HOISINGTON —The Hoisington/Central Plains baseball team overcame 17 walks in game 1 and offset seven unearned runs in the nightcap to sweep the Russell/Victoria baseball team 15-14 and 13-11 in a wild season opener. Fourteen pitchers yielded 47 walks that featured 15 errors. The Cardinals' batters drew 25 walks in the twin bill.
CARDINALS 15, RUSSELL 14 (G1) — Hoisington's pitchers yielded 17 walks, but the Cardinals scored a pair of eighth-inning runs for a 15-14 victory. Kolter Hahn's game-winning single scored Teron Kraft with two out. Aiden Hekele's single scored Brodie Crites with the tying run for a 14-14 tie. Hahn (1-0) earned the victory.
Russell led 14-13 when Sam Thielen scored on Trey Zorn's eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Russell's Mason Rohr scored on a seventh-inning wild pitch for a 13-13 tie.
Hoisington's Lane French and Hekele each drove in three runs. Crites, Marcus, Ingram and Hahn each drove in two runs. Rhen Galla drove home one run. Ingram and Hekele each had three hits.
Russell's Rohr had four RBIs and Max Evans drove in a trio of runs.
CARDINALS 13, RUSSELL 11 (G2) —Hoisington's 9-run third inning overcame six defensive errors that led to seven unearned Russell runs. Cardinal pitcher Tyrus Penka (1-0) yielded one earned run.
Galla, Crites, Ingram and Hahn each drove in a pair of runs in a 12-hit attack. Hekele and Ethan Grubb also drove in runs. Galla, Crites, Ingram and Hekele delivered RBIs in the 9-run third inning.
Russell's Thielen tripled and doubled twice with three RBIs and three runs scored. Evans drove home three runs with a pair of hits.
Russell 002 460 11 — 14 7 0
Hoisington 001 615 02 — 15 13 5
Thielen, Schoenberger (4), Griffin (5), Zorn (6) and Rohr. French, Chambers (4), Hekele (5), Hahn (7) and Ingram. W—Hahn, 1-0. L—Zorn, 0-1. 2B—H—Penka. 3B—R—Evans, Rohr, Thielen
Russell 301 501 1 — 11 9 4
Hoisington 109 210 x — 13 12 6
Evans, Zorn (2), Ross (3), Schoenberger (4), Thielen (5) and Rohr. Hahn, Penka (4) and Ingram. W—Penka, 1-0. L—Evans, 0-1. 2B—H—Crites, Ingram; R—Thielen 2, Mohr. 3B—R—Rohr, Thielen
