After getting rained out twice last week, the West Prairie/Southeastern baseball team returned home this week to face a pair of Prairieland Conference foes in Havana and Lewistown/Valley/Cuba at Friendway Park in Colchester.
The Cyclones dropped a 16-6 decision to LVC on Wednesday just two days after seeing their two-game winning streak stopped by Havana losing to the Ducks by a 10-5 score.
WP/SE is now 5-6-1 for the season and 1-3 in the conference.
On Wednesday, LVC got a lead-off homer from Connor Munson and never trailed enroute to the five-inning victory.
The Miners scored another run after a single, a fielder’s choice and an error to take a 2-0 lead in the first against WP/SE starter Braden Coplan.
LVC would erupt for six runs in the top of the third after there was one out.
Coplan hit the first two batters he faced before Owen Kelley reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Drake Hanson followed with a two-run double to make it 4-0.
Coplan retired Kixon Bowles on an infield pop-up for the second out, but Carter Sours lined a two-run single before Ryan Quick belted a two-run homer over the left field fence to extend the Miners’ lead to 8-0.
The Cyclones rallied in the bottom of the fourth against Munson who got the start on the mound for LVC.
Munson walked Case Marlow to lead off the inning before Ivan Beck lined a double off of the left field fence for the first hit of the game for WP/SE.
With runners on second and third, Munson was called for a balk that allowed Marlow to score and Beck to advance to third. Austin Nelson was retired on a ground ball to short that allowed Beck to score from third and make it 8-2.
After Eli Decounter struck out, Munson then walked Holden Coplan and Hudson Riebling and Mason Whitman followed with an RBI-single to make it 8-3.
Braden Coplan singled to load the bases before Munson hit Matt Whitman with a pitch to force in a run, narrowing the gap to 8-4.
Brody Thum came in to relieve Munson and Marlow greeted him with a two-run single to bring the Cyclones to within 8-6.
LVC would answer with eight runs in the top of the fifth off of DeCounter who relieved Coplan in the third inning.
The key hits of the inning were by Oscar McLaren, who had a two-run double and Brady Malott would later drive in a pair of runs with a pinch-hit single to extend the Miners’ lead to 16-6.
WP/SE was held to only five hits in the contest and committed four errors.
Marlow led the Cyclones by going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs driven in while Mason Whitman was 1-for-1 with two RBIs and two walks.
Five players had two hits apiece for LVC (10-5) which pounded out 14 hits in the game.
“That’s a really well-coached team. They hit the ball hard,” said WP/SE head coach Grant Bland. “They definitely put the pressure on us and had a couple of big innings. We battled back which was nice, but we had to have a clean inning after that and we just couldn’t do it.”
On Monday, the Cyclones saw their modest two-game winning streak come to an end as Havana pulled away with a six-run fourth inning enroute to a 10-5 Prairieland Conference victory in Colchester.
WP/SE grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second off of Havana starter Caleb McDaniel when Nelson singled with one out and stole second base before Beck drove him in with an RBI-single to right.
The Ducks would answer in the top of the third against WP/SE starter Marlow.
Owen Smith and Oscar Jones hit consecutive singles to lead off the inning. Marlow plunked Jack Turner with a pitch to load the bases with nobody out.
Smith would score on a balk to tie the game at 1-1 and allowed Jones and Turner to advance to second and third. Carter Brooks followed with a fly ball to Braden Coplan in medium center field and Coplan fired a onehop strike to Beck at home to get Jones at the plate to complete the double play.
Turner, who took second on the throw, then advanced to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a two-out infield single by Bradyn Willing to give Havana a 2-1 lead.
“(Coplan) did the same thing to help us win a game against Payson,” said Bland referring to Coplan’s assist. “It’s big to have a leader in center field that’s got an arm like that.”
The lead didn’t last long as the Cyclones’ designated hitter Matt Whitman launched a one-out blast over the left field fence to tie the game at 2-2.
Wildness and defensive lapses in the field would cost WP/SE in the top of the fourth.
Marlow walked McDaniel to lead off the frame before Jayden Weaver and Lukas Miller followed with base hits to load the bases again with nobody out.
Marlow walked Smith to force in McDaniel and then walked Jones to force in another run to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead.
Turner hit a single to drive in a run and force Marlow from the mound. Holden Coplan came on in relief and issued consecutive walks to Brooks and Willing to force in two more runs to make it 7-2.
Aiden Pratt would hit into a fielder’s choice to drive in Turner and give Havana a commanding 8-2 lead before Coplan struck out McDaniel and Weaver to end the inning.
WP/SE mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth when McDaniel walked DeCounter and Kash Lantz followed with a single.
Holden Coplan lined a two-run double to drive in both runners and bring the Cyclones to within 8-4.
Havana would capitalize on WP/SE errors to score a run in the top of the sixth and one in the seventh to make it 10-4.
Brooks, who came on in relief of McDaniel to start the fifth, allowed only one hit before Matt Whitman connected for his second home run of the game to lead off the seventh to make it 10-5.
Brooks would shut the door on the Cyclones the rest of the way as Havana improved to 9-3-1 for the season and 3-0 in the Prairieland Conference.
Both teams finished with seven hits apiece and Matt Whitman led the Cyclones by going 2-for-4 with two home runs.
Marlow went three innings and took the loss while Holden Coplan went three innings in relief allowing just one run on three hits and striking out eight for WP/SE, which committed five errors in the game.
“I thought the first inning was good, but the pitchers weren’t as sharp as we have been this season,” said Bland. “When you face a good team like that, you can’t let that happen especially early on. And then our defense behind them had just too many mistakes.”
“Offensively, I liked the fight that we put up,” Bland continued. “Matt hit the two home runs today which is cool. He’s a huge game-changer and makes a difference for us.”
