The Spartans hosted their final round of the IHSAA 3A Substate 5 Tournament on Wednesday, July 15, against the Assumption Catholic (Davenport) Knights, but lost 12-4.
The Spartans had some early trouble keeping hold of the ball in the first inning, with second baseman Michael Bigelow and third baseman Hayden Detra missing catches to out the Assumption runners, who took advantage, scoring four runs in the first inning. Solon could not bounce back in the first, with all three batters striking out.
Making up for the previous inning, the Solon defense came out swinging at the top of the second. Right fielder Luke Merrick caught Assumption’s ball for the first out, followed by a quick pass from Bigelow to shortstop Maddox Kelley to get Assumption out at second base, topped off with first baseman Tate Miller grounding out the last batter to transition into the bottom of the second.
A courtesy runner for catcher Carson Kidwell’s single, left fielder Brody Woolley advanced through the bases and finally came home on designated hitter Kinnick Sokol’s duffed ball to score Solon’s first run of the game. The third inning maintained the excitement with Kelley catching the batter’s ball, and sending it straight to Bigelow at second for a double play to end the top of the inning. With a double hit straight away by Kelley in the bottom half of the third, Merrick followed it up with a home run, bringing Kelley home with him and scoring Solon’s next two runs.
In the fourth, Assumption answered with a home run of their own, bringing an additional runner home. The Knights scored another run in the fifth and three more in the sixth, with the Spartans unable to make any themselves in all three innings. Coming down to the seventh, Kelley got his second double of the game, moving Gorham to third, with a sacrifice from Kidwell to bring Gorham home before Deike struck out to end the game.
The Spartans finished the season at 24-10 overall while the Knights improved to 27-13 as they advanced as the No. 7 seed in this week’s 3A State Tournament in Cedar Rapids.
Raiders fall to Spartans in Substate Semifinals
Solon 10 Williamsburg 5
The Spartans advanced to the Substate 5 Championship on Monday, July 13, after they won out against the Williamsburg Raiders at Solon High School’s Baseball Field, beating the Raiders, 10-5. Right fielder Luke Merrick made a catch, clear in outfield, for Williamsburg’s first out of the game. After third baseman Hayden Detra made a catch for the second out, he passed to second base to try and out Williamsburg’s runner from first, but wasn’t there in time. First baseman Luke Deike caught a pop-up fly for the third out, leaving Williamsburg with two runs at the top of the first.
The bottom of the inning brought three runs for the Spartans. The first came from shortstop Maddox Kelley, who ran home from second base on Deike’s single. Merrick then came home on third baseman Hayden Detra’s double, followed by Deike getting caught in a pickle between home and third, only to make the beeline to home plate after Williamsburg blundered the ball.
After no runs for the Raiders at the top of the second inning, the Spartans delivered in the bottom with four additional runs. With two outs on the board, center fielder Dylan Gorham scored a single followed by Kelley’s double to advance the bases. After an intentional walk for Merrick, catcher Carson Kidwell got a clutch single for Gorham and Kelley to come home. Merrick then came home on Deike’s RBI single. Lastly, left fielder Brody Woolley, switched in for Kidwell, stole home while Detra was at bat to score the last run of the inning.
No runs were scored by either team in the third inning, but Gorham scored one run for Solon in the fourth on a sacrifice by Kidwell. The fifth inning began with a strong defensive play by Kelley catching a ball at second and quickly passing to Deike at first for a swift double play. Detra scored a run at the bottom of the inning, while pitcher Tate Miller struck out Williamsburg at the top of the sixth to transition to the bottom, where Gorham scored on a sacrifice fly.
Williamsburg made one last effort in the seventh, scoring two runs, but pitcher Brady Wick came through with two strikeouts to finish the game, sending Solon to the final round of the Substate 5 Championship.
