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Mid-Prairie baseball explodes for 18 in Mt. Pleasant
Golden Hawks put up 14 early runs to doom Panthers in first 2 innings
Andy Krutsinger
Jun. 13, 2021 6:56 pm
MT. PLEASANT - Mid-Prairie scored 14 runs in the first two innings en route to an 18-8 non conference win in Mt. Pleasant on Friday. It was the eighth-ranked (2A) Hawks’ fourth win in a row and eighth in 10 tries.
The Golden Hawks wasted no time. After putting the first two runners on, Mid-Prairie standout Aidan Rath stepped in and launched a 3-run homerun to ignite the dugout and spark a 14-0 run.
Mid-Prairie would score eight runs in the first inning. The Golden Hawks added six in the second, an inning that would see Mt. Pleasant starting pitcher Chase Williamson leave with injury.
“We’ve got a very strong hitting core,” said Mid-Prairie head coach Kyle Mullet. “A lot of these seniors who are playing right now have been starting varsity since their sophomore year.”
Mt. Pleasant scored five runs in the second inning to cut the lead to 14-5, but nine runs is as close as the Panthers would get.
Williamson’s injury came on a play at third base in the second frame. He was covering the vacant base when he collided on a dive to the bag with a Mid-Prairie runner.
Jake Ensminger came in to relieve Williamson, and held the Golden Hawks to just four runs after two monstrous opening frames.
“We’ve had a long week, playing four out of the five days,” Mt. Pleasant head coach Brent Broeker said. “We were low on pitching, and Chase got hurt, but I thought Jake did a really good job.”
Kayden Reinier went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs to lead Mid-Prairie. Rath went 2-for-2 with a homer and four RBIs. Karson Grout was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs, and Cain Browk went 2-for-4 with a couple RBIs of his own.
Mid-Prairie used three pitchers on the night. Alex Bean picked up the win, giving up five earned runs in two innings. Collin Miller and Reinier each pitched in relief.
Mt. Pleasant had three players record multi-hit games. Cooper Keldgord went 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI. Colton Hutson went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Carter Amos was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Payton Hagans knocked in a team-high two runs.
Mt. Pleasant fell to 2-9 on the season. Mid-Prairie is now 8-2 on the year, a strong start for a team coming off a state tournament appearance in 2020.
“For us, it’s seeing our flaws in what we did on our way to get to state, and learning from those,” Mullet said. “We know the style of baseball and where we have to be as a team when that time comes.”
Mid-Prairie’s Aidan Rath throws a pitch during his start in Mt. Pleasant on Friday night. The No. 8 (2A) Golden Hawks won 18-8. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Mt. Pleasant’s Jake Ensminger throws in relief for the Panthers in their nonconference loss to Mid-Prairie on Friday.