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New London knocks off Notre Dame, advances to district final
Tigers take down Nikes in 1A district semifinal game
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
NEW LONDON — New London baseball extended its postseason run with a gritty 8-5 victory over Southeast Iowa Super Conference South rival Notre Dame on Tuesday night in a Class 1A district semifinal clash.
The Tigers (15-9) now advance to the district final where they'll face Pekin (11-9) at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The two teams split their regular-season meetings, but Notre Dame had dominated the most recent contest with a 13-2 win. On Tuesday, however, it was all New London.
Facing Notre Dame ace Payne Prottsman, the Tigers wasted no time getting on the board. After the Nikes took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, New London responded in the bottom half with key contributions from its senior class.
“These guys (the seniors) are our program,” New London head coach Jayden Flowers said. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how much of a battle it was for us after losing eight of the nine starters and now we have a group of seniors that have carried on the culture and love the sport and love to compete. They pass it on to the younger guys. I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for the program.”
Walks by senior Memphis Watson and junior Kye Reighard, followed by a single from senior Gavin Menke-Bailey, loaded the bases. Senior catcher Tate Welcher drove in a run with an RBI single, and senior Gage Burden added a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
“We knew we’d have to be able to swing the sticks early and often,” Flowers said. “If we got a couple hits early and scored a couple runs early, I liked our odds. When we take our bats serious, we’re hard to beat.”
Notre Dame kept it close, scoring in the second and third innings to retake a 3-2 advantage. But the Tigers answered with their biggest frame of the night in the fourth, plating four runs to swing the momentum.
“We had to show up and compete,” Menke-Bailey said. “That’s what we did. We finally got the big hits when we needed them. We got hits in a row, that’s what we’ve been missing all season.”
Singles by Riley Raines and Cale Westerbeck, combined with two hit batters, including one on Menke-Bailey that tied the game, set the table. A passed ball allowed Westerbeck to score, and RBIs from Welcher and Burden gave New London a 6-3 lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Nikes mounted a rally in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 6-5 on a two-run single by Jeremiah Crow. Menke-Bailey, who had relieved Reighard on the mound earlier in the inning, kept his composure. He induced a fielder’s choice and then struck out the next batter to strand the tying runs in scoring position.
“I was confident coming in,” Menke-Bailey said of coming into relief. “I was confident that my team would make plays behind me. They have all year and I trust them.”
With momentum swinging again, New London added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases yet again, Raines brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and Watson followed with an RBI single to make it 8-5.
Menke-Bailey and the Tiger defense made quick work of Notre Dame in the seventh, retiring the side in order to seal the win.
“They came here and beat us by 11, so just being able to beat them when it matter was big,” Menke-Bailey said.
Burden led New London with three hits and two RBIs. Welcher also finished with two RBIs and two hits. Menke-Bailey ended with two hits and an RBI as did Watson.
Riley Raines finished with a hit and RBI. Westerbeck and Owen Severson each had a hit as well.
