Andersen, a junior, transferred to Ballard this past school year after throwing for Nevada in 2008. Andersen said there was a lot of pressure having to throw against his former teammates in a do-or-die game, but he sure didn't show it Friday after tossing a two-hit shutout to lead the Bombers to a 6-0 victory.
"It gave me a little bit of nervous chills," Andersen said of facing Nevada. "But I calmed down and got the job done."
Matt Bosworth singled to lead off the game for Nevada and then Andersen didn't allow another hit until Bryce Black hit a pinch-hit single up the middle with two outs in the seventh inning. Andersen allowed five walks in between the two Cub hits, but they weren't a problem, as he countered them with 10 strikeouts, while the Bomber defense played error-free ball in the field.
Nevada's only serious threat came in the first inning, when the Cubs loaded the bases with one out as Nick Sutton and Ross Van Allen each drew a walk after Bosworth's single. But Ballard then turned a 6-4-3 double play off a ball hit by Cub catcher Alex Cross to get out of the inning unscathed.
Andersen also walked the first two Nevada batters in the third inning, but he followed those free passes up with back-to-back strikeouts, then Bosworth was caught trying to steal third on a great throw by Ballard catcher Josh Neville to end the inning. The Cubs never put more than one runner on base in any of the final four innings, as Andersen kept them off balance by combining smart pitching with great location.
"I was hitting the corners and the outside of the plate," Andersen said. "I just wanted to be calm and not think about it too much - don't think about striking people out, just go at it like every other game."
Andersen received all the offensive support he needed in the third inning when Ballard put two runs on the board. Ryan Bridgewater hit a leadoff single and scored on a sacrifice fly from Garret Alt, Brett Shaeffer walked and scored on an RBI single from Mitchell Smith, while Ross Larson also singled for Ballard in the third.
The Bombers then gave Andersen plenty of breathing room in the fourth inning by plating three more runs. Bridgewater hit an RBI single to left field off Nevada relief pitcher Nick Sutton, while Jeff Von Arb singled and scored on an error and Larson drove in Bridgewater on a sacrifice fly.
Bridgewater completed a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate in the sixth inning when he ripped a one-out triple to right field. He later scored his third run on a Cub error for the game's final run.
"They tried to throw me on the outside and I took the first two (hits) the other way," Bridgewater said. "I think the last one was the first pulled ball I've had all season."
Bridgewater said it felt good to step up as a senior to keep his final season going.
"I just wanted to be behind Nate and give him some run support," Bridgewater said. "Luckily, I came through."
Larson and Smith each finished with a hit and an RBI and Von Arb and Shaeffer both singled and scored once for the Bombers offensively, while Alt had one RBI and courtesy runner Dan Claussen scored once. The victory put Ballard at 13-15 on the season and the Bombers advanced to play Boone for the district championship Monday at Boone.
Nevada ended its season with a 7-19 record. Despite the losing record, the Cubs entered Friday's game playing solid baseball as they had upset Raccoon River Conference powers Perry and Carlisle at the end of the regular season.
"I don't know if it was a mental thing, but we just didn't get it done," Nevada head coach Brad Cross said. "We uncharacteristically watched too many strike threes go by. We were also trying to lay off the high pitch, but we went after too many high pitches."
The loss may have ended the season for the Cubs, but Cross said it did nothing to diminish a strong close to the year by his squad. Nevada also picked up wins over two more traditional RRC powers in Carroll and Saydel to go along with the victories over Perry and Carlisle.
"I don't believe, in the Raccoon River Conference, that we've ever beaten those four teams in the same year before," Cross said. "After the last few weeks and the run we've had, it was a heck of a season."
Ross Van Allen was the losing pitcher for Nevada against Ballard as he allowed four earned runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts in three innings, while Sutton gave up two unearned runs on two hits with one strikeout and no walks.
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|
N 000 000 0 - 0 2 4
B 002 301 X - 6 7 0
N: Ross Van Allen, Nick Sutton (4) and Alex Cross
B: Nate Andersen and Josh Neville
WP: Andersen
LP: Van Allen
3B: B - Ryan Bridgewater
GRIMES - Ballard completed the regular season with a 9-4 victory over Dallas Center-Grimes July 15 at Grimes.
The Bombers totaled 12 hits and Jacob Overton threw a solid game on the mound as Ballard ended Raccoon River Conference competition with a 6-10 record.
Taylor Godwin went 3-for-4 with a double, steal and two runs and RBI apiece as the top hitter for Ballard in the win. Josh Neville and Nate Andersen each knocked in two runs and Garret Alt was 2-for-5 with a triple, run and RBI. Brett Shaeffer and Ross Larson each singled and scored twice and Jeff Von Arb reached base four times.
Overton gave up four earned runs on six hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings to earn the victory.
TAMA - Ballard came through with a 6-1 non-conference road victory over South Tama July 14 at Tama.
The Bombers showed great patience at the plate, while Zach Miller, Brandon Franklin and Brennan Manfull combined to shut down the South Tama batters all game long.
Ballard ended up drawing 12 walks as a team to go along with six hits. Ryan Bridgewater was the offensive star in the game for the Bombers as he went 3-for-4 with two walks a run, steal and two RBI, while Ross Larson also drove in two runs and Jeff Von Arb scored twice.
Taylor Godwin drew the most free passes for Ballard with three, while Von Arb, Brett Shaeffer and Josh Neville each drew two walks. Shaeffer and Neville also each had a single, while Nate Andersen singled, scored and drove in a run.
Miller gave up just one hit in four innings and he didn't allow an earned run while recording five strikeouts to earn the victory. Franklin gave up two hits and he had two strikeouts in two innings and Manfull fanned one batter and he allowed one hit in one inning of work.
