Waukee rallies to beat Johnston at state baseball – DesMoinesRegister.com
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Walker McDonald was confident that his Waukee baseball teammates would eventually spark a rally.
Thanks to one big swing from Jordan Yaukovitz, the Warriors battled back to win their state tournament opener for the second straight year.
Yaukovitz blasted a two-run homer and 10th-ranked Waukee rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to beat No. 7 Johnston, 3-2, in an all-CIML Class 4A quarterfinal on Wednesday at Principal Park.
“We knew we were going to break through at some point,” said McDonald, who tossed a six-hitter for the Warriors. “We just had to keep fighting and stay in the game, and it worked out in the end.”
Waukee (31-11) used a two-run rally in the seventh inning to beat North Scott, 6-5, in last year’s quarterfinals. This time, the Warriors overcame a 2-0 deficit against Johnston starter Jared Erickson, who allowed just two hits through the first five innings.
Mark Primrose led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield single. He beat out a slow roller to first base with a head-first slide to the bag.
“That was the biggest play right there,” Waukee coach Dave Dirkx said. “If he doesn’t get on, I don’t know what we would have done. It’s the whole momentum thing.”
Yaukovitz then followed with a game-tying blast over the right-field fence. It was his second home run of the season.
“I thought it was going to hit the wall; I was just trying to get as many bases as I could,” Yaukovitz said. “And I looked over at Dirkx and he was going wild, so I knew it was out at that point.”
Jordan Yaukovitz hit a two-run homer to help the Waariors to a 3-2 victory over Johnston.
Dan Holm/The Register
Jon Rozeboom hit a one-out single to keep the rally going. He was replaced by pinch-runner Dillon Flynn as Johnston coach Michael Barta went to his bullpen, bringing in reliever Nathan Buckallew.
Flynn advanced to second on a wild pitch, then went to third on a grounder by AJ Shaw. Fischer Henderson drove in the go-ahead run with a double to right field.
“I think we just needed to be more disciplined at the plate,” Henderson said. “In the later innings, we put together better at-bats.”
Jackson Clausen and Peyton Williams each drove in a run for Johnston, which ended the season at 29-11. The Dragons threatened to score the tying run in the top of the seventh after Alex MacGregor reached third base on an error, but he was thrown out at home on a bunt by Drew Beazley.
“We actually talked about (the squeeze play) right before he bunted,” McDonald said. “I didn’t expect it to come right back to me, but it’s something we worked on in practice. We were able to execute, and it saved the game, really.”
The Warriors avenged a doubleheader loss at Johnston on June 1. The Dragons had also defeated Waukee, 8-3, in a 2014 quarterfinal.
“The two hits that won the game for Waukee were good hits, and they were on good pitches,” Barta said. “The home run was a slider down, and (Henderson’s double) was a change-up away. If they’re going to hit our pitch as hard as they did, you’ve just got to shake their hand and walk away.”
McDonald (9-1) pitched his third consecutive complete game as Waukee advanced to play No. 1 Cedar Rapids Prairie in Friday’s semifinals at 5 p.m. The senior right-hander has thrown all 21 postseason innings for the Warriors, who have won 11 straight games.
“You get to the point now where the pitch count doesn’t matter,” McDonald said. “You’re just playing for a state championship, so the more you play it feels good. If I can do something to help my team, I will.”
Johnston….011 000 0–2 6 1
Waukee…..000 003 X–3 6 2
Hitting leaders–J: Robinson 2×3, Dotseth 2×3; W: Yaukovitz 2×3. W–McDonald. L–Erickson.
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