Baseball: Tigers power past Little Cyclones

The scouting report of West Des Moines Valley is a nightmare for an opposing pitcher.

The Class 4A No. 5 Tigers? normal lineup features seven batters hitting over .340, four of whom are batting over .400.

?You?ve got to hit your spots and use a lot of offspeed,? Ames High left-hander Alex Brammer said. ?They?re great hitters. They have power all through the order.?

Brammer, who started the first game of a doubleheader at Brookside Park on Thursday, and the other Little Cyclones pitchers learned just how dangerous the Tigers can be at the plate.

Valley slugged six homers and 27 hits over the two games, earning 15-1 and 9-1 wins.

?It was men against boys tonight,? Ames coach Eric Bappe said. ?Those guys are going to compete for a state title.?

The Tigers (23-8) hit five homers in the first game.

Ben Miller connected for a second-inning grand slam. Austin Stephens hit a three-run homer, Jake Plath a two-run homer, and Tanner Hinkle and Nate Meyer each had solo blasts.

Jake Pauley hit a two-run homer in the second game.

All six homers came from different batters.

?If you make mistakes on these guys, they?ll make you pay ? big time,? Bappe said. ?Everybody is formidable in their order.?

Ames (3-25), on the other hand, struggled as the team lost for the 20th straight game.

The Little Cyclones collected seven hits over the two games.

In the first game, Toran Shahidi doubled, and Brian Pierce, Jacob Hurley and Cade Thompson singled.

In the second game, Shahidi, Alex Brammer and Bo Brammer all singled.

?We have to start hitting again,? Alex Brammer said. ?We started off the season hitting well. We need to keep at it and get back to that point.?

Ames introduced a new pitching strategy Thursday, using three different pitchers in each game.

Alex Brammer was relieved after three innings and second-game starter Austin Nowers after four.

?We found our starters typically do well for four innings,? Bappe said. ?So we wanted to keep bringing in a fresher arm and a different look.?

It wasn?t a match for the potent Tigers lineup.

?Those guys are good, really good,? Bappe said. ?That?s a program we have to strive to be like.?

Game 1

West Des Moines Valley 181 23 ? 15 15 1

Ames 000 01 ? 1 4 1

WP ? Nate Whitham; LP ? Alex Brammer.

Game 2

West Des Moines Valley 1003 040 1 ? 9 12 0

Ames 000 001 0 ? 1 3 0

WP ? Austin Stephens; LP ? Austin Nowers.

Jacob Laxen can be reached at (515) 663-6928 or jlaxen@amestrib.com.

Source: http://amestrib.com/sections/sports/preps/baseball-tigers-power-past-little-cyclones.html

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