Hiawatha wins wild, cold series opener at Serena

SERENA – When it comes to runs scored, the “how” doesn’t matter nearly as much as the “how many.”

While host Serena scored most of its runs in a more conventional manner Monday in its Little Ten Conference series opener with Hiawatha – a hit, a stolen base, an RBI – the visiting Hawks simply scored more of them. It added up to an 8-6 Hiawatha victory on a near-freezing day in northeastern La Salle County.

“From the beginning of the year we’ve always talked about how we’d have to deal with all kinds of adversity ... and I think the boys today were just a little sick of losing,” Hiawatha coach Steven Kenyon said. Kenyon got a Dubble Bubble gum shower [unchewed, thankfully] from winning pitcher Thomas Giebel celebrating the Hawks’ first win of the season and Kenyon’s first varsity coaching victory.

“They said, ‘You know what? Today’s our day,’ and they showed what they could be. That’s exciting stuff.”

Weather permitting – and hopefully a little warmer – the rivals will complete their LTC series Tuesday in Kirkland.

The Huskers (1-5 overall, 1-2 LTC) repeatedly fell behind, and repeatedly caught back up.

After Hiawatha (1-3, 1-2) scored thanks to three walks and a steal in the top of the second, Serena answered with single run in the bottom half of the third inning when Noah Muffler singled, stole second and third, then advanced the final 90 feet on a wild pitch.

The Hawks added two more runs in the sixth to go ahead 3-1, the first scoring on Tim Pruitt’s grounder and the second when a lack of communication by the Serena defense on the same ground ball led to an errant throw into right field. Serena immediately answered in the bottom half on a Payton Twait base hit and an RBI groundout from Tucker Whiteaker, tying the game at 3 heading into the seventh inning.

The Hawks came right back, however, pushing across five runs in the top of the seventh. The rally included a bases-loaded walk drawn by Kamden Rasmus and ended with a Tommy Butler RBI double to score Aaron Jundrich – the first and only Hiawatha run on the day driven in with a hit.

Serena rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, including RBIs from Beau Raikes and pinch hitter Mannix Truckenbrod. They chased Giebel (6⅓ IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 7 K) and even managed to get the potential tying run to the plate. But Hawks reliever Bentley Payne (⅔ IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K) got a swinging strikeout to end the threat and save the game for Giebel.

“I knew it was going to be cold today,” Giebel said, “so I just trusted my fastball. [The Serena lineup wasn’t] hitting my fastball, so I just threw it. That’s how I got to the seventh inning.

“This is our first win against this team in six years, I think. It feels surreal to finally beat them. I have big hopes for our team this year.”

Rasmus, Butler, Aidan Cooper and Colby Wylde had one hit apiece to lead the opportunistic Hiawatha offense. The Hawks drew 13 walks, took advantage of four Serena errors and scored all but the last of their eight runs on steals, errors, wild pitches or passed balls.

“That’s just it,” Serena coach Jeremy Foreman said. “You’re not going to win many games if you walk that many batters. We struggled with control today, that’s for sure, and I don’t think the [cold] conditions helped at all, but their pitcher had no trouble throwing strikes. I think he did a nice job throwing strikes and keeping us off-balance.

“We battled. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

Leadoff man Wesley Hendricks, cleanup batter Payton Twait and No. 9 hitter Ethan Stark provided two hits apiece for Serena, which outhit Hiawatha 7-4. Raikes (4⅔ IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 8 BB, 10 K) started the game and got a no-decision, with reliever Ryne DeBernardi (2⅓ IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 2 K) taking the loss.