By Perry Bell
Pella and Pella Christian met on the field for the first time last week.
Pella Christian hosted their cross-town rivals in baseball on its new field for the very first time.
Home cooking proved to be good for the Eagles in a narrow 3-2 win over Pella High.
Each team had golden opportunities to take control of the game, but mistakes prevented either team from doing so.
PC pitcher Alex Arkema, in relief of starter Sam DeNooy picked up the win on the mound.
Ryan Lanke suffered the loss for the Dutch.
Lanke worked six innings plus, allowing three runs on six hits. Lanke struck out two Eagle batters.
DeNooy worked the first three innings on the hill. He gave up one run on four hits. DeNooy walked two and struck out one.
Arkema also gave up one run to the Dutch and he fanned three in the game.
The game was knotted at 2-2 when the Eagles managed to score the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Kyle DeRonde drew a walk to open the seventh for PC.
DeRonde managed to score from first base on a bunt that was laid down by PC leadoff batter Alex Arkema. The ball was fielded and thrown away as DeRonde raced around the bases to give the Eagles a 3-2 win.
A Jon Holwerda double in the first inning scored DeNooy for a 1-0 PC lead.
The Dutch tied the game in the second as Alan Pfadenhauer hit a single to score Lanke.
PC regained control 2-1 with a run in the third as Arkema walked, stole second and scored on a single again by Holwerda.
Pella tied the game 2-2 with a run in the fourth as Conner Kelderman walked and took second on an errant pick-off attempt. He then scored on an error.
That set up the PC heroics in the bottom of the seventh.
It was a game of small ball by both teams. PC had seven hits in the game, four of them were bunt singles.
All five of Pella’s hits were singles.
Pella Coach Aaron Reasland and PC skipper Brad Rolffs each called on their players to lay down the bunt and move runners over throughout the contest.
In the end it was the execution of the bunt that resulted in the winning run.
Comments
“It was an ugly game, both coaches were trying for one run at a time. At times I felt we were close to breaking it open and they (Pella) threatened to score several times,” replied PC Coach Brad Rolffs.
“In the end it was big pitches and big defense that won us the game,” Rolffs said.
Arkema replied, “They (Pella) made me work on the mound tonight. My defense was great. Zach Ruiter and Sam DeNooy each made some big catches in the outfield.”
Pella Coach Aaron Reasland stated, “It was a good ball game. We didn’t give up any big inning and we played solid ball up until the end. It was a great game for the fans and the town of Pella.”
“We can’t be satisfied playing teams close games any more. We need to learn how to get the job done the next time we play.”
