The Kimball Express hosted the Eden Valley Hawks for their home opener May 7, at long last. It felt like a normal spring day, enough to forget the weeks of winter weather delays.
The Hawks scored first, with the Express following suit, until the fourth inning when the Express pulled ahead, 7-5. Four Hawks runs in the ninth, unanswered by the Express, gave Eden Valley the 10-7 win over Kimball.
At bat, the Hawks’ runs are shared by six players, with David Pennertz crossing home plate three times; he also hit the only double for the Hawks. Cullen Hoffmann, Jordan Kelm, and Matthew Pennertz each hit a pair of singles, and each scored a pair of runs for the Hawks.
Austin Berg earns the win for the Hawks, pitching the final four innings; he kept the Express scoreless during his time on the mound, striking out five and walking none. Austin Schlangen started the game, allowing the Express seven runs while striking out five and walking four.
Craig Meyer is tagged with the loss for the Express, pitching the final inning and allowing the Hawks to score four runs. Zack Dingmann pitched three innings, allowing four Hawks runs; he struck out five and walked one. Matt Dingmann pitched two innings for the Express, allowing two more Hawks runs; he walked four. Andy Dingmann pitched three innings, striking out one and walking one while not allowing additional Hawks runs.
Brooks Marquardt hit a home run for the Express, in the second inning; he was 2-for-5 with 1 RBI. Cade Marquardt hit a double and single on the day, batting 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. Adam Beyer hit a double, hitting 1-for-5 with 2 RBI. Austin Ruehle hit a pair of singles, with 1 RBI.
Up next, the Express travel to Luxemburg for a 2 p.m. game Sunday, May 14. (Their exhibition game scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled.)
The Hawks will host Pearl Lake at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 14.
EDEN VALLEY AB R H BI
Cullen Hoffmann 5 0 2 2
Jordan Kelm 4 1 2 0
Connor Holthaus 1 0 0 1
Austin Schlangen 4 0 0 0
Sam Nistler 4 2 1 0
Austin Berg 4 2 1 0
David Pennertz 4 3 1 0
Luke Ludwig 3 1 1 1
Matthew Pennertz 2 0 2 2
Joshua Johnson 1 0 0 0
Steven Pennertz 1 1 1 1
Matt Unterberger 4 0 0 1
TOTALS 37 10 11 8
KIMBALL AB R H BI
Austin Ruehle 4 1 2 1
Scott Marquardt 5 2 1 0
Cade Marquardt 5 1 2 3
Adam Beyer 5 0 1 2
Zach Dingmann 3 0 0 0
Andy Dingmann 1 0 0 0
Brooks Marquardt 5 1 2 1
Noah Young 3 1 0 0
Michael Hoffmann 2 0 0 0
Jaxon Marquardt 1 0 0 0
Ashton Hanan 1 0 0 0
Matt Dingmann 3 1 0 0
TOTALS 38 7 8 7
Hawks 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 4 10
Express 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 7