HCHS baseball set for substate tourney play

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (July 16) -- Harlan Community will take a record of 15-15 into the Class 3A substate baseball tournament after splitting its final two regular season games against a pair of Council Bluffs teams.
 HCHS lost at Abraham Lincoln 6-2 on Tuesday night before routing Thomas Jefferson 18-6 on Wednesday, committing five errors in both games.
 Seeded fifth in Class 3A, Substate 8, the Cyclones will open the postseason at fourth-seeded Glenwood (14-14) on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The winner will play again Monday at 7:00 p.m., likely facing third-ranked Gilbert (21-8). The Tigers must first get by Greene County on Friday.
 The Cyclones lost a pair of close decisions in their doubleheader at Glenwood June 14, falling 3-1 and 7-6.
 “We are heading into the postseason playing good baseball,” stated HCHS head coach Heath Stein. “We were 7-3 in a recent 10-game stretch and the losses were tight ball games to Sioux City East, Lewis Central and Clarinda, who are all quality ball clubs. We had a really nice win at Le Mars - the 1-seed in their substate - in which Alex Monson was very dominant on the mound.
 “We knew the whole season was going to be kind of a rollercoaster ride and a process of working hard to get better throughout the season and I really like where we are at right now. A lot of guys have made a lot of progress on the mound as well as at the plate and I feel like we are ready to make a postseason run.”
Abraham Lincoln 6, HCHS 2
 The Cyclones outhit the Lynx 8-4 on Tuesday but were hurt by five errors and four unearned runs allowed. AL scored two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie.
 Cade Sears went 3-for-3 with a double to lead the HCHS offense, Luke Musich was 2-for-4 with three stolen bases and Ben Muenchrath added two singles and one RBI.
 Franz Reisz pitched the first four innings for the Cyclones, allowing one hit and two unearned runs. He walked three and struck out two.
 Teagon Kasperbauer (4-4) took the loss in relief, allowing three hits and four runs (two earned) in two innings.
 Zach Lincoln pitched a complete game for the Lynx, who improved to 9-29 overall.
HCHS 18, Thomas Jefferson 6
 The Cyclones racked up 15 singles and walked 12 times against the Yellow Jackets (5-28), scoring six runs in the second inning to take a 9-0 lead and pulling away late with four in the sixth and three in the seventh.
 Ten HCHS players had at least one hit, led by Musich (3-for-3, two RBI), Isaiah Ahrenholtz (2-for-2, three runs), Cael Goshorn (2-for-3) and Quinn Koesters (2-for-4, four runs). Kelby Lasher went 1-for-1 with three RBI while Kasperbauer and Alex Monson both singled and drove in a pair. The Cyclones had seven stolen bases.
 Senior Thomas Ernst improved to 3-1 on the mound, allowing eight hits and six runs (four earned) in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. Stephen Leinen and Musich finished in relief.

Class 3A, Substate 8 Baseball Tournament
Substate Quarterfinals - Friday, July 16
#8-seed Greene County at #1-seed Gilbert, 7:00
#5-seed Harlan Community at #4-seed Glenwood, 7:00
#7-seed Atlantic at #2-seed Winterset, 7:00
#6-seed Carroll at #3-seed Denison-Schleswig, 7:00
Substate Semifinals - Monday, July 19
Gilbert or Greene County vs. Harlan Community or Glenwood (site TBD), 7:00
Winterset or Atlantic vs. Denison-Schleswig or Carroll (site TBD), 7:00
Substate Final - Wednesday, July 21 (site TBD), 7:00