Cyclones win over Monarchs via mercy rule
Cyclone Sophomore Jozef Reisz threw 91 pitches in four innings, allowing just two runs on three hits while striking out six batters en route to a 17-2 mercy rule victory for the Cyclones Tuesday night at home over the Denison-Schleswig Monarchs.
For the Cyclones it was their second win in the last three games and puts them at 9-10 overall on the season.
“He [Reisz] fought himself a little bit throwing strikes,” said Cyclones Head Coach Heath Stein. “91 pitches in a four inning outing isn’t ideal, but he battled. He hasn’t been on the mound a ton, but he’s going to keep working. He gives us depth and he does a good job.”
The Cyclones bats came swinging as they scored six runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, four in the 2nd, two in the 3rd and five in the 4th for a total of 17 runs on the night with 16 hits.
Many Cyclones had multi-hit nights including Reisz, Cade Sears, Quinn Koesters, Stephen Leinen and Brett Heese. Matthew Sorfonden, Gavin Bruck, Cael Goshorn and Landen Kaufman all each had a hit.
Leinen also knocked in three runs. Sorfonden, Bruck and Heese knocked in two apiece.
“They [Denison] struggled to throw some strikes early on,” Stein said. “But when they did throw strikes, we put some good swings on it, so it was good to see out of the guys.”
The game ended in the bottom of the 4th inning when an unlikely hero stepped to the plate. Bruck came up, put a swing on a ball and drove it into right field, plating two runs and won the game in grand fashion as his teammates came storming out of the dugout to jump on his back and send everyone home happy.
“That was a lot of fun having Gavin come in and put a good swing on a ball,” Stein added. “He’s one of the best guys on the team. He’s such a good teammate and comes to work everyday. It’s fun to watch him succeed in that.”
The Cyclones have Wednesday off, but will return to action Thursday at home against the 12-7 Kuemper Catholic Knights, whom they beat earlier in the season in a 8-4 10-inning victory.
The Knights are led by Koby Lampman with 18 hits and 18 runs batted in. On the mound, Logan Sibenaller leads with three wins and 29 strikeouts. According to Stein, Stephen Leinen will get the ball to start the night for the Cyclones against the Knights.
“Kuemper is a really good ball club,” Stein said. “They’re ranked in 2A. They throw strikes and do well at the plate.”