AFTER A NUMBER OF CLOSE CALLS, INDIAN BASEBALL TEAM GETS FIRST WIN OF SEASON

In a week filled with a number of early "close, but not quite" outcomes, the Waukon Indian baseball team was finally able to break into the win column with its first victory of the season. After a pair of non-conference doubleheaders in which the Tribe came close to picking up a split - falling 8-5 and 5-4 at Cascade Monday, June 5 and at home to Kee High, 6-0 and 21-15, Wednesday, June 7, the Tribe recorded its first win of the season - and it came in dramatic fashion.
A Northeast Iowa Conference varsity doubleheader at home with Charles City Friday, June 9 saw the Indians drop a 6-4 heart breaker in the early game, but a seventh-inning grand slam homerun by Indian junior Heath Hesse halted the Indian winless steak, boosting the Tribe to a 12-11 comeback victory over the visiting Comets in the nightcap. The momentum from that win failed to carry over to the next day, however, as the Tribe fell in two games at the Anamosa Tournament, dropping a 5-3 decision to Lisbon and falling, 8-1, to Anamosa.
The Indians now sit with a season record of 1-12 overall, including a mark of 1-3 in the Northeast Iowa Conference.

Charles City doubleheader...
"It couldn't have come at a better time." Those are the words Waukon baseball coach Paul Norton used to describe the win that earned his team a doubleheader split against Charles City at home Friday, June 9.
After dropping the double-dip opener to the Comets by a 6-4 tally in eight innings for their 10th straight loss of the season, the Indians posted their first win of the season in comeback fashion. Trailing 11-8 in the bottom of the seventh, the Indians were able to load the bases with one out, setting the stage for a dramatic, game-winning grand slam for junior Heath Hesse that secured the 12-11 Indian win.
"I was beginning to wonder just when we were going to break through," Coach Norton said. "We had come so close in so many games before that, but couldn't quite get it done. And to have the first win come in such a dramatic way. Hopefully, that will give us some momentum to build on."
The Indians opened their NEIC twinbill by handing Charles City a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. A game-opening single was followed by a mess of four different Indian errors that allowed three runs to score.
An answer from the Tribe was not established until the bottom of the second frame, when the Indians cut into the Comet lead with two runs. Senior left fielder Eddie Frick bashed a lead-off triple to start the inning and was sacrificed in by a fly ball from senior third baseman Jason Manning. The Indians continued in that same inning with a two-out single by senior center fielder Craig Stott and a run-scoring double by junior second baseman Bill Van Gorp that made for a 3-2 count in favor of Charles City.
After the initial inning uprising by the Comets, Indian junior pitcher Heath Hesse settled in to keep Charles City better in check through the fourth frame. The top of the fifth saw the Comets tack on their fourth run of the game, however, on a lead-off triple and sacrifice fly.
Down 4-2 after five frames, the Indians methodically worked their way back to knot the score at four runs each, getting a single run in each of the sixth and seventh frames. A one-out walk and ensuing balk put Manning on second base in the sixth inning before Stott hit a two-out double to drive him in for a 4-3 Indian deficit.
The Indians did just enough in their final opportunity at the plate in the seventh to move the game into extra innings, tying the game with a single run. A one-out single by sophomore shortstop Chad Bakkum started the inning, with pinch-running sophomore Seth Kelly stealing second base before being driven in by a two-out double off the bat of junior right fielder Josh Johnson. That run tied the score at 4-4 before the inning was ended, sending the game into the eighth inning.
The fortune that had become too well known by the Tribe in close ballgames like this one once again reared its ugly head in the top of the eighth frame. Charles City was able to push two runs across the plate in that top half of the frame on a hit batsman, a single and a two-run double, once again taking the lead at 6-4.
Although the Indians did manage a baserunner in the bottom half of the eighth, they could not come up with the complete answer to the two-run Comet advantage, falling by the 6-4 final result.
Hesse allowed seven Comet hits, hit one batter and struck out 12 in going the full eight innings and suffering the loss. Charles City's Danny Mulford also went the full eight frames, giving up nine Indian hits, walking four batters and setting seven Indians down on strikes.

Game two began in much the same way as its previous counterpart, the Indians finding themselves in another 3-0 hole after two complete innings of play. Another couple Indian defensive letdowns were taken advantage of by three singles in the first frame for two runs and a run-scoring double in the second inning for the 3-0 Comet lead after two complete stanzas.
The Indians had a complete answer for the early Charles City offense in the bottom of the third frame, knotting the score at 3-3 with a little help and some timely hitting of their own. A pair of walks issued to junior catcher Andy Snitker and freshman second baseman Tyson Farley opened the door for the first Indian run of the ballgame, that coming when junior left fielder Heath Hesse collected a one-out single to score Snitker's courtesy runner, senior Brian Swenson.
Another walk issued to sophomore shortstop Chad Bakkum loaded the bases for the Tribe, just in time for junior first baseman Chris Kamm to unleash a two-run double up the middle that scored Farley and Hesse, tying the score at 3-3 before the inning was ended.
An exchange of runs in the fourth inning found the Indians on top of the Comets, as Charles City posted three runs in the top half of the frame, but the Indians bettered that tally by two runs to take an 8-6 lead over the Comets. The Charles City runs came by virtue of a hit batsman, a single, an Indian run-scoring error, a run-scoring sacrifice, and one-run single.
The Tribe countered in almost as many ways in its half of the inning, starting the inning with a run that was produced on a lead-off single by junior third baseman Jared Jones, a walk issued to Snitker and a botched fielder's choice that scored Jones in senior center fielder Craig Stott's at-bat. A wild pitch then scored Snitker's courtesy runner, Swenson, from third to move the Tribe within a run at 5-6 before another walk issued to Farley put two more runners on the bags for the Indians, still with no one out.
A double by Hesse scored Stott, with Kamm drilling his second double of the game to drive in both Farley and Hesse to give the Tribe an 8-6 lead through four complete frames.
A pair of Comet solo homers in the top of the fifth and sixth innings soon eroded that Indian lead away, knotting the score at 8-8. The sixth-inning dinger was not enough for the Comets, however, as they tacked on another run on a single and double to regain the lead at 9-8.
Another pair of doubles, a stolen base and a wild pitch expanded that Charles City advantage to what seemed to be an insurmountable lead in the top of the seventh frame, providing an all too familiar feeling of deja vu for the Indians and their fans. Trailing 11-8, the Indians came to their final at-bats in the bottom of the seventh frame.
That final opportunity at the plate got off to a promising start, as Jones led the inning off with a single and was followed by a double off the bat of Snitker. After a strike out, Farley battled for his third walk of the ballgame, setting the table for Hesse. The Indian junior did not disappoint, making the most of this chance of a lifetime by laying into a 2-1 Charles City pitch and lifting it over the wall in left center field for a game-winning grand slam homer.
It was the first round-tripper of Hesse's varsity baseball career and it led to a 12-11 victory, the first win for the baseball Indians this season.
When asked if he knew the hit was headed over the fence when it left his bat, Hesse's replay was, "I didn't know, because I've never hit one before. I didn't know what it felt like."
The pitching win was credited to Bakkum, who came on in relief of senior Eddie Frick in the seventh frame to allow one hit, walk one batter and strike out another. Frick allowed 12 Charles City hits, walked three batters and struck out two in the game's first six innings. Charles City's Cody Blount suffered the loss on the mound, giving up seven hits - including that game-winning grand slam, walking three Indians and striking out five in the final four innings. Comet Steve Domino pitched the first three innings of the contest, allowing three Indian hits, walking four batters and striking out four more.

Anamosa Tournament ...
The early efforts of the baseball Indians at the Saturday, June 10 Anamosa Tournament looked as if they might very well have been fueled by the momentum gained from their first win of the season the night before. But, as the tournament wore on, that momentum slowly eroded away, leaving the Tribe on the short end of its two tournament games for a fourth-place finish at the tourney.
After taking an early, 2-0 lead over Lisbon in their tournament opener, the Indians eventually found themselves on the low side of a 5-3 final. The Tribe again took an early lead in its consolation final against Anamosa, jumping out to a 1-0 advantage, but that advantage also subsided over the course of the ballgame, landing the Tribe in an 8-1 hole in the final tally.
"I thought, maybe, there might be some fire from the night before," Waukon baseball coach Paul Norton said. "In fact, I even mentioned that on the bus before we played in the tournament. It just didn't happen for us, and some of the same things that had been plaguing us all season returned to hurt us again in these two games."
The Tribe opened the tournament with Lisbon, wasting little time in establishing a 1-0 advantage with a quick run in the opening frame of the six-inning first-round tournament game. Sophomore shortstop Chad Bakkum drew a one-out base on balls to spark the offense and got company on the basepaths when a two-out walk was issued to junior designated hitter Josh Johnson. Senior left fielder Eddie Frick then stepped to the plate to deliver Bakkum home with a single, giving the Indians the 1-0 lead.
Another quick strike in the top of the second frame doubled the Tribe's advantage to 2-0. Junior catcher Andy Snitker pounded out a lead-off single to start the inning, being replaced on the basepaths by courtesy-running senior Brian Swenson. Moving up a base on a wild pitch sandwiched between a pair of sacrifices off the bats of senior center fielder Craig Stott - a bunt, and freshman right fielder Tyson Farley - a fly ball to center field, Swenson was able to make his way around the basepaths for that 2-0 Indian lead.
A two-run bottom of the third for Lisbon eliminated that Indian advantage in a hurry, as the Lions belted two singles and took advantage of an Indian error and a sacrifice fly to knot the score at 2-2. Lisbon did not stop there, however, adding an additional three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead for good. Three singles, a walk and a two-out Indian error resulted in those three runs, boosting the Lions to a 5-2 lead through four complete frames.
The Indian offense had been silenced through frames three, four and five, bringing the Tribe to its final offensive opportunity in the bottom of the sixth frame. A lead-off walk issued to Snitker eventually resulted in one run being reclaimed by the Indians, as Hesse delivered a two-out, run-scoring double to pull the Tribe within a pair of runs at 5-3. Any ideas of another comeback victory for the Tribe were vanquished, however, when the final Indian out was recorded.
Indian sophomore Seth Kelly suffered the loss for the Indians on the mound, giving up six hits, walking three batters and striking out three. Lisbon's Kyle Mallie picked up the pitching win, giving up seven Indian hits, walking five batters and striking out four more.
Lisbon went on to lose in the championship round of the tournament, falling by a 10-run final result in five innings.

An early, 1-0 lead was all the offense the Indians could muster in their five-inning consolation finals contest with Anamosa. The Indians took advantage of a lead-off error in the top of the second frame to score senior courtesy runner Brian Swenson on a sacrifice fly to right field by senior center fielder Craig Stott, taking a 1-0 lead.
That lead was short-lived, however, as Anamosa countered in the bottom half of that second frame with a three-run homer and two more singles and a run-scoring error to overtake the lead and build it to 4-1. Another three runs were added by the tournament hosts in the third on back-to-back Indian errors followed by two run-scoring singles and a run-scoring double, making for a 7-1 Anamosa advantage. The final tally was tacked on by the host school on a fourth-inning single followed by a stolen base and back-to-back ground balls, completing the 8-1 Anamosa margin.
The Indians did very little to threaten that Anamosa lead, being limited to just two hits in the game's five innings. Although baserunners were allowed in each of those five frames, the Indians advanced just one of those in the second inning for their lone run of the ballgame, leaving them on the short end of that 8-1 final result.
Junior Bill Van Gorp was tagged with the pitching loss for the Indians, allowing 11 Anamosa hits, striking out one batter and walking no one. Anamosa's Aaron Schramm took the win on the mound, limiting the Tribe to just two hits, walking two batters, hitting another and striking out two more.