2014 BGM Bears
The Road to the Class 1A State Baseball Tournament
A special supplement to the Poweshiek County CR
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THE ROAD TO STATE
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
BGM Bears 25-3 after 2014 season Finish season as Class 1A Substate 3 champs; state quarter finalists By DANN HAYES dhayes1@dmreg.com
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n the past, the road may have been a little rocky – fans hoping to see the BGM Bears make the playoffs in baseball. Not anymore. The 25-3 Bears finished the 2014 baseball season as the No. 7 team in Class 1A, were the Class 1A Substate 3 champions and reached the quarterfinals of the Class 1A State Baseball Tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines. “I’m really proud of the kids,” said BGM Head Coach Jerod Burns. “They deserve this.” Some team stats that might have snuck past everyone for the season include • BGM’s pitching staff was third best in the state – in all classes – with an earned run average of 0.96 • The team led the state in stolen bases – 194. Individually? What do you expect – Jack Kline had 50 stolen bases (second best in all classes) and Mayson Sherwood was right behind with 40 (sixth best in all classes). And Zac Freese, at 14-0, led the state as a pitcher. But the best comes from what the players did themselves. Here’s the rest of the story.
BGM 11, Belle Plaine 0 Six doubles by the Bears helped them building a 4-0 lead in the third inning, then score another seven runs down the stretch to stop Belle Plaine in the BGM season opener. Tanner Jansen had two doubles while Zac Freese added a homer for the Bears. Freese started on the mound for BGM and fanned seven batters while allowing three hits. Kyle Gritsch came in as relief and struck out two and allowing one hit. The Bears had 12 stolen bases on the night.
BGM 11, Lynnville-Sully 0 A home run and four RBI by Tanner Jansen sparked the Bears to a big 11-0 shutout of Lynnville-Sully. With Jack Kline on the mound for BGM –he recorded seven strikeouts and allowed only one hit – the Bears took a 3-0 lead
Photo Courtesy of Cory Hall
into the fourth inning when things exploded. By the end of the inning that had another seven runs for a 10-0 lead. Both Mayson Sherwood and Jansen recorded doubles, while Kyle Gritsch scored three runs.
BGM 7, Montezuma 6 It was about the closest thing to a street brawl on a baseball field as you will see as the BGM Bears were able to hang in for a 7-6 victory over Montezuma at the annual battling cancer game. It was evident early that the last team standing would come away with a hard-fought victory. And when BGM's Mayson Sherwood made a diving catch to end the game in the seventh inning, both teams knew it could have gone
either way. Zac Freese came away with a win for BGM, allowing six hits and striking out 10, while Joe Peck, who came into the game after the Bears had taken an early 3-0 lead, struck out four and allowed six hits during the loss. The Bears opened the scoring in the second inning, taking advantage of some errant play by the Braves as opening pitcher Jake Hasley walked six batters, including three runs with the bases loaded and with two outs. Montezuma returned the favor in the next inning when they loaded the bases with no out and took advantage of some errant play on BGM's part, coupled with some solid sacrifice hits to take a 5-3 lead. B G M added one in the third to close the gap to 5-4, then added two more in the fourth and one in the sixth for a 7-5 lead. That set up the fireworks in the final inning. A line-drive single to center by Jake Hasley was followed by a bop single to center field by Brayden Hudnut. With two on base and two outs, Montezuma's Matt Baker hits a short pop up to center field and BGM's Sherwood makes the diving catch that saved the game for the Bears. BGM's Tanner Jansen was 2-of-4 at the plate with one RBI while Kaiden Fiebelkorn went 2-of-3 with a double and an RBI. Montezuma's Dillon Wilhelm was 2-of-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Brenton Simpson was 1-of-2 with two RBI.
BGM at Clear Creek-Amana tourney The BGM Bears split two games at the Clear See BGM page 3
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THE ROAD TO STATE
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
BGM: Bears lose to Clear Creek-Amana 5-3 then rebound Continued from page 2
Creek-Amana varsity baseball tournament on Saturday, May 31, stopping Springville 4-1 but losing to Clear Creek-Amana 5-3. First game BGM 4, Springville 1 BGM's Kaiden Fiebelkorn struck out seven and allowed only two hits as the Bears stopped Springville. The Bears scored all four runs in the in the first two innings – three in the second – and held the Orioles to a lone run in the third. Tanner Jansen was 2-of-2 at the plate adding an RBI while Jack Kline recorded three stolen bases during the game. Kyle Gritsch added three stolen bases as the Bears chalked up nine as a team.
Second game Clear Creek-Amana 5, BGM 3 Despite two doubles – one by Tanner Jansen, the other by Kyle Gritsch – and 10 strikeouts by pitcher Jack Kline, the Bears fell to Clear Creek-Amana. The Clippers took a 2-0 lead in the second, but BGM close it to 2-1 with a run in the third and took a 3-2 lead in the fifth. But three runs in the final two innings closed the door for the Bears. Kline allowed six hits. BGM had four hits while Kline recorded two steals.
BGM 16, Keota 1 BGM's Zach Freese struck out two and allowed two hits to capture the win against Keota. The Bears opened with a five run first inning, added another run in the second and one in the third before connecting for five more in the fifth for the 16-1 lead. Kyle Gritsch was 4-of-4 at the plate with three runs and five RBI – he connected for one homer. Mayson Sherwood also went 4-for4 with three runs and four RBI – both Sherwood and Jack Kline had three steals on the game. Jayce Knight hit 2-of-3 for two runs and one RBI. BGM 13, Tri-County 3 Two home runs – one by Tanner Jansen and the other from Jake Tibbetts – and a 4-of-3 night by Jansen and 3-of-2 by Tibbetts (they both had three RBI) was all BGM needed to stop TriCounty. Starter Zac Freese scattered six hits and allowed three runs while striking out seven as the Bears scored five runs in the first two innings. BGM 4, Highland, Riverside 0 Jack Kline pitched a one hitter and struck out 11 as the Bears stopped
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Highland, Riverside. Kline was 2-of-3 a the plate, scoring two runs, while Kyle Gritsch was 1-of-2 with two RBI.
BGM 10 HLV 0 Three BGM batters belted doubles – Kyle Gritsch, Tanner Jansen and Kaiden Fiebelkorn – and accounted for eight RBI (Jansen had five and Gritsch added two) to lead the Bears. Mayson Sherwood was CR photo by Jim Magdefrau 2-of-3 with four runs and BGM’s Kyle Gritsch jumps high to make sure of a catch as four stolen bas- the Belle Plaine player slides into base during the Bears’ es while Jack season opening 11-0 win at Belle Plane. Kline, who also hit 2-of-3, had The Bears scored four runs in the three steals. fifth to come from a two-point deficit to Zac Freese scattered three hits stop North Mahaska. while striking out nine. Three batters – Mayson Sherwood, BGM 4, North Mahaska 2
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THE ROAD TO STATE
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
BGM: Bears squeak by Iowa Valley 3-2 in pitchers dual Continued from page 3
Kaiden Fiebelkorn and Jake Tibbetts – all recorded doubles in the game. In what was a tough pitcher's dual, Jack Kline captured the win allowing just three hits and striking out 10.
BGM 3, Iowa Valley 2 BGM's Zac Freese toss seven K's and held Iowa Valley to four hits in what turned into a pitcher's dual as the Bears won 3-2 at home on Friday, June 13. The big inning for the Bears was the fifth when they scored a couple to take a 3-1 lead and were able to hang on for the win. Still, you could tell both pitchers were getting into the game, early, as the Tigers went three up and three down. The Bears connected for a single in the first inning when Mayson Sherwood got on and then stole second. But they couldn't get him home, which started the process again. BGM got on the board
first in the third inning when Jayce Knight walked and Jack Kline hit into a fielder's choice. He ultimately stole second base and scored on a Sherwood single. But Iowa Valley returned the favor in the next inning when Austin Schlabach scored on a bad throw to third. Freese got out the inning striking out the next two batters. The fifth inning proved to be the game breaker when C.R. Photo by Dann Hayes Jayce Knight got on first on a first. Sherwood walked and Base runner Jake Tibbetts slides safely into home during BGM's 11-1 win over HLV as the ball gets paste HLV catcher Nate Van Buren. Knight stole third. Kyle Gritsch connected 2-of-2 at the plate while Tan- that saw Jack Kline go 2-of-3 English Valleys 1 for a line drive single to cenThe BGM Bears jumped ner Jansen was 3-of-3 with with three RBI and three stolen ter scoring Knight. bases. With the bases loaded, out to an 8-0 lead in the first three RBI. inning and coasted to a 13-1 Kline currently leads the they got another run when BGM 10, Belle Plaine 0 win on Wednesday, June 18. Class 1A state standings with Sherwood crossed the plate Senior Zac Freese pitched 29 stolen bases. Jack Kline struck out nine when Kaiden Fiebelkorn was batters from the mound and al- a three hit shutout as the BGM Dalton Jack added a 2-of-3 walked. lowed only one hit as the Bears Bears stopped Belle Plaine in night with two RBI while Kyle Ahead 3-1, the Tigers add- dominated. Brooklyn, 10-0 on Friday, June Gritsch added a 2-of-3 game ed one in the final inning, but BGM was led by Jake Tib- 20. and one RBI. couldn't get closer. Mayson Sherwood and betts on the plate, who was Freese struck out three in Kaiden Fiebelkorn both con- the win. 2-of-2 with one home run. BGM 13 Kyle Gritsch also went nected for doubles in the game See BGM page 5
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THE ROAD TO STATE
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
BGM: Three-run homer by Gritsch leads to 11-1 win over HLV Continued from page 4
Kaiden Fiebelkorn struck out two batters in relief.
BGM 11 Lynnville-Sully 1 The Bears scored five runs in the first two innings and Zac Freese struck out 10 batters – he allowed six hits – as the Bears stopped LynnvilleSully. Kyle Gritsch connected for a homer and scored two RBI while Freese was 2-of-4 with two RBI. Both Jack Kline and Mayson Sherwood had three RBI. BGM 8, Montezuma 2 BGM's Mayson Sherwood and Kyle Gritsch score one run each in the top of the first inning, giving the Bears a cushion as the went on beat the Montezuma Braves, 8-2 at Montezuma. Montezuma didn't get on the board until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Jake Hasley scores on a passed ball,
and Joe Peck hits a medium fly ball for a home run. BGM's Jake Tibbetts scores on a sacrifice play by Jack Kline in the top of the second to go up, 3-0. Kline scores in the top of the fifth on a Sherwood hard line drive to go up, 4-0. Sherwood and Gritsch added two more scores in the top of the fifth to go up, 6-0. Also scoring was Tanner Jansen and Dalton Jack, to complete the win for the Bears.
Lisbon 7, BGM 3 Lisbon came from a 3-1 deficit to stop BGM 7-3. Despite two doubles – one each from Jack Kline and Mayson Sherwood – The Bears lost their second game of the season. Kaiden Fiebelkorn took the loss allowing seven its and four runs while striking out three. BGM 18, Tri-County 3
The Bears bounced back from the loss to Lisbon and scored 12 runs in the second inning to stop Tri-County. Jack Kline connected for a home run as did Kyle Gritsch – Kline had three RBI and Gritsch added four. Kline also had three stolen bases. Zac Freese earned the win, striking out six and allowing seven hits.
BGM 11, HLV 1 A three-run homer by Kyle Gritsch in the bottom of the sixth inning helped the BGM Bears capture an 11-1 win over HLV on Wednesday, July 2. The Bears, ahead 5-0 at the end of four innings, struck hard in the sixth when Gritsch lobbed his home run over the left field fence. A little later, Jack Kline hit a double over the outstretched arms of HLV center fielder Hassen Wright and scored the winning runs as the
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game was called in the bottom of the sixth. Kaiden Fiebelkorn started on the mound for the Bears allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Three BGM players had two steals each in the game, including Kline, who has 39 for the season to lead Class 1A; Mayson Sherwood, with 26 on the season (in the top six in Class 1A); and Fiebelkorn, who has seven. Kline was the hot hand at the plate, going 3-of-4 with two runs and a double, while Gritsch was 2-of-2 with two runs, three RBI and the homer. The Bears had 11 hits on the night, which saw the game delayed for about 1/2 hour because of rain.
BGM 8 North Mahaska 5 In a battle of the top See BGM page 6
CR photo by Dann Hayes
BGM head coach Jerod Burn heads to first base during the Class 1A state baseball tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines.
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THE ROAD TO STATE
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
BGM: Freese pitches one-hit shutout as Bears stop Iowa Valley Continued from page 5
two teams in the area seeking a playoff spot – BGM in Class 1A District 6 and North Mahaska in Class 1A District 11 – the BGM Bears came out on top 8-5 on Thursday, July 3. Jack Kline started for BGM and allowed two hits while striking out eight to earn the win. At the plate, Kline was 3-of-5 including two doubles and adding two runs. Three other players connected for doubles – Kaiden Fiebelkorn, Tanner Jansen and Jake Tibbetts – as the Bears jumped to a 4-1 lead at the end of two innings. North Mahaska scored three in the third to knot the game at 4-4, but the Bears added three more in the fifth to seal the win with a 7-4 lead.
BGM 5, Iowa Valley 0 Zach Freese pitched a one-hit shutout as the Bears defeated Iowa Val-
ley on Monday, July 7. Kyle Gritsch was hot at the plate connecting for two doubles as he was 3-for-3.
BGM 14, Sigourney 0 BGM 19, Sigourney 2 In the first game, Jack Kline pitched a three hit shutout, striking out six in five innings as the Bears scored six runs in the first inning then added seven in the third for the win, 14-0. At the plate the Bears recorded six hits – Tanner Jansen was 2-of-2 with two RBI while Kaiden Fiebelkorn also hit 2-of-2 and had two runs. Mayson Sherwood and Fiebelkorn both had three steals during the game while Kline, who remains one of the leaders in steals in all classes, had two. In the second game, BGM held a precarious 2-0 lead after one, but then broke it open in the third scoring 11 runs and
adding six in the fourth to capture the win. Kaiden Fiebelkorn pitched a three-hit game striking out six on the way to the win. The Bears racked up 10 hits in scoring 19 runs with Tanner Jansen going 2-of-2 at the plate with three RBI. Kyle Gritsch scored three runs as did Fiebelkorn. BGM had 10 stolen bases with Keaton Rhinehart, Jack Kline and Zac Freese all nabbing two.
BGM 11, Keota 1 The No. 7 BGM Bears started where they left off in a rain/lightening delayed game as they defeated the Keota Eagles 11-1 on Wednesday, July 9. The game was suspended in the bottom of the first inning with BGM at bat with two outs. They also had a 4-0 lead.
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Jayce Knight, BGM third baseman, slides safely into third base during BGM's five-inning 11-1 victory over Keota on Wednesday, July 9. Knight hit 2-of-3 including a double and stole two bases in the win. It didn't take long for the Bears, 20-2, to get back into the swing of things days later, scoring three runs in the second, three in the third and one in the fifth for the win. Kyle Gritsch led the team with six steals – the Bears had 16 during the game – with Jack Kline,
who is second in the state for all classes with 42, had three. Zac Freese started for the Bears on the mound striking out three and pitching a no hitter. Kyle Gritsch came on in relief and allowed one hit and a run while striking out five batters.
Mayson Sherwood, Kaiden Fiebelkorn and Jayce Knight connected for doubles for BGM.
BGM 4, Iowa Valley 0 The BGM Bears shot into the Class 1A Substate 3 baseball tournaSee BGM page 7
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THE ROAD TO STATE
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
BGM: No. 7 Bears win Class 1A substate with 5-2 victory Continued from page 6
ment with a tough 4-0 victory over Iowa Valley on Saturday, July 19. The No. 7 Bears, 24-2, will take on Grundy Center, 13-18, at North Tama, Traer on Tuesday, July 22 at 7 p.m. Grundy Center defeated Janesville 2-0 to reach the substate playoffs. In BGM's game, Jack Kline earned the win against Iowa Valley pitching a one hitter and striking out seven on the night. At the plate, Kline was 2-of-4. The Bears had five hits in the game with Tanner Jansen, Kaiden Fiebelkorn and Jayce Knight accounting for the others. Kyle Gritsch and Zac Freese had one RBI each. BGM scored early, scoring one run in the first inning and sending two across the plate in the third. They added the buffer in the sixth for the 4-0 final score.
Semifinals, Class 1A District 6 BGM 9, HLV 3 A home run by Jake Tibbetts sparked the BGM Bears to a semifinal Class 1A District 6 win over HLV at Brooklyn on Thursday, July 17. Zac Freese pitched the game and struck out seven, allowing seven hits and three runs. HLV was able to knot the game at 1-1 in the top of the third after BGM had taken a quick 1-0 first inning advantage. In the bottom of the third, the Bears exploded, scoring five runs and adding three in the fourth. Mayson Sherwood was 2-of-3 with double for BGM while Tanner Jansen had a double in a 2-of-4 night. Kaiden Fiebelkorn also added a double while going 2-of-3. Jake Tibbetts had four RBI, including his homer, in
a 2-of-4 game.
Class 1A Substate 3 BGM 5, Grundy Center 2 The No. 7 BGM Bears have their tickets to the Class 1A state baseball tournament with a 5-2 victory over Grundy Center, 1319, in Traer on Tuesday, July 22. The Bears racked up seven hits in the game, while winning pitcher Zac Freese, held the Spartans to just four hits. "I'm really proud of the kids," said head coach Jerod Burns. "They deserve this." Freese, now 14-1 after the Grundy Center game, pitched a complete game and allowed four hits. He struck out seven batters. "The tone got set by our pitching," C.R. Photo by Dann Hayes Burns said. "Our pitching the past couple of BGM shortstop Jack Kline waits at second base after years has been phenomenal." securing a throw from catcher Tanner Jansen as HLV's According to Burns, the consistent good Mitchell Thys, 8, tries to steal second during BGM's 11-1 pitching gives the defense a break as they victory in Brooklyn. don't have to play long innings. "We've played really hard all year," he the first BGM batter was on. said. "I'm really excited." The Bears couldn't bring him home, so the first The game started with BGM listed as the home inning ended 0-0. team. BGM got on the board in the third inning when The first three Spartans Freese faced went down – Jayce Knight connected for a single, then scored on a first batter popped to center field followed by a short double by Mayson Sherwood. blooper to the pitcher who threw the batter out at first. Grundy Center responded with a run in the top of Then the first of his seven Ks. the fourth to knot the game at 1-1. That was the tempo of the game, including the Then BGM scored three more runs off Grundy first play of the game with BGM on offense – what See BGM page 8 looked like an easy pop out to center was dropped and
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THE ROAD TO STATE
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
BGM: Stop Grundy Center 5-2 to win Class 1A Substate 3 Continued from page 7
Center errors for a 4-1 lead in the fourth. The Spartans added one in their half but the Bears knotted the win with another run in the sixth. The game ended on a double play by the Bears and the celebration began.
Class 1A Quarterfinals State Baseball Tournament Mason City 7, BGM 1 The BGM Bears got one monkey off their backs to reach the Class 1A state baseball tournament, but following a 7-1 loss to top seeded Newman Catholic, Mason City, they may have found another one. Mason City ultimately placed second in Class 1A, falling to undefeated Twin Cedars 8-2 in the finals. The Bears went into the tournament at Principal Park, Des Moines, as the No. 8 seed with a 25-2 record and ranked No. 7 in the state. "I'm really proud of the way the kids played. I thought they played really hard," said Jerod Burns, head coach for the BGM Bears. "Hopefully it gets the monkey off our backs." BGM opened when Jack Kline connected for a single up center, but Mayson Sherwood hit into a double play that left BGM scoreless. Then it was the Knight's turn at bat. With BGM ace Zach Freese on the mound, Mason City was able to load the bases in the first inning without getting a hit. "The first time being here, they probably came out a little nervous," said Mason City Head Coach Tony Adams. "[Freese] struggled a little bit with his zone. We have kids who have been into [the state tournament] before and they know that once you get here, it's just a game." Freese had trouble finding his nitch and a sacrifice fly scored the first run while a two-run single by Brennan Dondlinger gave the Knights a 3-0 lead. Freese settled down and began pitching his game. "It took him a while to get settled in, but once he got settled, he pitched great," Burns said. "He sprayed five hits over six innings against the number one team in the state. "I'm impressed with the way he threw," he said. "He kept them off balance. They are a great baseball team – that's why they are the No. 1 seed and defending state champs." BGM got on the board in the fourth when Tan-
ner Jansen blasted a double that scored Mayson Sherwood. Sherwood had singled to open the fourth and reached second on a passed ball at first. But BGM errors – they had five during the game – and another walk gave the Knights another run and a 4-1 lead. The sixth inning proved to be the end when three errors led to another three runs for the Knights. C.R. Photo by Dann Hayes "We got BGM’s Mayson Sherwood takes aim during the Bears’ 5-2 Class 1A substate vicnerved up a little tory over Grundy Center for its first trip the Class 1A state baseball tournament at bit and did some Principal Park in Des Moines. things that really weren't characteristic of us – we made five errors and I don't think we have done that for several years," Burns said. "But said. "Hopefully we can get here on a regular basis I'm definitely not disappointed in their efforts." and not be so star struck." Freese pitched a complete six innings for BGM Jansen, who connected for the RBI double in the giving up seven runs –three earned – on five hits, fourth, was proud of the way the Bears played. walked six and struck out three. "It's pretty amazing that we can come into the "Once Zach got out of that first inning, I thought tournament as the eighth seed and play close with the be looked great," Burns said. "He really, really want- number one seed," he said. "Everything that we have ed the ball and I felt like I owed it to him to give him accomplished – nobody has any right to hang their the start today. He's won 46 games for us and he's head and say this was a bad season. never had a chance to pitch down here so I wanted to "We came out and played ball, and that's what give it to him. you have to do to make it here," Jansen added. "Ex"I don't regret that decision at all." cept for the first inning, Zach was locating well and According to Freese, he never thought the Bears he was doing a great job.' were out of it. Next year? "In that first inning I walked a lot," he said. "I The Bears lose starters Freese, pitcher; short stop thought we had a chance to come back, but we fell Jack Kline; and Kyle Gritsch to graduation. short." "The three seniors that we lose are unbelievable But with three seniors graduating, including kids, unbelievable athletes," Burns said. Freese, he thinks the Bears could be right back. "We definitely got the monkey off our backs," he