Schemmel laments split with Waterloo West
Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel is an old-school baseball guy and a gentleman. He'd never do anything to demean an opponent, but facts were facts Wednesday night.
His Saints played a struggling, weakened team from Waterloo West and had to settle for a split of their Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill at Ken Charipar Field.
Schemmel was not happy.
"We should have come out of it with two wins," he said. "It's a little frustrating, and they didn't have three of their starters. You hope to take two from the teams you think you should beat."
Waterloo West won the first game, 9-8, in eight innings. Xavier took the nightcap, 16-6, in six innings.
The Wahawks arrived in Cedar Rapids Wednesday afternoon at 4-11 overall and 2-6 in the Valley. Adding to their woes, Coach Kory Kelchen benched three players after they missed batting practice Wednesday morning and a fourth player was gone for college orientation.
Xavier had the stronger team, but Waterloo West found a way to win the opener.
Xavier was sitting at 11-3 overall when the night began and the Saints owned first place in the Valley Division of the MVC standings with a 6-2 mark. All signs pointed to a sweep, but strange things happened under a full moon.
Waterloo West (5-12, 3-7) jumped to a 7-2 lead in Game 1. Xavier rallied and forced extra innings, but the visitors got an RBI triple from Zach Fricke in the top of the eighth and held on for the victory despite committing six errors.
The Saints cruised in the nightcap to salvage the split.
Xavier still leads the Valley Division standings at 7-3, but Hempstead is 6-4 and Iowa City West is 5-5. The Saints play a twinbill at Iowa City West on Friday.
The Saints are 12-4 overall, which is .750 baseball.
"You can't complain about that," Schemmel said. "The thing is, these kids know they should have a better record than that."
Sophomore Corbin Woods got his first victory for Xavier with a complete game in the nightcap at Ken Charipar Field, which is named for his late grandfather. The Saints wear the initials "KG" on their caps in honor of Charipar, who died in March.
Blake Helms went 4-for-5 for Xavier in the first game. Nate Even was 2-for-4 and Kevin Hosch went 2-for-5.
Ean McNeal went 3-for-4 for the Saints in the second game with two RBIs. Eric Zenisek was 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Alex Ries was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs. Woods also had two hits.
Game 1
WATERLOO WEST (9)
Brown, cf, 5 1 2 0, Vaughn, ss, 4 4 3 1, Fricke, 3b, 5 1 3 5, Bush, 1b, 5 1 2 1, Akin, pr, 0 0 0 0, Trebon, dh, 3 0 2 1, Brauer, p, 0 0 0 0, Sheeley, p, 0 0 0 0, Paige, c, 2 0 1 1, Kullen, rf, 4 0 0 0, Fisher, lf, 3 2 1 0, Heyerhoff, 2b, 4 0 0 0. Totals 35 9 14 9.
XAVIER (8)
Helms, ss, 5 1 4 0, Woods, 3b, 4 1 0 0, Even, 2b, 4 2 2 1, Mattke, 1b/p, 5 1 1 1, Brown, pr, 0 0 0 0, Ries, cf, 4 2 1 0, Hosch, p/1b, 5 0 2 1, Hines, p, 0 0 0 0, Sodawasser, cf, 0 0 0 0, Mehring, lf, 3 0 1 1, McNeal, lf, 0 0 0 0, Zenisek, rf, 3 0 1 1, Brecht, c, 3 1 0 0, Tipton, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 36 8 12 5.
Waterloo West 005 201 01 - 9 14 6
Xavier 011 033 00 - 8 12 0
Brauer, Sheeley (5) and Paige. Hosch, Hines (6), Mattke (7) and Brecht. W - Sheeley. L - Mattke. 2B - Fricke, Fisher, Ries. 3B - Fricke. HR - Vaughn. SB - Woods, Even, Ries 2, Zenisek.
Game 2
WATERLOO WEST (6)
Brown, cf, 3 0 0 1, Vaughn, ss, 3 1 1 1, Fricke, 3b, 3 1 1 2, Bush, 1b, 2 1 1 0, Trebon, dh, 3 1 1 2, McClain, p, 0 0 0 0, Paige, c, 3 0 1 0, Akin, cr, 0 1 0 0, Kullen, rf, 3 1 1 0, Fisher, lf, 3 0 0 0, Heyerhoff, 2b, 2 0 0 0. Totals 25 6 6 5.
XAVIER (16)
Helms, ss, 3 2 0 0, Woods, p, 3 1 2 1, Tipton, cr, 0 2 0 0, Even, 2b, 3 2 1 2, Mattke, 1b, 5 0 1 1, Sodawasser, pr, 0 1 0 0, Ries, cf, 4 3 2 2, Hosch, dh, 2 3 1 0, Brown, 3b, 0 0 0 0, McNeal, lf, 4 1 3 2, Zenisek, rf, 3 1 2 4, Brecht, c, 3 0 1 0. Totals 30 16 13 12.
Waterloo West 040 020 - 6 6 4
Xavier 630 007 - 16 13 1
McClain, Ruffcorn (6) and Paige. Woods and Brecht. W - Woods. L - McClain. 2B - Woods, Even, McNeal. HR - Fricke, Trebon. SB - Helms 2, Tipton 1, Even 2, McNeal.
