A rivalry that spans just four miles has headed to the diamond over the past five days.  The Wolves Baseball team took on Cherokee Trail for their season series on Saturday and Tuesday.

Saturday saw some history to start the series as Junior Ethan Wachsmann threw seven innings and didn’t let up a hit – a rare no-hitter.

“I was just trying to do my job, be a part of the team, just find any way I can to win,” Wachsmann said.

It wasn’t all perfect, though.  After Wachsmann started his outing with six strikeouts with 2 outs in the top of the third inning, he got into some trouble after hitting Cherokee Trail’s Michael Zimmerman with a pitch and walking Landon McWilliams in five pitches.  

“[Wachsmann has] come a long way from a mental standpoint,” Head Coach Scott Henry said.  “I think he got in trouble a few innings and kind of calmed himself and got after it.”

By the sixth inning, buzz was beginning to circulate from both sides.  Wachsmann was six outs away from a no-hitter, and Cherokee Trail got two on after two walks opened the inning.  Wachsmann got through it with help from a pick off at second from Junior Catcher Kayden Bohmeyer, a fly out, and Wachsmann’s 8th strikeout of the day, retired the side.

“Kayden Bohmeyer is catching [some] great game[s],” Coach Henry said.

On the verge of history, Wachsmann didn’t even know it.  He booked it with his ninth strikeout and 36th of the year off a foul tip to end the game.  

“I didn’t really know it was a no-hitter until the second to last out, so that got me hyped up,” Wachsmann said.  “It was amazing. It felt awesome.”

“He’s super talented and he works really hard – so it’s cool to see him do well,” Coach Henry said.

Wachsmann’s day wasn’t just from the mound, however.  After a Jax Pfister single opened the bottom of the fourth inning, and a Kyler Vaughn sacrifice bunt moved Pfister into scoring position, Wachsmann looped a pop fly to right field, scoring Pfister in what ended up being the game-winning RBI (Runs Batted In) . 

The Wolves added another run with a Chase Chapman double in the fifth as they took down Cherokee Trail 2-0.  This was the Wolves’ first win against Cherokee Trail since April 9th of last season, as they focused their sights on Tuesday for the second game in the season series.

While the Saturday game was at the den, Tuesdays would see the Wolves take the ten-minute drive to Cherokee Trail in a road contest.

Cherokee Trail got a hit on their first at-bat, signalling that they were there to play.  Their ace, Carter Wilcox, took the bump for the Cougars and proved pivotal as the first five outs came on Wilcox strikeouts.

“We knew that he was going to strike us out,” Coach Henry said.  “We also knew that he was going to get us some baserunners.”

In the second inning, the Wolves had Jax Pfister on second and AJ Maroni on first after they both walked as Justin Dean stepped up to the plate.  Dean singled to left field as Pfister came home and Maroni scored on the throw. 

“Once we had baserunners, we knew we had to be able to steal off of him and hopefully just drive in a run or two from time to time,” Coach Henry said. 

Justin Dean drove in two on a single in the second inning as the Wolves matched their run total from the previous game.

“[We took] advantage of the small things, you know, if we walk, if we get hit by a pitch, if we get an error, we gotta take advantage of every single thing we can, so we can score the runs,” Wachsmann said.

Following up Wachsmann’s no-hit performance on Saturday would be hard for many, but the Wolves starter, Jax Pfister, rose to the occasion, not letting in a run in five innings pitched while striking out six.

The Cougars, on the other hand, had the performance to follow up Saturday as Wilcox struck out fourteen batters in five and two-thirds innings pitched.  

Nick Martensen came into the game in the sixth, but the Wolves couldn’t hold the Cougars off the scoresheet for all fourteen innings of the season

series.  A Peyton Michlig ground-rule double in the seventh inning brought Cherokee Trail back within two before Martensen got a ground out and a strikeout to end the game.

“Our pitching staff is as good as I’ve ever seen and been a part of,” Coach Henry said.  “And then our defense is lights out – I mean it’s fun to watch and I hope we can keep it up.”

Despite the records and the moral wins over their rivals, Grandview only scored five times in the series.  Prior to playing Cherokee Trail, the Wolves averaged over nine runs a game, even excluding a 21-4 Coors Field exhibition game against ThunderRidge earlier in the season.  

“We haven’t been swinging it real well, so we’ve got to keep working on our offensive [side],” Coach Henry said.

Still, Grandview got the series win over their rivals, Cherokee Trail, something they can go to bed feeling good about. 

“It was a team effort, everyone did their job,” Wachsmann said. “It feels really good.”

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