Members of the Union Knights baseball team rush to congratulate senior Ryan Devries (third from left, obscured) after his fifth-inning hit against North Tama knocked in two runners to put Union up 14-4 over the visiting, conference-leading Redhawks for the walk-off win. The game was the Knights final at home for the 2023-24 season. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

LA PORTE CITY – The Union Knights baseball team played their final home game of the season last Thursday evening and looked to finish strong against the North Tama Redhawks. The night before, the Knights clawed their way to an exciting 1-0 victory over Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Despite the win over the Rebels, Union (7-18) was looking to bring more offensive firepower to the game against the Redhawks (14-11) – who continue to lead the Iowa Star-South Conference (10-5) – as it was ‘Senior Night’ for seniors Ryan Devries, Sam Fehl, and Mason Mullen, and the team wanted to give them a game to remember.

The Knights turned to Fehl to take the mound in his final home appearance. The Redhawks turned to their ace, Henry Hansen. Hansen entered the game with a 2.51 ERA while allowing opposing batters a meager .188 batting average. The pitching battle was set.

After a scoreless first inning, the offense got going for the Knights. The action started with sophomore Henry Hegdahl getting hit by the pitch to give the Knights their first base runner of the inning. With two outs on the board, Devries singled on a hard grounder, advancing Hegdahl to second. Fehl also got hit by pitch, which loaded the bases for the Knights. With bases loaded, sophomore Sawyer Spence hit a hard line drive up the middle, scoring two Knights. Sophomore Mays Weber then singled, bringing in another run. The Knights held a 3-0 lead after the end of the second inning.

The Knights made quick work of the Redhawks in the top of the third and went right back to work offensively in the bottom of the inning. Freshman Gavin Frederiksen and sophomore Maddux DeWinter both got on base, followed by Mason Mullen walking to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed Frederiksen to score while the other Knight baserunners advanced. A walk to Devries would load bases again for Union. Fehl then got his time to shine on Senior Night, as he hit a hard line drive to right field that scored two more runs for the Knights. Weber would round out the scoring for the inning, hitting a single and scoring yet another run. Union now had a commanding 8-0 lead, but North Tama would not go down without a fight.

In the top of the fourth inning, multiple hits and a sacrifice fly gave the Redhawks runners on second and third. A line drive to right field scored both runners before the top of the inning was complete. The lead shrunk to 8-2 for the Knights; the Redhawks then held Union scoreless in the bottom of the inning. The top of the fifth looked similar, with the Redhawks adding on two more runs. The game was getting interesting with the Knights hanging on to an 8-4 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.

Union senior Sam Fehl watches his pitch on the follow-through last week Thursday, June 27 during the Knights rout of North Tama, 14-4. Fehl pitched a stellar, complete, final home game that evening – striking out four while allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits and walking just one batter. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Union’s offense started the bottom of the fifth inning with Spence and Weber both hitting to get on base. Sophomore Ethan Winnike stepped up to the plate and cranked a triple, scoring both. Not to be outdone, Frederiksen stepped up to the plate next and hit a triple of his own, scoring Winnike. Sophomore Maddux DeWinter then hit a grounder to score Frederiksen. The Knights reclaimed a commanding lead, going up 12-4. But they weren’t done yet.

Hegdahl and Mullen both earned walks for the Knights, bringing Devries to the plate. Devries powered a hard line drive to right-center, scoring both runners. The Knights hit the 10-run lead mark, ending the game with a 14-4 ‘walk-off’ victory on Senior [K]Night.

The trio of Union seniors each left their mark during the game against North Tama. Fehl pitched a complete game, striking out four and allowing only two earned runs. Offensively, he added a hit with two RBIs.

Mason Mullen kept finding ways to get on base, earning two walks and a hit, while Devries had his best offensive performance of the season, going 2-for-3 at the plate and his two-RBIs-line-drive walked off the game for the Knights win.

The Knights offense was impressive, scoring 14 runs with 13 RBIs. Weber led the Knights with three hits and three RBIs. Winnike and Devries each had two hits of their own.

Union’s Gavin Frederiksen hits a three-bagger against North Tama late in the fifth inning last Thursday. Frederiksen’s triple, which knocked in Ethan Winnike, was part of a series of powerful hits by a string of Knights in the final inning that added six points to the score. Union’s hitting streak only ended after senior Ryan Devries knocked in the two final runs for the walk-off win – putting the score at 14-4 and meeting the 10-run rule mark. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Hansen took the loss on the mound for North Tama, allowing eight runs – four earned – on two hits, three walks and four hit batsmen in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out three.

Josh Dostal and Gavin Rausch both went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Redhawks, while Hansen was 1-for-2 with a run and two RBIs, and Chaz Hall was 1-for-2 with two runs driven in.

Including this season, Union and North Tama have faced each other six times since 2018 with the Knights winning four including 2018 (9-8), 2020 (16-5), and 2023 (4-3).

Redhawk Kolt Knaack, left, jokes around with Knights first baseman Maddux DeWinter after making it to base successfully on a single early in last Thursday’s game in La Porte City. The Knights resoundingly beat their fellow Tama County team later that evening in what was their final appearance at home this season. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

North Tama ace Henry Hansen. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

North Tama relief pitcher Tyler Popelka. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER