Sigourney gets battle tested in wild game against Keota

    Sigourney and Keota combined to score 14 runs in the first inning of their matchup on May 25, a majority of which didn’t come from hard hit balls, instead they came from walked batters. Sigourney was able to cash in on some runs from guys getting on base, but then dished out the same thing to Keota. In a game of ups and downs, the Eagles wound up winning 18-14.

    The Savages were able to cash in early by getting the bases loaded with nobody out. The trend continued as three more batters were walked before an out was recorded. The surge ended after a tapped ball lead to an out at home, the next batter struck out and the following one grounded out to first. The lead for Sigourney didn’t last long as Keota was able to mound a double-digit bottom half of the inning to respond.

    Dustin Haines also faced some early struggles on the mound for the Savages, walking six batters in his 2/3 inning of work. Keota was able to capitalize further with two extra base hits and by the end of the inning, the Eagles had taken a 11-3 lead.

    “I saw our guys start to come together more as a team. I told our guys that we’ve kind of been in two different factions by putting some kids in some new positions,” Sigourney coach Lee Crawford said. “We needed to be mentally strong in that first inning. We had a good season last year but we’re still at that point where we need to keep learning how to react and how they should be when faced with adversity.”

    From there on the pitchers for both teams settled in a little more which limited the number of runs scored. Kyle Weber replaced Haines on the mound and proceeded to throw for the next 2 1/3 innings, allowing four walks, two hits and three strikeouts. The Savages were only able to get back one run in the top of the second from a deep ball that went over the fence for a ground rule double. After Keota matched them with one run in the bottom of the second, Sigourney was able to get another run in the third via a couple extra base hits and a passed ball.

    Keota was held scoreless in their half of the third inning and then Sigourney took out a slightly bigger chunk of their deficit. Two straight singles followed by a stolen base and another single brought home the leadoff runner. A sacrifice hit along with another single brought in two more runs to highlight the inning for Sigourney. By then, they had trimmed the deficit down to four runs, but Keota added on one more in the bottom of the fourth.

    “I think we’re still learning our roles with some of the guys who need to step up and take on those leadership qualities,” coach Crawford said. “We as coaches didn’t really say anything when our guys came into the dugout after giving up 11 runs. We wanted to see who would step up as leaders.”

    The next two innings were crucial for Sigourney, if they wanted to mount a comeback they’d need to soon with the number of outs they had left in the game slowly dwindling down. They put up one run in the fifth, only to see Keota add on two more runs of their own, making the score 9-15. Sigourney put up a five spot in the top of the sixth, which narrowed the deficit to a single run.

    Nick Goad drove in a run with a double to center field and then scored from a similar hit ball by Brett Striegel. Cade Streigle followed up a strikeout with a two RBI double and then Carson Crawford added on another run with an RBI triple. Keota would counter as they had most of the game, increasing their lead by three more runs.

    There the score would stand as Sigourney’s three batters sent to the plate in the last inning all went down on strikes.

    “We’re trying to get our guys to buy in and have them care more about the team than themselves,” coach Crawford said. “You look at some of the historically good teams and their guys don’t care about stats or awards, they just want to win games. That’s what we’re hoping to see from these guys.”

    Sigourney leaders: Carson Crawford – 4 hits, Cade Molyneux – 5 runs, Carson Crawford – 4 RBI, Cade Molyneux/Kyle Weber/Brock Halleran – 1 SB, Kyle Weber/Nick Goad – 3 Ks

    The Savages hoped to rebound when they faced Iowa Valley on May 30 following the long holiday weekend.