Fatima played host to Linn on Friday during senior night and the Comets put the game away 10-0 in the fifth.

“Our pitching and defense were good tonight,” said Fatima coach Tyler VanGerpen. “Hopefully, we can take something from this and keep going forward. We saw some success up and down the lineup.”

One difference from other games is that Fatima rotated senior pitchers through so everyone got a chance to throw on Senior Night.

“We gave them a chance to throw at home in front of their parents one more time, and treated it like a bullpen day,” said VanGerpen. “We don’t play again until next Thursday, so it was an opportunity to keep people fresh.”

Linn skipper Dan Campbell said he was hoping for a better outcome. “Our record isn’t real hot but it’s a rivalry game and anything can happen,” he said. “We have to put the ball in play and we have to play defense. You’re not going to win when you don’t score, obviously, but our defense had some issues.”

Fatima only scored in the second and fifth, but they were big innings.

In the fifth, Jacob Schulte (1-2) led off with a single but the next two batters went down. Jack Robertson (1-2) drew a two-out walk and then Nolan Jaegers (1-2, RBI) delivered a single to left field to plate courtesy runner Glenn Berhorst (in for Schulte) from third.

Leading 7-0, Greyson Juergensmeyer (1-2, 2 RBI) doubled to center field to drive in Jaegers and Robertson. An error that allowed Graham Boeckmann (1-3, 2 RBI) to reach scored the final run to end the game.

Neither team scored in the first. Linn went down in order in the top of the frame. Blake Gentges (1-2, RBI) reached third for Fatima after being hit by a pitch to lead off the game, but he was stranded there.

In the second, Linn’s Cody Leivian (1-1) led off with a walk, moved to second on a sac bunt by Trevor Murray (1-1), and then to third on a passed ball. However, he too was left on base.

“I think if we score there, it’s a whole different game,” said Campbell. “I really liked our chances there. We didn’t need much, just a ground ball and maybe we get a run but it didn’t happen.”

Instead, the Comets took control of the game in the bottom of the second with six runs.

J. Robertson doubled to center, and was joined on the bases by Jaegers and Juergensmeyer, each of whom walked. Boeckmann stepped to the plate and smashed a double to right field to score two and push Juergensmeyer to third. Gentges, in his second at-bat, hit a grounder up the middle and beat the throw to first despite a great effort by Linn pitcher Austin Dudenhoeffer. Boeckmann and Juergensmeyer scored on the play.

With a 4-0 lead, Brody Kleffner (1-2, RBI) doubled to drive in Gentges. Schulte walked and Kleffner advanced to third on a passed ball, then scored on a sac-fly by Easton Stuckenschneider (RBI) for a 6-0 lead.

Linn found some offense in the top of the fourth when Leivian delivered a two-out single to center field, and Murray followed suit with a single to just about the same location. However, both were stranded.

The Wildcats posted their third and final hit in the top of the fifth when Curtis Deeken (1-2) sent the ball through the left side. He too was left on base.

Jaegers got the start and in two innings walked one and struck out two. J. Robertson threw two innings of relief, allowing two hits while striking out two. In the final inning, Gentges gave up one hit and struck out two.

For Linn, Dudenhoeffer started and allowed one earned run on two hits, with three strikeouts and three walks in 2.3 innings. In one inning of relief, Deeken allowed three earned runs on three hits with one walk.

Prior to the game, fans recognized members of the championship team from 2013. “It’s always fun when you can see the past come back, and remember all the success this program has had,” said VanGerpen.

In 2013, the Comets under Head Coach Scott Kilgore and assistant coaches Dustin Hays, Jeff Adamson, and Ethan Williams, went 23-5 and defeated Springfield Catholic in the championship game.

Seth Lehmen and Patrick Schnieders threw complete games from the first game of districts through the state title game. Throughout these games, they combined  to give up four runs, only two of those earned, in 43 innings pitched. 

Members of the 2013 Fatima Comets were Head Coach Scott Kilgore and assistant coaches Dustin Hays, Jeff Adamson, and Ethan Williams, players Hunter Hennier, John Fick, Seth Lehman, Patrick Schnieders, Reid Kesel, Nolan Bax, Brady Weber, Jake Breese, Austin Peters, Ben Holterman, Zack Hudspeth, Tanner Gentges, Ryan Mebruer, Gavin Williams, Will Robertson, and manager Jake “Stewy” Stuart.