Big school baseball teams close out regular season

While the area’s small schools were starting up postseason play, Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield and Washington were all finishing up the year with a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

The Panthers played as the home team at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City. Fairfield fell on the road and Washington dropped a game at home.

Bettendorf 6, Mt. Pleasant 5

Mt. Pleasant played up a class in its game at Duane Banks. The Panthers had a 3-1 lead after one inning, but Bettendorf scored the next five to lead 6-3.

Mt. Pleasant threatened to tie the game up in the fourth, scoring two to cut the lead to 6-5. The Panthers couldn’t quite push the final run over.

Mt. Pleasant had six hits on the day. Cooper Keldgord led the way, going 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI He also walked once. Zerek Venghaus finished 1-for-2 with an RBI. Jake Ensminger was 1-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks.

Ensminger, Keldgord and Newton all saw time on the mound. Ensminger gave up six runs (three earned) over three innings to take the loss. Keldgord and Newton each pitched two shut out innings.

Muscatine 4, Fairfield 0

Like Mt. Pleasant, the Trojans faced a Class 4A foe. The Trojans couldn’t get their offense off the ground, collecting just three hits.

Nate Smithburg was 1-for-3 with a double to lead Fairfield. Khai Klehm went 1-for-1, and Connor Lyons was 1-for-2.

Lyons, Smithburg and Brad Woodburn each pitched two innings. Lyons took the loss on the day.

Pella 9, Washington 4

The Demons rallied back from an early 5-0 deficit to cut the lead to 5-4 after a run in the first and a three-run bottom of the third. Pella hit the gas in the fourth, plating four insurance runs.

Ethan Patterson had a big day for the Demons, going 3-for-3 with a double. Kole Williams was 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.