The Oskaloosa baseball team was in action Thursday night against Centerville in a high-scoring affair as heard on the Mahaska Zone Network. The Indians would have a big offensive outburst late to take the win, 17-8.
Osky would try to keep their top arms fresh for Friday’s conference doubleheader against Pella Christian, and that required Alex DeJong to get the start on the mound. DeJong had some struggles, allowing four runs in one inning of work. Tucker Nunnikhoven would come on and allow three runs in the second inning in relief.
Luckily for Oskaloosa, even though they had allowed 7 runs in the first two innings, the offense was clicking. Osky had 8 runs of their own in those two innings, so when Head Coach Clint Gingerich called upon sophomore Nick Harrington to pitch starting in the third inning, the Indians had a one run lead.
Harrington would not disappoint, pitching the last five innings of the game, allowing only two hits and one unearned run. He struck out six and walked only two. The performance was exactly what the Indians needed if they were to save their top arms for the Pella Christian doubleheader. Osky’s offense would tack on nine more runs over the last three innings to give Harrington plenty of wiggle room.
Offensively, Osky would get plenty of production, as all nine spots in the lineup reached base. The major offensive stars for the Indians were Blake VanVeldhuizen and Bennett Spry.
VanVeldhuizen went 4 for 5 with four doubles, five RBI, and a run scored (Brandt Brown scored a run running for him in the 7th). Spry helped set the table for the clean-up hitter, as he went 4 for 5 out of the #2 slot with three runs scored and two driven in.
Oskaloosa is now 5-1 on the young season, and Centerville fell to 5-2.
Oskaloosa will face Pella Christian on the road Friday night in a doubleheader to kick off Little Hawkeye Conference play. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:30 PM. You can hear the broadcast on 99.5 FM/740 AM, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com beginning around 5:15.
