No. 4 Vikings shock No. 1 Athletics in Section 1A Tournament play
Published 8:35 pm Monday, May 26, 2025
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Lyle-Pacelli’s Logyn Brooks takes a swing at a pitch Monday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Kael Steele goes through his delivery. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Hunter Simonson celebrates a first inning run against the Athletics in Seltz Field Monday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Lyle-Pacelli’s Hunter VaDeer goes through his wind-up against Hayfield. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
The No. 4 seeded Hayfield baseball team had its hands full as it was up against two-time defending Section 1A champion Lyle-Pacelli and it’s ace pitcher Hunter VaDeer, a Division I Creighton University commit. But the Vikings didn’t flinch as they came out swinging in an 8-6 win over the top-seeded Athletics in a Section 1A Tournament game in Seltz Field Monday.
Hayfield (13-9 overall) didn’t rack up a ton of hits, but it got them when it counted. Freshman Axel Meek got it started when he slapped a two-run single to right field to put Hayfield up 3-0 in the top of the first inning, and junior Ben Nelson finished it when he knocked in two more runs to make it 8-2 in the top of the seventh inning.
Meek said the Vikings came into the game without any fear or intimidation of going against a top pitcher and a top team.
“Last night we moved the pitching machine closer and we set it up higher speeds so we could get to the ball and that just translated to the game today,” Meek said. “When we practice, we practice hard and on game days, the dugout stays energized the entire game.”
LP (19-4 overall), which had its season end on a 3-0 loss to No. 11 Lewiston-Altura in the elimination round, pulled to within 3-2 when VaDeer belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, but LP didn’t score again until it put together a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh. LP had a runner on third with two outs when relief pitcher Eric Bermea struck out Dawson Jenkins to end the game.
“We were up by six (going into the seventh), I just had to trust my defense and throw strikes and we eventually got there,” said Bermea, who also had a double. “We were all confident today, even going against Hunter. It was a big team win for us today.”
Hayfield head coach Kasey Krekling said the goal was for his team to stay selective with the pitches they went after.
“Our top six hit the ball hard and that’s impressive because VaDeer is probably the best pitcher in class A. That’s the best we have hit him off of the years, he’s phenomenal. But our guys had a really good approach and I think we pulled more balls than they’ve seen all year,” Krekling said. “You have to hit strikes. You can’t help him and swing at bad pitches and you have to make a split second decision. If you swing at balls, you have no chance.”
Hayfield will play No. 3 Southland in a semifinal game in Seltz Field,
Hayfield 3 0 0 0 3 0 2 – 8 5 0
LP 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 – 6 6 1
Hayfield pitching: Kael Steele (W) 6 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 ER, 7 K; Eric Bermea, ⅔ IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 1 K
Hayfield hitting: Rylan Nelsen, 0-for-3, BB; Hunter Simonson, 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BBs; Eric Bermea, 2-for-3, double, 2 R, BB; Steele, 1-for-2, RBI, R, SB, 2 BBs; Josiah Dornink, 0-for-3, RBI, R, BB; Axel Meek, 1-for-3, 3 RBIs; Ben Nelson, 1-for-4, double, 2 RBIs; Layne Nelson, 0-for-4; Austin Dahle, 0-for-3, BB
LP pitching: Hunter VaDeer (L) 5 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 6 BB, 6 R, 5 ER, 11 K; Landon Meyer, 1 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 1 K
LP hitting: Grady Meyer, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB; Landon Meyer, 0-for-2, RBI, R, HBP; VaDeer, 1-for-1, HR, 3 RBIs, R, BB; Logyn Brooks, 2-for-4, 2 doubles, RBI; Dawson Jenkins, 0-for-3, BB; Isaac Small, 0-for-2, BB; Hunter Wollenburg, 1-for-3, double, R; Case Koopal, 0-for-3; Banning Korfhage, 0-for-2, R, BB
