Hamilton-Rogers postponed until Wednesday

May 11, 2010

HAMILTON, Mich. – Athletic Director Jerry Haggerty has announced that today’s OK-Green conference game between the Hawkeyes and Rogers has been postponed.  It will be made up on Wednesday at Rogers with the first pitch scheduled for 4:15 p.m.

Hawkeyes hit, pitch way to sweep of Byron Center

May 10, 2010

BYRON CENTER, Mich. – Heading into a vital week in the OK-Green conference race, the Hawkeyes knew that they would have to go through Byron Center ace Mitch Patterson in order to stay unbeaten in the league.  The Hawkeyes (17-2, 8-0) answered the challenge by knocking Patterson out in the first inning en route to a game one 13-3 victory.  Hamilton finished the sweep with a 9-3 win in the nightcap.  The win keeps the Hawkeyes alone at the top of the OK-Green.

“We’ve got a couple of teams on our heels so it just keeps us ahead of those teams as we go down the stretch,” Hawkeye head coach Ken DeGood said.  “To only make one error on the day while collecting 29 hits, you’re going to win a lot of games doing that.  Our pitching was solid as well (18Ks and only 2BBs).

GAME ONE

HAMILTON 13, BYRON CENTER 3

Hamilton collected 18 hits to give senior pitcher Carter DeBoe all the support he would need in game one.  Hamilton batted around off of Bulldog ace Mitch Patterson while scoring five runs in the first.

“We knew Patterson was going to be around the plate so we tried to be aggressive.  The first good pitch we saw, our guys went after it and we got a lot of good swings in that first inning.”

DeBoe (5-1) went the distance while allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out eight and walking only two.

Offensively, R.J. Flowers was 4 for 4 with an inside-the-park home run, a double, 4 RBI and 2 runs.  Senior Luke Stafford was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and one run.  Jason Henrickson and DeBoe each added multi-hit games with Henrickson adding a double and DeBoe a triple.  Adding hits for the Hawkeyes were Adam Koning, Andrew DeGood, Todd Scholten, Evan Mudd and Steve Durham.

DeGood spoke afterwards about the big games by Flowers and Stafford.

“Those guys came up big.  R.J. broke the ice with that 2 RBI single and he just stayed hot the rest of the day.  Luke just hits line drives and he’s been great this season.”

GAME TWO

HAMILTON 9, BYRON CENTER 3

The Hawkeyes welcomed senior pitcher Alex Tenckinck back to the mound and he kept an aggressive Bulldog team at bay en route to his third win of the season (3-1).  Tenckinck worked five innings, allowing three runs on eight hits.  He did not walk a batter while striking out six. Senior Evan Mudd collected his second save of the season working two innings of scoreless baseball.

“It was good to see Alex back on the mound.  He had to work out some rust but he did a really solid job without walking anybody.  He made them put the ball in play,” DeGood explained.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes were paced by Koning, Henrickson and DeBoe.  All three seniors had two hits each, as did senior Todd Scholten, while each added at least one extra base hit.  DeGood, Flowers and Stafford each collected a hit in game two.  Flowers collected two more RBI.  On the day, Flowers was 5 for 8 with a double, home run and 6 RBI.

“The top of our order really came through for us,” DeGood noted of game two,  “by getting on base and driving each other in.   That’s kind of the way it’s been.  We get production from the entire lineup at different times.”

The Hawkeyes will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Rogers on Tuesday for a single game.  First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.

Check back Tuesday night for the recap of the Rogers game.

Hawkeyes in the news, May 9, 2010

May 9, 2010

Mother nature and Mother’s Day brought the Hawkeyes into the headlines this week.  The Hawkeyes only played once while the Holland Sentinel published a special Mother’s Day story about the Mudd family.  Articles on various rankings are listed as well.

Hamilton defeats Holland Christian again behind R.J. Flowers and Evan Mudd

A Hamilton sports fan, mother back in the game after  leukemia fight

MHSBCA Weekly Poll (May 5, 2010)

The Grand Rapids Press Baseball rankings (May 6, 2010)