The IMS baseball team finished runners up in the 2014 IMS Classic held Saturday in Kalona. IMS knocked off Danville in game one of the four team tournament by a 7-2 score. IMS jumped on the bears in the first inning when Reggie Hostetler led off the game with a double and was driven in by Tyler Messer’s RBI single. In the third inning Kirby Shelter belted a three run homer to make it 4-0 IMS. With the lead at 5-0, Danville made a push with single runs in the third and fourth innings to get within 5-2. Iowa Mennonite would post single insurance runs in the fifth and seventh innings to finish the win. Messer was four for four in the game with an RBI. Hostetler got the win going four innings, allowing just two hits.

In the championship game IMS faced Keokuk and fell 13-5. The Chiefs kept the hammer down offensively all game, scoring in every inning but one. Keokuk got single runs in the first and second innings and a pair in the third inning. Trailing 4-0 in the third IMS answered with a three spot. Tobyn Bender, Reggie Hostetler and Dallas Nye all scored in frame, Nye, Tanner Leyden and Lane Schrock each had RBI. Following the game Head Coach Danny Hershberger talked about his team’s push to get back in the game.

“I think we’re more patient at the plate. We’ve been playing really well, at the end of the week we had a nice comeback win on Thursday that really set the tone the next couple of days,” Hershberger said.

The Chiefs answered the three from IMS with three of their own in the fourth. Keokuk would get one more in the fifth and a big five run inning in the sixth to put the game out of reach. The final IMS runs came in the sixth inning when Hostetler drove in Jacob Bruns and Kirby Shetler to make the score 13-5. Shetler took the loss on the mound for IMS going six innings, allowing 14 hits, 13 runs, walking four and striking out two. At the plate in the nightcap IMS was led by Brent Brenneman who went two for four. IMS is now 9-11 on the year and travels to Winfield-Mt. Union tonight.