Kenyon-Wanamingo Baseball Dominates Bethlehem Academy

The Faribault Bethlehem Academy Cardinals were unbeaten heading into Friday night's game. Unfortunately for them they ran into a Kenyon-Wanamingo team that was angry after losing the previous evening.

Kenyon-Wanamingo had a happy bus ride home after a 17-7 win in five innings at Bell Field.

Knight head coach Randy Hockinson told Power 96 during our Milo Peterson Ford keys to the game segment that his team was determined to score more than the one run they managed the evening before in a 8-1 loss to unbeaten Randolph.

Hockinson added one of the Milo Peterson Ford keys to victory would be a fast start offensively and defensively to help Dylan Craig achieve his first career varsity victory.

Everything went according to plan for Kenyon-Wanamingo. They jumped out of the gate fast with four hits and six runs with 11 batters coming to the plate in the first inning.

The Knights were assisted a bit by a couple of Bethlehem Academy errors. Seniors Ted Androli and Blake Jacobsen led the hit parade with RBI and two RBI singles in the inning.

Craig was understandably nervous to start on the hill and allowed a run in the bottom of the inning. Brendan Trump started the bottom of the inning with a single and scored on a Kollin Hanson RBI double for the Cardinals.

Kenyon-Wanamingo added two more runs in the top of the second on two hits and an error.

Bethlehem Academy then plated six runs to make the score 8-7 and it looked like it was going to be one of those high scoring slow pitch softball kind of games.

Anthony VanThomme, Parker Wagner and Alex Dunn opened the inning with singles to load the bases. No. 9 hitter Hunter Dienst walked to pick up an RBI. Brendan Trump and Isaac VanThomme had RBI singles and Anthony VanThomme added another two RBI single in the inning.

But Kenyon-Wanamingo answered in the top of the third with five more runs on five hits, chasing Isaac VanThomme out of the game.

Craig opened the inning by getting hit by a pitch for the second time; that was followed by five straight hits: RBI singles by Gavin Roosen, Luke Rechtzigel and Ted Androli and an RBI double by Carter Leninger. It was 13-7.

It looked like the Cardinals were going to answer right back after an error started the bottom of the third inning and Dienst hammered a ball to shortstop.

However, in what may have been the play of the game, Gavin Roosen started a web gem double-play by feeding second baseman Blake Jacobson from his knees after corralling the smash in the hole. Jacobson then reverse pivoted and threw to first baseman Ethan Benda to complete the double-play.

Wow!

Bethlehem Academy would not get another run the rest of the game and collected just one more hit after that incredible play.

Meanwhile, Kenyon-Wanamingo's bats would not be silenced. They added another run in the fourth and three more in the fifth to end the game early.

The fourth inning run was a bases-loaded walk by Blake Jacobsen to plate Roosen. The Knights opened the fifth with a double by Matt Houglum followed by another Cardinal error. Two runs would score on another error and an RBI single by Rechtzigel.

Kenyon-Wanamingo finished with 15 hits and left nine men on base, six in scoring position.

Bethlehem Academy finished with nine hits, eight of those in the first two innings and left all five runners on the bases in scoring position.

The Sviggum Insurance Agency of Wanamingo Knights of the game were lead-off hitter Jacob Whipple with three hits two runs and two RBI; Roosen with a couple of awesome defensive plays at short and a couple of hits, an RBI and four runs scored; Androli with three hits, two RBI and a couple runs scored; and Craig.

Craig labored early but settled into the game after the defensive web gems. He picked up his first varsity win in as many starts. Craig had three strikeouts, two walks and a hit batsman while allowing eight hits in three plus innings of work.

He would finish with a Baker and Axelson CPA's of Wanamingo pitch count of 63, 39 of them strikes. Matt Houglum finished the game allowing just one hit by the final seven Cardinal batters.

Isaac VanThomme went two and a third innings for the Cardinals and finished with one strikeout, two walks and three hit batsmen. He threw 87 pitches and 49 were strikes.

Peyton Glenzinski finished the game allowing four runs on four hits and tossed 51 pitches, 29 were strikes. He had four strikeouts. walked a batter and hit a batter.

Faribault State Farm Insurance agents Faribault players of the game were Trump and Anthony VanThomme.

Trump scored twice in the lead-off position and had a couple of hits and an RBI, and VanThomme had a pair of hits and two RBI and a run scored.

The win made Kenyon-Wanamingo 4-1 on the season and dropped Bethlehem Academy to 3-1.

The Cardinals host a round-robin tournament Saturday at Bell Field with a couple of very good opponents coming to town.

Byron will play BA at 10AM and New Life Academy will square off with the Bears at noon followed by the Cardinals playing New Life Academy.

The concession stand will be open featuring a new menu item this year: Sloppy Jerry's Hot Dogs, a quarter-pound hot dog with famous Sloppy Jerry's barbecue on it.

The weather should be perfect, so take in all the games or just a portion of the tournament and watch some high school baseball.

The Cardinals are at United South Central in Wells on Monday and the game will be on Power 96 Radio.

Kenyon-Wanamingo's next game is Monday at picturesque Lake City.

In other area baseball Friday: