Crusaders hand Cyclones their first loss

After giving up 11 runs in the first inning, it was a long Friday night on the road as the HCHS varsity baseball team lost 12-0 via the mercy rule to the Bishop Heelan Crusaders.

“Cael [Goshorn] wasn’t throwing the ball bad,” said HCHS Head Baseball Coach Heath Stein. “He was just a little bit up in the zone. They were putting good swings on the ball that he left up and it just kind of snowballed on him.”

Senior pitcher Kaleb Gengler of the Crusaders dominated the Cyclone batters as he struck out 11 and didn’t allow a single hit.

“He was absolutely dominant on the mound,” he said. “He’s a lefty with mid 80s stuff. He was definitely the aggressor and he was just coming right at us with his fastball most of the night.”

It’ll be a busy week for the Cyclones as their next match will take place Tuesday night as they will go on the road to play the Creston Panthers, 1-4, in a doubleheader. Wednesday they’ll be at home against Lewis Central and Thursday against Denison.

“We’ll just continue to improve on things we haven’t done very well,” he added. “Hopefully put together a string of wins.”