Arms anchor Golden Hawks

CARROLL — The Mid-Prairie baseball team had to recover for over a month after losing a marquee matchup at Cascade in early June, but after Tuesday’s Class 2A state quarterfinal rematch, it’s the Cougars who will be licking their wounds all summer long.

The sixth-seeded Golden Hawks avenged a 3-0 regular season loss by knocking off No. 3 seed Cascade 3-2 at Merchants Park in Carroll, pulling off the only upset of the first round and securing a spot in Thursday’s semifinals.

The Mid-Prairie baseball team celebrates its 3-2 win over Cascade in the Class 2A quarterfinals on Tuesday in Carroll. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

And speaking of wiping away the past, that’s exactly what junior starter Collin Miller did on the mound for Mid-Prairie. Two years after struggling with his command in the 2020, Miller came out and tossed a gem, giving up just two runs over six innings of work.

“I walked a lot of guys in that game, and so did the rest of our pitching staff,” said Miller. “I knew I had to come out and throw strikes.”

Mid-Prairie’s Collin Miller throws a pitch during the Golden Hawks’ 3-2 win over Cascade in Tuesday’s Class 2A state baseball quarterfinals. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

While Miller kept the Cascade bats off-balance, the Mid-Prairie offense had time to get to work. The Golden Hawks scored two runs in the second inning and one in the third to take a 3-0 lead.

“We came out here and executed this time, unlike last time,” said infielder Alex Bean. “Today we just hit the ball and put up some runs.”

Mid-Prairie’s Alex Bean fields a bouncer to second base on Tuesday in Carroll. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

After a scoreless first inning, Tyler Helmuth gave the Golden Hawks a big boost to start the second. The senior lined a deep shot into center field and scampered around the bases for a leadoff triple, giving Mid-Prairie an early spark.

“Just to get on base and hit the ball hard has been my mindset all year,” said Helmuth. “I'm not going to lie, I thought it might have been a pop out, but then everybody started screaming, and I just started running.”

Two batters later, Brock Harland knocked Helmuth in on a perfectly executed safety squeeze. Later in the frame, Miller delivered an RBI single, scoring Dylan Henry to make it 2-0.

Cain Brown singled and stole second in the top of the third. Bean scored Brown with an RBI single, and although Mid-Prairie would strand the bases loaded in the inning, the Golden Hawks enjoyed a 3-0 lead after three.

Mid-Prairie catcher Brock Harland (left) throws out a runner at first base while starting pitcher Collin Miller (right) looks on in anticipation during the Class 2A state baseball tournament on Tuesday. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

That 3-0 advantage was safe through five innings, but Cascade’s bats eventually came to life. Down three runs in the bottom of the sixth, the Cougars scored their first run on a wild pitch. Then with one out, Cooper Hummel, who threw 3.2 shutout innings in relief to keep Cascade, cut the Golden Hawks’ advantage to one run with a sacrifice fly.

Mid-Prairie’s Cain Brown receives a pickoff attempt to first base during the Golden Hawks’ 3-2 defeat of Cascade in the 2022 Class 2A state baseball tournament. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

After a scoreless Mid-Prairie seventh, the Cougars had their chance to steal the game. Cascade knocked out Miller with a leadoff walk, and Miller’s cousin, Cain Brown, came on to try and save the game.

“I trust Cain with all my life,” said Miller. “We've been tight all our lives, and I told him he's got to go up there and throw strikes.”

Brown had some rough luck right away as Cascade’s Justin Roling reached base on a slow roller to second base, putting two on with nobody out, and bringing the top of the order up, but the Mid-Prairie junior had a trick up his sleeve.

After a meeting at the mound, Brown sniped a pickoff throw to first to catch Roling napping and record the first out of the inning. He followed that by forcing two-straight fly outs to end the game.

“That's Cain for you,” said Mid-Prairie head coach Kyle Mullet. “That's his confidence. He's been there. That experience says a lot.”

Fittingly, the final out fell into the glove of another player who had to step up for his team. Helmuth, who was playing his first game in the outfield due to a defensive shift brought on by injuries, ran into make the catch, and the Golden Hawks’ celebration was on.

Mid-Prairie’s Tyler Helmuth catches a fly ball in right field during the Golden Hawks’ 3-2 state quarterfinal win over Cascade on Tuesday. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

“I had never played outfield before,” Helmuth said. “The ball was right in the sun. It had me a little nervous, but I stayed confident.”

Helmuth and Henry each finished 2-for-3 with a run scored. Bean went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Brown was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Miller was 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Will Cavanagh went 1-for-3.

Miller struck out 10 Cougars over his six innings of work. Cascade scored its two runs on five hits and four walks.

The win moved the Golden Hawks on to the first Class 2A semifinal on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Mid-Prairie will play second-seeded Estherville-Lincoln Central with the winner playing either No. 1 seed Van Meter or No. 4 seed Beckman Catholic in Friday’s Class 2A championship.