Surging Eagles win five of six

Baseball

     Five wins in six games kept the season going strong for the Midland High School baseball team last week.

     Midland (9-1, 10-3) played host to Alburnett June 5, and swept the doubleheader, winning 6-4 and 4-0. In the first game, the Eagles broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Connor Harms pitched 6 2/3 innings to get the win, and Wilson Buckwalter got the last out for a safe. Landon Hunter batted 3-for-3 with a double, and Britan Martens was 3-for-4 with a double. Buckwalter had two runs batted in.

     Fisher Bisinger fired a three-hit shutout in the second game, striking out six and walking two. Midland’s three-run second inning provided enough support. Austin Smith went 2-for-3 at the plate.

     “Fisher threw a nice game, and our defense played really well again, making some really nice plays to help Fisher out,” Midland coach Ryan Steines said.

     On June 8, the Eagles traveled to Central City, winning by scores of 10-1 and 8-5. Jensen Dodge pitched a one-hitter in the first game, striking out three. Midland, which scored nine runs in the top of the seventh inning, had 16 hits. Harms was 4-for-5 with a double, and Alex Smith went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Bisinger, Martens and Hunter had two hits apiece.

     “Every person in the lineup had a hit in the seventh inning,” Steines said. “Landon just missed a home run by a foot.”

     In the nightcap, Midland made an early 6-2 lead stand. Austin Smith, Harms, Buckwalter, Bisinger and Martens each had two of the team’s 12 hits. Bisinger finished with a double and three RBIs, while Eli Spillman and Martens had two RBIs apiece. Alex Smith pitched the first six innings for the win, and Austin Smith pitched the seventh.

     Next, the Eagles played two games in the Calamus-Wheatland Tournament June 10, winning one. Camanche defeated Midland 5-2, as the Eagles were held to six hits. Harms and Buckwalter both went 2-for-4. Martens was the starting pitcher and took the loss.

     “This was a really tough day to play baseball, with 30 miles per hour-plus winds blowing straight in from center,” Steines said. “We struggled to get our bats going.”

     Midland bounced back with a 3-0 win over North Cedar, as Austin Smith, Harms and Bisinger combined on a one-hitter with four strikeouts. The Eagles scored all of their runs in the second inning. Alex Smith batted 2-for-2. Dodge and Hunter doubled.

     “Unlike the Camanche game, we were able to string hits together,” the coach said.

Softball

     Midland had dates with a pair of Tri-Rivers Conference opponents in four recent games.

     The Eagles (0-8, 0-10) played host to Alburnett June 5, and were swept by scores of 12-0 in six innings and 14-0 in five. Midland had five hits in the first game, led by Emma Dusanek, who was 2-for-3. Also getting hits were Taylor Bahnsen, Ella Rupp and Delanie Uppena. Emma Paulsen pitched and took the loss.

     Midland also had five hits in the second game. Bahnsen was 2-for-2, while Anna Roseland, Dusanek and Uppena had one hit each. Roseland and Mikayla Dosland shared pitching duties.

     On June 8, the Eagles ventured to Central City, and lost two games, 13-0 in three innings and 10-0 in five. Bahnsen went 2-for-2 in the first game, while Dosland went 1-for-1 and Dusanek was 1-for-2. Paulsen pitched for Midland.

     The Eagles were held to two hits in the second game, singles by Kristina Agnitch and Paulsen. Sharing pitching duties were Paulsen and Rupp.