KIRKLAND – Ethan Hoffman dazzled with 13 strikeouts as the Hiawatha baseball team beat Hinckley-Big Rock, 11-1, in five innings Monday.
Hoffman was so dominant that the only runner who crossed the plate for the Royals reached on a dropped third strike to start the game. The hard-throwing junior only allowed two hits and didn’t allow a walk in his five innings of work.
“The fastball and everything else was working today,” Hoffman said. “The warmth helps. ... I just have to keep working at it every day. Don’t stop, keep going.”
The Hawks (7-8, 3-5 Little Ten) exploited the Royals’ pitching all game. However, even with the opposing pitching being erratic at times, Hawks coach Nathan Hoffman was happy with his hitters and the discipline they showed at the plate.
“I was happy with how often we put the ball in play,” Hoffman said. “We had a few guys that struck out with the bat on their shoulder, but you’re going to get that because we are kind of a young team.”
Hinckley-Big Rock (1-12, 1-10 Little Ten) managed to take advantage of a couple early Hiawatha errors and score the game’s first run. However, from then on, the offense was stagnant. Connor Bullard had the Royals lone RBI hit, which came in the first inning. On the mound, the Royals didn’t fare much better. Jarred Jungles was wild over four innings, allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, seven hits, four walks, four strikeouts, four hit batsmen and three balks.
“I liked the resiliency of Jarred to come back and keep pitching,” Olsen said. “For him to keep working and keep throwing strikes and get through that, especially for him to finish it out like he did ... I was happy to see him respond to those adversities.”
By the numbers: Ethan Hoffman completed a baseball rarity in Monday’s contest. Hoffman struck out the side three times, but in the first inning, he struck out four batters.
Beyond the stats: Hiawatha emptied their bench a bit late and got two rookies into the game: seniors Xavi Rios and Diego Garcia. Both Rios and Garcia are foreign exchange students from Spain, and this is their first experience playing baseball.
They said it: “Jarred [Jungles] has pitched better than this the whole season,” Olsen said. “He had a rough day. It is what it is.”
Up next: These teams will face one another in Big Rock at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.