Vikings fall to Dotzler, Falcons in 2-A district opener

 IDA GROVE -- Facing one of the top pitchers in western Iowa, Anthony Cordes and the AHSTW baseball team never backed down.
 Cordes craftily matched OA-BCIG ace Ben Dotzler through five scoreless innings and the Vikings scratched out a run in the top of the sixth to take a 1-0 lead in Saturday night’s Class 2-A, District 16 quarterfinal.
 Unfortunately for AHSTW, the next three outs would be hard to come by as the host Falcons scored four times on just two hits in the bottom of the sixth and eliminated the Vikings from postseason play with a 4-1 victory.
 Dotzler, the son of Falcon coach Dan Dotzler - a 1985 Harlan Community graduate - struck out the side following a leadoff error in the seventh to cap a three-hitter and improve to 6-1 on the year. Throwing primarily hard fastballs, Dotzler struck out 14 batters, walked one and lowered his sparkling earned run average to 0.48. He has allowed just 14 hits in 43 and one-third innings while striking out 86.
 OA-BCIG (14-11) advanced to face Missouri Valley (22-9) in Tuesday’s district semifinal round at Carroll. AHSTW, meanwhile, finished the year at 13-12 overall.