Hawks Face Key League Test Tonight

CAN TIE FOR LEAGUE LEAD WITH WIN AT ELK HORN

East Greene is coming down the home stretch of one the most successful boys basketball seasons in school history. The Hawks head to Elk Horn tonight for a key battle with Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira, leader of the Rolling Hills Conference with a 15-1 record. EG is right behind the Spartans at 14-2.

The two teams met on Jan. 4 in Rippey with EHKE getting the upper hand in a tough defensive tussle, 40-37. EG has seen what the Spartans have put on the floor in the earlier matchup and can hopefully rectify that. On paper, it would seem that EHKE has the advantage as they are playing on their home floor in Elk Horn, but EG is actually undefeated in road contests, whereas all three defeats this season have come on the home court in Rippey. Another wrinkle in the mix is that EHKE actually has two home courts—the first half of the season was played in Exira and now the latter half of the schedule shifts to Elk Horn, as they are in the early stages of sports and whole-grade sharing arrangement between the two--now still separate--school districts.

Both teams sailed through their matchups last night, with EG taking care of Adair-Casey at home, 74-38, and EHKE picking up a road win at Walnut, 76-31. The fact that the second place team beat the ninth-place team in the league by 36 points and the first-place team beat the eighth-team by 35 points—each a team seven slots lower on the RH pecking order—shows that these teams are very evenly matched.

The 74 points scored was the second highest total for the Hawks all season and the most points scored in any of their 14 conference wins. It was the same for EHKE, and the first time the Spartans have topped the 70-point threshold all season. EG has the higher offensive average for the year, 58.2, the 26th best among all 1A schools (137 total) with EHKE at 53.4 points per game. EHKE gives up just 36.6 points a game, second best in all of Class 1A, while EG is hold teams to 42.9.

In other make-up games in the league last night, Glidden-Ralston beat Paton-Churdan 46-29 to stay in the hunt for an upper division finish in the conference. GR moved is conference record to 11-5, right behind Orient-Macksburg and Ankeny Christian, both at 11-4.

Paton-Churdan is winless in the RH and is 1-16 overall, with is lone victory coming against Southeast Webster-Grand. EG opens district action in a quarterfinal round game at home against SWG on Jan. 17. EG thumped the Eagles 78-23 in the second game of the season back in December, which was the highest point total and widest margin of victory all year for the Hawks, who are now 15-3 overall, the same mark as EHKE.

In girls action, Adair-Casey beat the Hawkettes, 67-39, to stay in contention for the Rolling Hills crown. AC is now 14-2, just behind CAM (Anita) which is 14-1.

After tonight’s game at Elk Horn, both EG squads end conference play against Iowa Christian at home on Tuesday. The boys host Madrid in a non-conference game at home on Friday, while the girls head to Coon Rapids-Bayard the night in a first-round regional match up the night before.

BOYS ROLLING HILLS STANDINGS
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 15-1
East Greene 14-2
Ankeny Christian 11-4
Orient-Macksburg 11-4
Glidden-Ralston 10-5
CAM 6-9
Iowa Christian 5-10
Walnut 3-13
Adair-Casey 2-14
Paton-Churdan 0-15

GIRLS ROLLING HILLS STANDINGS
CAM 14-1
Adair-Casey 14-2
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 13-3
Iowa Christian 10-5
Orient-Macksburg 7-8
Ankeny Christian 7-8
East Greene 5-11
Walnut 4-12
Glidden-Ralston 2-12
Paton-Churdan 0-14

Hawks Vie for Rolling Hills Title

BIG ROAD WIN TUESDAY OVER O-MACK, 48-38

East Greene picked up a big win at Orient-Macksburg on Tuesday to keep its Rolling Hills Conference boys basketball title hopes alive. EG downed the Bulldogs 48-38, keeping the Hawks just one game behind league-leader Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira.

Orient-Macksburg had just handed EHKE its first league loss last Friday in Orient, upping its own record in the conference to 10-3, and moving OM to third place, just behind E/EHK (11-1) and EG (11-2), and a game ahead of Ankeny Christian Academy, 9-3.

EHKE won a big matchup Monday night at Ankeny Christian 54-48. The Spartans then beat Iowa Christian 68-50 the following night to move to 13-1 in the conference while EG upped its mark to 12-2 with the big win at Orient. Each team has just four conference games remaining including a key matchup next Friday night, Feb. 4, at Elk Horn.

EG faces a tough Glidden-Ralston squad tonight in Rippey. The Wildcats have won 5 of their last 7 games including a 70-41 drubbing of Ankeny Christian on Jan. 18 in Glidden. GR is just behind OM and ACA (both 10-4) in the league with a 9-4 mark. (GR and PC have each played one less game than the other 8 RH teams, but will make up their snowed out game from Jan. 11 on Monday, Jan. 31, in Glidden).

EYE ON GJ SAYS: The Hawks are playing solid ball and they showed real fortitude by making a very good showing in Orient on Tuesday night after losing by just one point to Class 2A Woodward-Granger Saturday in Rippey. The Hawks got a sweep of county rival and RH foe Paton-Churdan with a big 68-34 win on the home court on Friday night. The Hawks are now 13-3.

EG girls also picked up a conference win and a sweep of PC as they downed the Rockettes in Rippey, 36-27. The Hawkettes fell to Woodward-Granger the following night, 67-44. The win over PC moved the Hawkettes' conference record to 5-9. Overall, the Hawkettes are 6-11. Besides the GR game tonight and the Feb. 4 matchup with EHKE, the other two conference games left for the EG squads are Adair-Casey next Tuesday, Feb. 1, and Iowa Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Both games are in Rippey. The girls enter district action on Thursday, Feb. 10, against Coon Rapids-Bayard at Coon Rapids while the boys close out the regular season with a home game against Madrid on Friday, Feb. 11.

ROLLING HILLS
Boys Conference Standings
(through Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011)

Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 13-1
East Greene 12-2
Ankeny Christian 10-4
Orient-Macksburg 10-4
Glidden-Ralston 9-4
CAM 6-8
Iowa Christian 5-9
Walnut 2-12
Adair-Casey 2-12
Paton-Churdan 0-13

ROLLING HILLS
Girls Conference Standings
(through Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011)

CAM 13-1
Adair-Casey 12-2
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 12-2
Iowa Christian 9-5
Orient-Macksburg 7-7
Ankeny Christian 7-7
East Greene 5-9
Walnut 3-11
Glidden-Ralston 1-12
Paton-Churdan 0-13

Hawks Take District Title Over EHKE, 8-5

FACE AR-WE-VA TUESAY IN SUBSTATE

East Greene continues to march forward to another berth in the Class 1A State Tournament, upending Elk Horn Kimballton/Exira tonight 8-5 in the district championship game in Coon Rapids. EHKE was the state's No. 4 ranked team in 1A and undefeated in 26 games before running into "Green Machine" tonight. EHKE bows out at 26-1.

The Hawks take a 19-11 record into Tuesday's substate championship game in Denison against Ar-We-Va (Westside). The Rockets (12-13) advanced to substate with a 3-2 win over Woodbury Central in Moville. Woodbury Central bowed out with a 10-11 season record.

Hawks Bag Big Win Over CRB

ADVANCE TO DISTRICT FINALS AGAINST EHKE

A big 3-1 win over Coon Rapids-Bayard in the district baseball semifinals in Coon Rapids Thursday has sent East Greene to the district championship game tonight against fourth-ranked Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira. Game time is 7 p.m. in Coon Rapids.

The winner advances to Tuesday night’s substate championship game in Denison to play for a spot in the Class 1A State Tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines. The Hawks advanced to State last year winning the district in Ames and the substate in Ankeny.

EG was a solid underdog in the game as they had fallen to CRB—co-champs of the West Central Conference—by a 5-2 score earlier in the season and then 17-6 in a game shortened to 6 innings by the 10-run rule last Friday in Rippey. That win gave the Crusaders a share of the conference title with Woodward-Granger as both teams ended league play with glossy 17-1 marks.

EG had compiled a less than stellar 8-9 league mark for fifth place, so the home fans at Crusader Field on Thursday night most likely thought the semifinal game with EG was a just stepping stone to a big CRB showdown with undefeated EHKE two nights later.

The Hawks had other ideas.

They struck quickly in the top of the first frame as Tom Beger walked and Aaron Lyons singled. A single by the next Hawk batter, Tyler Cooklin, scored Beger putting the Hawks up 1-0. When CRB pitcher Brett Carstens then threw three straight balls to Wes Onken, veteran Crusader Coach John Waddle pulled Carstens and put Gage Reis on the mound. Reis, in turn, threw a ball and Onken was on his way to first, loading the bases for EG.

Onken was then picked off at first, but Jessie Priest walked to load the bases again. Josh Neese struck out and Zach Dearborn hit one to the 2nd baseman who threw him out at first, ending the inning. EG stranded three base runners and squandered some scoring opportunities--a situation that hampered both teams throughout the game.

CRB got on the board in the bottom of the inning to knot the score at one. Leadoff batter Jacob Esdohr rapped a single off Cooklin and then stole second. Cooklin walked Carstens, and then Esdohr stole third, putting runners at the corners. Schwartz struck out but Carstens stole second. Tyler Boeke struck out, but then Gage Reis singled to center field sending Esdohr across the plate to knot the score at 1-1. Carstens rounded third and was headed to home plate but a terrific throw from Lyons in center field to catcher Tory Beger nailed him at the plate, snuffing out the rally and ending the inning.

Both teams got on base in the second inning and each stranded two runners. In the third inning, a single by Zach Dearborn sent Neese to third base with two outs, but a short chopper to the shortstop by Zach Beyerink ended the threat. CRB advanced a runner to second with just one out, but two quick outs left the game tied at 1-1 after three innings. At that point, EG had 5 hits and stranded 7 runners, but had scored just the 1 run. CRB had left 4 runners on base.

Reis bore down in the top of the fourth and the Hawks went down in order. The Crusaders threatened in the bottom of the inning on a walk to Michael Schwenk followed by a single from Caylor Deeth with just one out. But a great catch of a popup near the first base line by second baseman Alex Gordon and then a shot hit right to Neese at third base ended the threat.

Cooklin got things going for the Hawks in the fifth with a leadoff single up the middle. Onken’s infield popup was the first out, but a balk on Reis sent Cooklin to second base. Jessie Priest struck out for the second out of the inning, but Neese then smashed a line drive to left field which turned into an RBI double as Cooklin scored putting the Hawks up 2-1. A dribbler by Dearborn to the first baseman ended the inning.

Cooklin was firing on all cylinders in the bottom of the inning, striking out Carstens and Boeke with Schwartz lining one to Neese sandwiched between the strikeouts, putting down the Crusaders 1-2-3.

EG threatened again in the sixth as Reis walked the first batter, Ostrander, and then was taken out by Waddle and replace by Boeke. CRB had now rolled out all three of its top pitchers and Waddle, who entered the game with 507 career victories—all earned in Coon Rapids—was looking for a way to contain the Hawks. The three pitchers had an accumulated record of 19-2 and Reis was credited with two saves and Boeke one as CRB had rolled up 26 victories coming into the semifinal game with EG. Gordon then got a bunt off of Boeke and the throw from third to first was wide, leaving Gordon safe at first and advancing Ostrander to third. Pinch runner T. J. Lint came in for Gordon but second baseman Brendan McAlister turned a short chopper by Tom Beger into a double play. Ostrander was still a threat on third, but Lyons struck out, leaving another runner stranded in scoring position.

Cooklin picked up right where he left off from the fifth inning, striking out Reis and Zach Imler to open the sixth, giving him three strikeouts in a row. A walk to Schwenk was followed by a pop up from Deeth—sending the Hawks into the 7th inning with a 1-run lead and the hint of a possible upset.

Again, Cooklin came to the fore, this time slamming a double down the right field line as the leadoff batter, giving him a hit off of each of the three Crusader pitchers. Onken’s sacrifice bunt moved Cooklin to third, and Priest walked to put runners on first and third. Neese was intentionally walked which loaded the bases. Dearborn then hit a line drive single into the outfield, sending Cooklin home and the Hawks were up 3-1 with just 1 out and the bases still loaded. Ostrander then struck out and Alex Gordon lined out to the shortstop, giving the Hawks a key run but stranding three runners.

The pressure was on Cooklin, who walked the first batter, McAlister. Esdohr hit into a fielder’s choice which put him on first with one out, but Cooklin got Carstens to strike out for CRB’s second out and their chances fading. Esdohr advanced to second on a passed ball and Schwartz walked so CRB’s fortunes were improving, and then Cooklin hit Boeke with a pitch that loaded the bases.

Gage Reis came to the plate and got ahead of the count 1-0. He took a strike but then another ball had him up 2-1. Another ball made things tense for the Hawks but Reis hit a foul behind the bleachers to make it a full count, 3-2. Cooklin then got one right across the plate with Reis looking as the called strike ended the game, and EG was on its way to the district finals.

Cooklin had an amazing game, going 3-4 with an RBI and scoring 2 runs. On the mound, he threw 11 strikeouts, walked seven and held the Crusaders to just 3 hits. Carstens, Boeke and Reis allowed the Hawks 9 hits, walked 7 and struck out 6.

Dearborn had two singles and a RBI, Neese had a double and a RBI, and Lyons, Tom Beger and Dearborn each hit key singles.

EG heads to the final with an 18-11 record to face EHKE, champions of the Rolling Hills Conference. The Spartans blasted CAM (Anita), another RH member, 15-0 in 5 innings in the other district semifinal game in Adair. The win ran up EHKE’s season record to 26-0. CAM ended the year at 4-15.

CRB’s loss ended its season at 26-7.

The EG vs. EHKE winner (District 15) will face the winner of District 16 in the Substate 8 championship. Ar-We-Va (Westside) takes on Woodbury Central (Moville) tonight in Moville in the District 16 title game. Both teams are in the Western Valley Conference. Ar-We-Va (11-13) finished sixth in the Western Valley South (nine teams) at 7-9 and Woodbury Central (10-10) went 7-9 for fifth place in the Western Valley North (eight teams).

EYE ON GJ SAYS: EHKE is indeed a formidable opponent. There is no arguing with a 26-0 record and in conference play the Spartans dispensed 8 of their 12 opponents in games shortened by the 10-run rule.

But what EG brought to the diamond on Thursday night, they can bring again. EG is a defending state tournament qualifier and this same team has faced down the pressures of a championship district game and a championship substate game. EG is very familiar with the CR diamond too, having faced off there against the Crusaders every year since first joining the West Central in 1997 and in many years facing competition in the districts held at Coon Rapids.

EHKE’s pitching chores have been handled all season by three senior pitchers: Carson Smith (11-0), Travis Stevens (8-0) and Nolan Himmelberg (7-0). Himmelberg picked up his seventh win against CAM on Thursday, throwing a one-hitter. Smith got things moving for the offense, blasting a three-run homer in the top of the first. EHEK had 15 hits on the night.

Those are lofty marks, but EG shut down all three of CRB’s pitchers on Thursday who brought a collective 19-2 mark into the game. CRB and EG each play a tougher conference schedule—18 games against 1A and 2A teams while EHKE plays 12 games against 1A teams.

EG and EHKE both faced the same six teams—two in the Rolling Hills and four in the West Central. EHKE beat Earlham 4-3 and EG beat them 5-3. The Spartans downed Panorama 12-2 while EG split with the Panthers, winning 9-4 and losing 12-8. EHKE beat Guthrie Center 10-0; EG beat Guthrie 6-0 and 8-7. As noted, EG earlier lost two games to CRB but on Thursday rectified that in a big way in the semifinal matchup, 3-1. EHKE beat CRB 6-3 on June 9.

The Spartans clearly took it to the second- and third-place finishers in the Rolling Hills, thumping Iowa Christian 10-5 and 18-0 and drubbing GR 9-2 and 18-0. EG also faced those two teams in non-conference action, beating ICA 4-2 on its home field in Waukee and posting a 13-7 win over GR in Rippey in early June.

It looks like coach Dana Fink has the Hawks peaking at just the right time, as noted by their solid play against CRB. The Hawks weren’t sharp against winless Southeast Webster-Grand on Tuesday, as that game was deadlocked at 1-1 well into the later innings, but they came back strong and picked up one of their biggest wins over the Crusaders two nights later.

Hawks Get 16th Win of Season

TAKE ON SWG IN DISTRICT OPENER TONIGHT

An extra-inning 3-2 thriller over Madrid Thursday night pushed East Greene’s season win total to 16 games, surpassing the 15-10 mark of 2008 and last year’s 14-15 record for the 2009 state tournament team. That team entered post-season play at 10-14 and then went on a four-game streak that did not end until a loss to Newman (Mason City) in the first round of the state tourney at Principal Park in Des Moines.

A steal home by Jessie Priest in the bottom of the 8th inning got the win for the Hawks. Priest went 1-2 at the plate with an RBI and a double and Wes Onken went 2-4. Onken picked up the win, giving up 6 hits, three walks and 1 wild pitch while striking out 8. The Hawks were guilty of three errors, but Aaron Lyons was one bright spot on the defense as he made a spectacular catch in right center to rob Madrid’s Eric Simmons of a potential two-run homer in the sixth.

The enthusiasm of 16 wins was tempered however with a 17-6 drubbing the following night from Coon Rapids-Bayard. The Crusaders were playing for the league championship, as was Woodward-Granger in its tilt with Des Moines Christian in Woodward. WG came out in that one, 7-6, leaving CRB and WG as West Central co-champions at 17-1.

The EG-CRB and DMC-WG matchups were actual make-up games that were rained out earlier in the season.

The loss to CRB closed out EG’s regular season with an 8-9 mark in the conference, good for fifth place. The Hawks had a tough week overall, going 1-3 with a loss to co-champ Woodward- Granger 4-3 on Tuesday and to Panorama 12-8 on Wednesday.

Des Moines Christian had already locked up third place in the conference, but was looking for momentum heading into this week’s districts. Adding further drama to Friday’s games was that this week’s district pairings could set up another round of EG-CRB and WG-DMC matchups.

EG (16-11) opens tourney play tonight at 5 p.m. in Coon Rapids against Southeast Webster (0-24) a team it beat handily in the season opener, 12-3. In the other half of the twin bill at Coon Rapids at 7 p.m., the Crusaders (23-7) take on a much improved Glidden-Ralston (10-9) squad that finished in third place in its first season in the Rolling Hills. Tuesday’s winners advance to the District semifinal round on Thursday, also to be played in Coon Rapids.

On the opposite side of the bracket in District 12, CAM (Anita) drew a bye while undefeated Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira (21-0), ranked fourth in the state in Class 1A, takes on Adair-Casey (8-14) tonight in Adair. The winner meets CAM (4-14) in a semifinal game Thursday in Adair. Thursday night’s winners face off for the District 15 championship on Saturday in Coon Rapids.

The District 15 winner meets the District 16 winner on Tuesday, July 20, in Denison with the winner advancing to the state tournament in Des Moines. Teams in District 16 are Woodbine, Boyer Valley (Dunlap), Charter Oak-Ute, Ar-We-Va (Westside), Woodbury Central (Moville).

EHK/Exira rolled to the Rolling Hills championship with a perfect 12-0 record, with Iowa Christian (West Des Moines) in second and Glidden-Ralston in third.

Rolling Hills Final Conference Standings
(Conference record, season record)
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 12–0, 24–0
Iowa Christian Academy 9–3, 11–7
Glidden-Ralston 7–5, 10–9
Walnut 5–7, 12–12
Adair-Casey 4–8, 8–14
CAM 3–9, 4–14
Orient-Macksburg 2–10, 6–13

With four of the top five spots in the West Central Conference going to Class 1A teams, the chances are high for several teams to make a deep run in the post-season.

Woodward-Granger (22-4) opens district play tonight against Madrid (5-18) on the Tigers’ home diamond at 7 p.m. following a 5 p.m. game that pits Colo-Nesco against Northeast Hamilton (Blairsburg). The winners meet in Madrid on Thursday at 7 p.m. The opposite side of the district bracket features four teams that all have state tournament potential. Martensdale-St Mary’s gets the home field advantage and heads into its opening round game against Grandview Park Baptist with an impressive 35-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in Class 1A. Grandview Park Baptist made it to state two years ago and last year advanced to the substate before bowing out to EG. DMC (14-9) takes on Iowa Christian Academy, runner-up in the Rolling Hills Conference, in the opener at St. Mary’s. The winners square off Thursday in St. Mary’s in the semifinal round. The semifinal winners from Madrid and St. Mary’s will meet for the district title in Madrid on Saturday night.

WG looks pretty solid to make it out of first two rounds, but it could be a tall order for DMC to beat both Iowa Christian and then top-ranked MStM to set up a rematch of last Friday’s game with the Hawks in the final at Madrid.

The five 2A teams in the West Central opened district tourney action Saturday night and the only win was West Central Valley over league foe Guthrie Center, 10-5. Interstate 35 (Truro) beat Earlham, 6-2; CMB (Baxter) beat Van Meter, 7-6; and Audubon beat Panorama, 9-0.

West Central Valley advances to the semifinal round where the Wildcats will take on Audubon tonight in Guthrie Center.

West Central Final Conference Standings
(Conference record, season record)
Woodward-Granger 17–1, 22–4
Coon Rapids-Bayard 17–1, 23–7
Des Moines Christian 13–4, 14–9
Earlham 9–8, 14–14
East Greene 8–9, 16–11
Van Meter 8–10, 16–14
Panorama 7–11, 8–15
West Central Valley 4–14, 7–19
Madrid 3–15, 5–18
Guthrie Center 3–15, 5–22

EYE ON GJ SAYS: The Hawks will really need to pull it all together to come anywhere close to what they pulled off last season. The deck is stacked with both Coon Rapids-Bayard, a perennial 1A baseball power, and the newly combined EHKE—undefeated and state-ranked—in District 15.

EG does get an advantage as it faces winless Southeast Webster-Grand in the opening round while CRB takes on a solid Glidden-Ralston club. GR scored a nice win over Iowa Christian early in the season, although it lost non-conference tilts to both EG and CRB. EHKE is the hands-down favorite on the Adair side of the ledger. Adair-Casey was the winner out of the district played in Coon Rapids last year and upset the home team in the semifinal round, and then advanced all the way to the state tourney along with EG. The Hawks won the Ames district and Ankeny substate.

Pitching and avoiding key mistakes on defense will be key in the district. Iowa high school baseball pitchers are limited to 16 total innings a week (Sunday through Saturday) and no more than 9 innings in any one day or two consecutive days. And after 9 innings, a pitcher must have two complete calendar days of rest. So if a pitcher is stretched to 9 innings in, say, an opening round game on Tuesday. He must rest Wednesday and Thursday, but come pitch on Saturday in the finals, but no more than 7 innings.

CRB will need to put a solid pitcher the mound in its opener against GR while East Greene can keep its top two aces, Onken (6-2) and Tyler Cooklin (4-4) in reserve for a big semifinal game—most likely against CRB—and then a final against EHKE if they should get by the Crusaders. Onken has the better record for EG, but Cooklin was on the mound when the Hawks took on the league leaders in the conference. Look for freshman pitcher Reed Ostrander (3-2) to get the start against SWG.

The Crusaders have a veritable stable of solid pitchers: Tyler Boeke (7-0), Jay Carstens (6-1), Gage Reis (5-1) and Jacob Esdohr (4-2) and three others who pitched three or fewer games. EHKE has gone all season with three pitchers, and all are undefeated: Carson Smith (10-0), Travis Stevens (8-0) and Nolan Himmelberg (6-0).

The good news for EG is that it all three pitchers for EHKE are seniors, so that should give the Hawks an advantage when they take on the Spartans in Rolling Hills action next year. And they won’t have to face CRB in home-and-away conference tilts, but hopefully the Crusaders will be on next year’s non-conference schedule as CRB and EG have made for a great rivalry over the years. Both Cooklin and Onken are juniors and Ostrander will be back for three more seasons, giving an anchor to build future Hawk pitching around.

EHKE has the edge in hitting with a .361 average while CRB is a very solid .327 and EG is .262. EG will need to shore up its fielding too, as it was guilty of 56 errors in 27 games while CRB erred 49 times in 30. EHKE committed 38 errors in 24 games, but EG and CRB were facing much better pitching and hitting in the West Central than EHKE saw in the Rolling Hills, but then again, the Spartans won just as many non-conference games, 12, as they did league matchups, and one of those non-league games was a 6-3 win over CRB on June 9.