Bertlshofer's clutch hit propels Burlington baseball team to sweep of Muscatine

Burlington High School senior Tyce Bertlshofer is a clutch performer.

Bertlshofer, who helped the Grayhounds finish fourth in the Class 4A boys state golf tournament last fall and helped the Grayhounds reach the boys state basketball tournament for the first time in 25 years in March, is a big-game performer.

Bertlshofer, who won the Southeast Conference singles championship in tennis last month, continued his winning ways in the Grayhounds' 5-4, 5-0 sweep of a baseball doubleheader with Muscatine Tuesday at Wayne Duke Field.

Bertlshofer came into the opening game hitting a paltry .111 for the season. There was no one BHS head coach Brock Schneden would rather have at the plate with the game on the line.

Bertlshofer delivered a game-winning single over a drawn-in defense to lift the Grayhounds to victory.

Bertlshofer has ice water in his veins, and he came through in the clutch yet again for the Grayhounds.

“I haven’t been hitting the greatest for a while now," Bertlshofer said. "Just big moments like that you live for. When you get the opportunity to fulfill it, you have to knock the nerves down and take it on. I found a pitch that I liked and I was able to put the barrel on it. It just feels great. It’s a moment everyone wants to be in.”

“Tyce coming up there with the bases loaded and the infield drawn in and getting the job done, driving that ball out there to seal it for us, that was awesome," Schneden said. "I was really pleased to see him come through there.”

BHS (8-3), which now has won seven straight games, looked like anything but a red-hot team for the first six innings of the opener.

Muscatine (2-12) took the lead in the opener in the top of the first inning, thanks in part to a home run by Doug Custis and a double by Ethan Cantrell.

Muscatine pitcher Cole Hollenbaugh baffled the Grayhounds, keeping them off-balance and getting them to pop up.

“We were flat. Batting practice … I think we should take that a little bit more serious," BHS junior Hunter Ford said. "We need to get started earlier. We have had trouble with that throughout the season. That’s been a problem for us.”

“We just didn’t take advantage when we got into good counts and we didn’t get some of our better swings off for whatever reason," Schneden said. "I think we came out a little flat those first couple innings. For whatever reason we just didn’t step in the box ready to attack pitches. That’s what put us in the situation we were in.”

BHS got on the scoreboard on a fielder's choice by Juan Reyes in the fourth inning. Reyes brought the Grayhounds within 4-3 in the sixth inning with a towering two-run home run to left field.

That set the stage for the dramatics in the seventh inning. Noah Nixon signed to lead off the frame and Jacob Zahner was hit by a pitch. A bunt single by Alex Fawcett loaded the bases for Mateo Rascon, who lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to knot the game at 4.

After a Brock Dengler infield single loaded the bases again, Bertlshofer delivered his game-winning hit.

“That’s probably the best contact I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve never been a power hitter, so to hit it to the fence is good for me," Bertlshofer said. “I really don’t think Coach thought we were going to get back through the lineup, but we did. I’m sure it’s not what he planned, but it worked out in the end.”

Ford got the Grayhounds off to a fast start in the nightcap wth a bases-loaded single, driving in courtesy runner Skylar Schwartz and Owen Fawcett.

“We came up huge," Ford said. "Bases loaded. We needed a run. That hit gets us started. It gets us all our momentum and gets us ahead.”

That would be all the run support Dengler would need. After picking up the win in the first game in relief of Zahner and Drake Timmerman, Dengler picked up another win by trowing five shut out innings.

Ford mopped up in the last two innings for the save.

“Pitching is not my favorite, but they need me," Ford said. "We have eight games this week, so everyone is going to be pitching. I’m glad that I could come in and close it out and keep Brock’s shut out.”

“We’re starting to find ourselves and we’re starting to put together some decent games," Bertlshofer said. "That’s good for us. We have two more doubleheaders this week and we hope to keep it rolling.”

With a Southeast Conference doubleheader against Mount Pleasant coming up at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Community Field, and games against Davis County and Davenport North in the Breiholz Tournament Saturday at Community Field, Zahner, Timmerman, Dengler and Ford ate up valuable innings to save the rest of the Grayhounds' arms for the remaining four games.

We're trending in the right direction," Schneden said. “We said at the beginning of the week that anybody who can throw, just be ready. We mapped out the week. We had a plan as far as starters and relievers. We’ve been fortunate enough that guys have thrown well enough that we are still on track.”

FIRST GAME

Muscatine. 110. 002. 0 — 4 5 1

Burlington. 000. 102. 2 — 5 10 2

WP — Brock Dengler (2-0). LP — Ty Cozad (0-1). Leading hitters — Burlington: Owen Fawcett 2-3, Noah Nixon 2-3. 2B — Ethan Cantrell (M), Keegan McAtee (M), Fawcett (B). HR — Juan Reyes (B). RBI — Muscatine: McAtee 1; Burlington: Reyes 3, Mateo Rascon 1, Tyce Bertlshofer 1.

SECOND GAME

Muscatine. 000. 000. 0 — 0 6 4

Burlington. 203. 000. x — 5 4 0

WP — Dengler (3-0). LP — Gabe Perales (0-1). Leading hitters — Muscatine: Xavier Lerma 2-4. 2B — Lerma, McAtee, Rascon, O.Fawcett. RBI — Burlington: Hunter Ford 2, O.Fawcett 1, Reyes 1.

Records: Muscatine 2-12; Burlington 8-3.

Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA TODAY Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 31 years. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Bertlshofer's bases-loaded single in bottom of seventh lifs Burlington