By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden star senior pitcher and cleanup hitter Cooper Grace was asked after Friday's Centennial League doubleheader against Junction City what he gets most excited about -- a dominating performance on the mound or a big hit at the plate.
Hayden senior Cooper Grace turned in a banner performance in Friday's doubleheader sweep over Junction City. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Grace went with option No. 3 -- success as a team.
"I get excited when you get a big win to be honest with you,'' Grace said. "That's kind of the ultimate thing that I care about.
"It's fun to have some individual goals for myself, but as a team, I get excited about the wins.''
Grace achieved all three of those goals, Friday, allowing just three hits and striking out 12 in 6 2/3 innings in the first game and stroking two doubles and a triple in the nightcap as Hayden improved to 12-0 overall and 6-0 in the league with a 6-0, 3-2 sweep over the Blue Jays (6-10, 1-5).
"I know it's a cliche, but you've just got to play them one at a time,'' Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. "I felt like all our pitchers today did a really good job, but we've got to clean some stuff up.''
In the opener, Grace gave up just three singles and struck out every hitter in the Junction City lineup at least once before senior Liam Annand came on in relief to record the final out and preserve the shutout.
Junction City junior starter Conrado Gomez shut out Hayden over the first four innings, but the Wildcats broke the game open with a five-run fifth, sending 10 hitters to the plate in the inning.
Hayden got a two-run single from senior Brady Heinen and a run-scoring single from Annand while the Wildcats also scored a pair of runs on Blue Jay wild pitches.
Hayden sophomore shortstop Mason Becker (left) throws out a runner in Friday's doubleheader sweep over Junction City. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden added its final run in the sixth when sophomore shortstop Mason Becker doubled and came around to score.
Senior Jett Wahlmeier got the pitching start for Hayden in the second game and picked up the win, shutting out the Blue Jays over the first four innings and working into the fifth before being relieved by junior Connor Hanika.
Hayden jumped on top in the first when Becker singled and scored on a Grace triple.
The Wildcats added a run in the third when junior Aiden Roberts singled, stole second and scored on a Heinen sacrifice fly and scored their final run in the fourth when Grace doubled and scored on a single from junior Kade Mitchell.
Junction City took advantage of a pair of Hayden errors to score a run in the fifth and scored another run in the sixth on a wild pitch after the Wildcats committed another error.
Hayden will travel to Osage City on Tuesday for a doubleheader as the Wildcats begin their stretch run.
"I like this group, it's a good group,'' said Arnold, whose Wildcats won the Class 3A state title last spring. "They've got some good baseball intelligence and they do a good job of coming to practice and working at it.
"But at the same time, they're high school kids, they're not paid professionals out here. What we don't want to do is make the same mistake twice. That's what we're kind of banking on.''
GAME 1
HAYDEN 6, JUNCTION CITY 0
Junction City 000 000 0 — 0 3 0
Hayden 000 051 x — 6 10 0
Conrado Gomez, Treyden Morgan (5) and Jamarcus Tyson. Cooper Grace, Liam Annand (7) and Brady Deutsch. W -- Cooper Grace. L -- Conrado Gomez. 2B -- Hayden: Mason Becker.
GAME 2
HAYDEN 3, JUNCTION CITY 2
Junction City (6-10, 1-5) 000 011 0 — 2 5 0
Hayden (12-0, 6-0) 101 100 x — 3 7 4
Abdullah Harris and Jamarcus Tyson. Jett Wahlmeier, Connor Hanika (5) and Caleb Menke. W — Jett Wahlmeier. L — Abdullah Harris. 2B -- Hayden: Cooper Grace 2. 3B -- Hayden: Cooper Grace.
