No. 10 Golden Hawks play 2 different games

WELLMAN - In a season shortened by the coronavirus, it helps a team to get experience in the limited amount of games that it plays. Class 2A's 10th- ranked baseball team, the Mid-Prairie High School Golden Hawks, got experience in two different kind of games when they split a doubleheader with EBF Wednesday at Kos Field.

The first game was a rout, ending after the top of the fifth inning with a 15-2 Mid-Prairie victory. The second game with a battle of attrition and the Golden Hawks were unable to win that battle, falling 10-7.

'We started our closer in the second game because we have five games this week. Our arms are not in shape yet,” MP head coach Andy Greiner said. 'We started Kayden Reinier even though he doesn't like to start. He is our closer. He was a little off.”

Keegan Gingerich started the first game and had five strikeouts, with three hits and three walks.

'In the first game, they did not look very good so our guys thought they had it in the bag,” Greiner said. 'But credit to EBF because they put the ball in play. They didn't chase bad pitches. They put pressure on us.”

The Hawks still had a chance, loading the bases in the seventh inning with one out, but a strikeout and a pop out ended the night.

'We have a pretty dynamic offense,” Greiner said. 'We still need to continue to improve.”

Two pieces of that offense had a big night. Leadoff batter Brad Tornow went 3-for-4 with a double in the opener with three runs scored and reached three times in the nightcap without a hit and scored all three times. Aidan Rath was 2-for-3 in the opener with a double and 1-for-2 in the nightcap with a combined four RBI. Another key hit was Karson Grout's two-run triple that tied the second game at 6-6.

'We are just going to have to do a better job of managing our arms and health,” Greiner said. 'We have a lot of pieces. We want to make sure we stay healthy early.”

Victories in a season without a conference championship to battle for are not as important as staying healthy.

'We have a goal and it is a big one,” Greiner said. 'We are focused on the big picture and meeting our goals.”

Teams had 30 percent less of a preseason and will have about half of a regular season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'We are not looking at any games being more important than any other games through the season,” Greiner said. 'We just want to look at the next game and see how the season unfolds. We have to protect our arms and peak at the right time. The postseason is what really matters this year.”