Tense moments were met by clutch plays as the No. 3 in Class 2A Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk baseball team scored a signature win to begin the new season at Class 4A Muscatine Tuesday 4-3. It was a contest that never saw the Hawks trail, and the Muskies never go away. After a scoreless first, Golden Hawk catcher Brock Harland put Mid-Prairie on the board with a two out, two RBI single scoring Cain Brown and Cam Pickard to make it 2-0 Hawks. In the bottom half, Muscatine cashed in a pair of walks and a Golden Hawk error to push across one and cut the lead in half. Mid-Prairie got that tally back in the third when Dylan Henry drilled an RBI base hit to score Lukin Rediger. Muscatine counterpunched again in the third when Darnell Thompson doubled to start the frame and came in on a passed ball.

Again nursing a one-run lead, Mid-Prairie found insurance on a Muscatine miscue as Pickard put the ball in play to the left side and a throwaway brought in Tyler Helmuth to make it 4-2. Despite the Muskies getting within a single run once more down the stretch, scoring once in the sixth, the Golden Hawks came up with a series of clutch defensive plays, including a 7-6-2-5 double play in the fifth that included Brady Weber, Karsen Grout, Helmuth and Pickard, a 1-6-3 double play in the sixth from Brown to Pickard to Bowen Burmeiester and a Brown pick-off in the seventh. After the contest, Golden Hawk head coach Kyle Mullet talked about those clutch plays and his takeaways. “These first games are about knocking the cobwebs off and it’s great to see those guys that fast to action, on-time with where they need to be with the ball and make those plays. We put the ball in play. We hit well. Defensively, we had three errors. If we clean those up we have a shut out. Whoever can play the cleanest defense and throw strikes is going to have success. We are trying to play the best defense that we can and work with our pitchers.”

Collin Miller started for Mid-Prairie and got the win, throwing three innings, allowing one hit, two runs, walking two and striking out five. Brown recorded a six out save, surrendering just two hits and one walk while striking out three. Harland finished two for four with a pair of RBI. Mid-Prairie is 1-0 on the year and will next host West Branch Monday.