When the week started, it looked like it could be a long one. By Saturday afternoon, there was plenty about which to celebrate.
After a second straight loss to the open the week, the Malcolm baseball team turned things around and finished on a four-game win streak.
Following a loss in the championship game of the Trailblazer Conference tournament, the top-ranked Clippers went on the road to No. 3 Plattsmouth on April 17 and ran into trouble against Drew Iverson. The Wichita State commit fanned eight while allowing just five hits as the Blue Devils earned a 5-2 win.
“We definitely didn’t come out the way we wanted to at Plattsmouth,” Malcolm coach Zach Wehner said. “We figured we’d see their ace, and I think we got a little too excited for that.”
Malcolm went on the road the next night to see yet another future Division One player. This time it was Beatrice’s Tucker Timmerman. The Husker commit allowed just one run and three hits over three innings before turning things over to Jaxson Blackburn. With the senior on the mound, the Clippers’ bats came alive as Malcolm prevailed for a 5-3 win against the No. 7 team in Class B.
“Coming into both Plattsmouth and Beatrice, the boys were excited to face a couple of D-I prospects,” Wehner said. “At Beatrice, we were able to get some hits early. That lifted the confidence of the entire team. We knew we were going to see a lot of strikes. We just needed to place the ball in gaps.”
The Clippers’ week on the road continued April 21 with a visit to Arlington. The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Malcolm scored nine unanswered runs on the way to a 9-4 win.
Garrett England went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of runs batted in while fellow sophomore Carson Frank took care of business on the mound as he picked up his fourth win of the season.
The Clippers’ four-sites-in-six-days tour concluded on April 22 with a triangular at Beaver Crossing. Malcolm opened the day with a No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash against Central City/Fullerton/Centura.
After the Kernels built a 4-1 lead by the top of the third, Malcolm answered with a five-run bottom of the third that included a three-run blast off the bat of England. It was the sophomore’s second home run this season.
“Garrett is having a great spring,” Wehner said. “He came in fighting for a starting spot and has really earned it. It’s nice having someone toward the bottom of the lineup capable of doing what he’s done. He puts us in a great spot to get guys around the bases.”
After Maddox Meyer threw the first three innings, Mason Wisnieski took the mound and struck out five Kernels’ batters as the sophomore earned his second win of the season.
“Mason did a great job on the mound this week,” Wehner said. “As a reliever, he comes in, throws strikes and gets outs while keeping his pitch count down.”
Derek Erickson added some insurance in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run. The Coe College commit also closed the game with a save.
Malcolm finished out the week with a 12-0 rout of Centennial. The Clippers used 21 different players in the five-inning, mercy rule game in which Luke Schmidt earned his first win of the season as he fanned five Broncos’ batters.
Wisnieski hit his second home run this season while Meyer went 1-for-3 with three RBIs.
Malcolm (17-2) opens the week with a rematch against Class B No. 6 Wahoo/BN/LL (15-2) Monday afternoon in Malcolm before a short trip to Valparaiso on April 25 to face Raymond Central (5-11) in the “Battle for the Buck.” The Clippers host Falls City (5-8) on Saturday, April 29.
“We didn’t play very well last time we saw Wahoo,” Wehner said. “The boys are looking forward to a rematch just so we can see if we can match up a little better. This past week, seeing some top teams with great pitching and finding ways to come out on top was a big confidence boost. The boys know these next few games are huge, especially for district seeding points.”
