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Olson piles up 7 RBIs, Lynx thump CGD in 4

WCHS focused on beating NCC?teams, not winning a trophy

CLARION — Will there be a North Central Conference baseball champion crowned this summer? That’s the question with no answer currently as the regular season enters the homestretch over the next two weeks.

Iowa Falls-Alden hasn’t played since June 17 due to a COVID-19-related suspension, although the Cadets are scheduled to resume play on Monday. St. Edmond put a halt to its season, also because of the coronavirus, this past weekend.

Webster City, the defending conference champion and winner of two of the past three titles, hopes it will have a chance to repeat. If a trophy isn’t up for grabs, so be it. But the Lynx want bragging rights nonetheless.

“From what I gather, the (conference athletic directors) are going to meet after the conference season is done to decide what to do,” WCHS head coach Adison Kehoe said. “But at the end of the day, if we take care of what we need to take care of, then there’s really no debate.”

WCHS (6-3, 2-0 NCC) took its most emphatic step yet towards its goal on Wednesday by shellacking Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, 16-0 in 4 innings. The Lynx stomped on the accelerator from the first pitch and never wavered, scoring five runs in the opening inning, six in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth. They shelled CGD pitchers Damien Strong-Bjorkland and Kain Nelson for 15 hits.

“From the first pitch until it was called early, that was our best game of the year by far,” Kehoe said. “That was the best we’ve hit all year.”

Four WCHS players lashed multiple hits and eight players in all got in on the act. No one was more lethal than Tyler Olson, as the junior clean-up hitter when 3 for 4 with a career-high seven RBIs just one night after he smacked a walk-off two-RBI single in a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Nevada.

Sean Carver was perfect in four plate appearances and he drove in three runs. Carver, Olson and Beau Klaver all found the gap for a double.

Connor Hanson and Ty McKinney added two base knocks each; Hanson drove in two runs, McKinney one. Devon Stoakes, CJ Hisler and Trey Lyons all had one hit. Hisler collected two RBIs, and Lyons had one.

The offensive outburst was exactly what junior pitcher Chase Rattenborg wanted to see. He was able to simply relax and throw, as he limited CGD (0-9, 0-6 NCC) to just three singles, two coming off the bat of Cael Chase. Rattenborg walked three and struck out seven.

WCHS will be back at home this evening for a conference battle against Hampton-Dumont/CAL. The varsity contest is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. There will be no junior varsity game.

The Lynx blanked Hampton-Dumont/CAL, 4-0, in a non-conference meeting on the opening night of the season in mid-June. Olson tossed a complete-game two-hitter with 13 strikeouts, and he’ll likely get the nod again this evening.

Webster City 16, CGD 0 (4 inn)

Wednesday at Clarion

Web City 561 4 — 16 15 0

CGD 000 0 — 0 3 0

Chase Rattenborg and Devon Stoakes. Damien Strong-Bjorkland, Kain Nelson (2) and Cael Chase. WP — Rattenborg. LP — Strong-Bjorkland. Multiple hits — WC: Sean Carver (4), Tyler Olson (3), Ty McKinney, Connor Hanson; CGD: Chase. 2B — WC: Olson, Carver, Beau Klaver. RBI — WC: Olson (7), Carver (3), Hanson (2), CJ Hisler (2), McKinney, Trey Lyons.

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