The No. 12 ranked Eddyville-Blakesburg Rocket baseball team swept No. 3 Mid-Prairie in a doubleheader Wednesday night at Ron Welsch Field in Eddyville. Both games ended with matching 5-2 scores. In a pair of contests heard on AM and FM KCII, the Rockets took advantage of early Golden Hawk miscues in game one, scoring three times in the first inning on a pair of Mid-Prairie errors and three wild pitches against starter Aidan Rath. Mid-Prairie got on the board in the third when Rath belted a solo homer to right. The Rockets would strike again in the bottom half, capitalizing on another Golden Hawk error as Tanner Ray doubled down the right field line to drive in two and make it 5-1. Mid-Prairie broke through in the fifth with a single tally when Will Cavanagh grounded out to bring in Rath and pull the Hawks within 5-2 but the Rockets closed down the Golden Hawk rally late for the win. None of the runs EBF scored were earned as the Hawks committed three errors. Rath took the loss on the hill going three and a third. Jake Swartzendruber worked two and two thirds perfect innings out of the pen. Along with Rath and Cavanagh’s RBI, Cain Brown added two hits.

In the nightcap, Mid-Prairie jumped on top first with an unearned run as Kayden Reinier singled and came home on an error. EBF got a run in the bottom of the second as Ethan Davis scored on a wild pitch to tie things at one. The Hawks went back ahead in the third when Reinier reached on an error and Rath doubled to the left center field gap to make it 2-1. Things stayed that way until the sixth with Golden Hawk freshman starter Karson Grout in control. Things would break down for the Hawks in the Rockets final at bat as EBF scored four times on three Mid-Prairie errors and a wild pitch in the inning to take a 5-2 lead. The Rockets would close the Hawks out in the top of the seventh to secure the win. Mid-Prairie head coach Kyle Mullet talked Wednesday about what he saw from his team. “Got out to kind of a slow start tonight on the mound and defensively. At the plate we were able to get guys on but not get that timely hit. I felt like we couldn’t catch a break tonight. We put the ball in play, sent the ball to some gaps but their outfielders did a great job running things down.”

Mid-Prairie had a tough night in the field. The Hawks entered the doubleheader with the fourth highest fielding percentage in 2A but committed six costly errors between the two games, leading to nine of the Rockets 10 runs scored in the two contests being unearned. The Hawks stranded 18 runners on base between the two games. Grout took the tough luck loss in game two, going five and a third, allowing four hits, five runs, walking three and striking out six. Reinier scored twice in the loss. Mid-Prairie is now 10-4 and is back in action tonight at Mount Mercy against Bellevue.