who's in the other dugout, whether we're playing West Marshall or Van Buren or Mediapolis, whoever it may be. We're focusing on us.”

Over the last half of the season, the Golden Hawks’ focus has been on playing their best baseball at the right time. On Saturday, things went according to plan. 

“Now it's a matter of maintaining it, which can be a very hard thing to do,”Mullet said. “Anybody can beat anybody at this time of the year. You know, upset upsets happen all the time. And so hopefully we can stick with it, stick with our approach and keep it going.”