Wolves win return to baseball diamond

 MANILLA (July 7) -- Considering that his team was playing its first game in 12 days - on just one practice - IKM-Manning head baseball coach Cory McCarville felt pretty good about the Wolves’ 7-3 home win over Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton here Tuesday.
 IKM-M fell behind twice - 1-0 in the third and 3-2 in the fifth - but responded with a two-spot both times and added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Nolan Ramsey led the team with three hits (one double) and also had three of the team’s 11 stolen bases.
 The Wolves had not played since winning at Audubon 10-3 on June 25. Two days later, the team was put on quarantine after a player tested positive for COVID-19. Three games were cancelled last week and the Wolves held a Monday practice to get ready for the Spartans.
 IKM-Manning improved to 3-4 with the win while Exira-EHK is now 2-11.
 “I knew there was going to be a little bit of a relearning curve, if you will, because of our little vacation that we had to take,” McCarville said, “but I was really happy with how the kids battled. We forced a couple plays, made a couple plays, got some insurance runs late (and) did what we needed to do.”
 The Wolves’ 11 steals included 10 during the three innings they scored all their runs. Nolan Ramsey, Amos Rasmussen, Will Jorgensen and Hayden McLaughlin all swiped at least two bags.
 IKM-Manning even stole home twice in its three-run sixth - McLaughlin scoring on a suicide squeeze that saw the pitch get away from the catcher and Rasmussen scoring on the front side of a double steal.
 With both teams keeping an eye on pitch counts for the start of district play on Saturday, the game began as a pitchers’ duel between the Wolves’ Max Nielsen and the Spartans’ Tyler Petersen.
 Nielsen worked four-plus innings, allowing four hits and three runs (all unearned) before lefty Conner Richards (3-0) pitched the last three innings in relief and got the win. Petersen went five innings for Exira-EHK, allowing six hits and three earned runs. He struck out five of the first eight batters he faced and finished with eight Ks, one walk and one hit batter.
 McLaughlin and Luke Ramsey both doubled during the Wolves' three-run sixth to finish 2-for-3 at the plate. Rasmussen went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple.
 Trey Petersen led the Spartans’ seven-hit attack, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Tyler Petersen doubled while Cash Emgarten, Dane Paulsen, Easton Nelson and Wyatt Fahn added singles.