Freshman
May 14, 2009
CALEDONIA, Mich. — The freshman team split a doubleheader Thursday at Caledonia to move their record to 11-4.
The Hawkeyes took game one 8-7, but dropped the second game 4-1.
Chris Scholten earned the victory in game one to improve his season record to 4-0. The Hamilton offense was led by a two double, 4-for-4 performance catcher by Will Braschler.
Colton Boerman (2-2) took the loss in game two. Brandon Dorn score the lone Hawkeye run.
The freshman must rebound quickly as they will host West Ottawa Friday.
May 11, 2009
SPARTA, Mich. — Facing their first road test late in the season on Monday, the freshman scored two big wins over host Sparta. Hamilton defeated Sparta 20-2 in game one and 18-1 in game two.
After being no-hit against Zeeland East on Saturday, the freshman responded with 32 hits in six total innings of baseball. Both games ended after three innings per the MHSAA mercy rule.
The wins improved the freshman team’s record to 10-3.
Strong pitching performances shut down the Spartan offense. Joey DeGood made his first freshman appearance of the season for the Hawkeyes. DeGood, who has played with the JV all season, picked up the win in both games.
In game one, DeGood pitched three innings while giving up two runs, walking one and striking out six. He also pitched the first inning of game two, as he struck out two to keep Sparta off the scoreboard.
Brandon Dorn and Will Braschler led the offensive charge in game one. Dorn was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a single and three runs scored. Braschler was 1-for-1 with three walks and a double.
Game two saw the Hawkeyes pound out 19 hits. Daniel George was 2-for-3 with a walk, Colton Boerman was 2-for-2 with a double, and Braschler was 3-for-4 with two doubles. Andrew Stehle had a triple and Jake Ratkowski had a double.
Stehle and Braschler each made their respective mound debuts for the freshman in game two. Stehle pitched a solid second inning and struck out one while surrendering Sparta’s only run. Braschler pitched the third inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced.
The freshman are next in action Thursday when they travel to Caledonia for a doubleheader.
May 9, 2009
HAMILTON, Mich. — The freshman team placed second at their home tournament Saturday. They defeated Wyoming Park 10-3 in the opening round before losing 15-2 in six innings against Zeeland East in the championship game.
With the split, the freshman moved their season record to 8-3.
GAME ONE
Hamilton 10, Wyoming Park 3
A strong pitching performance from Chris Scholten was key to the Hawkeyes’ victory on the rain-soaked varsity field. Scholten (3-0) threw a complete seven inning game on only 82 pitches. He had five strikeouts and walked only one Park batter.
Hamilton received a multi-hit game from first baseman Tyler Knapp. Also recording a hit each for the Hawkeyes were: Scholten, Daniel George, Brandon George, Andrew Stehle, and Jake Ratkowski.
Will Braschler walked three times in his return from the flu.
Playing solid defense, the Hawkeyes committed only one error in the game.
Wyoming Park scored all of their runs in the first inning.
GAME TWO
Zeeland East 15, Hamilton 2 – 6 innings
The story of game two was Zeeland East’s Josh Snyder. The Chix starting pitcher threw a complete game no-hitter to capture the trophy. Snyder struck out six Hamilton batters while walking four.
Reaching base for the Hawkeyes were Braschler, Daniel George and Colton Boerman.
Brandon Dorn (3-1) took the loss. He pitched four and two-thirds innings before giving way to Brandon George who went a full inning. Shane Van Houten got his first mound appearance and recorded one out to finish the sixth.
“We still have a lot of things to work on,” Hamilton coach Josh Hoppe said. “My congratulations go to Zeeland East on the tournament win.”
The freshman will face their first road test of the year on Monday when they travel to Sparta for a doubleheader.
