HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: A no-no on senior night

Staff Report

Dylan Fouch was dialed in Thursday night. 

The senior right-hander tossed a no-hitter in his final home start, silencing South Central Calhoun across five innings, guiding the Rams to a commanding, 11-0 victory on senior night. 

The sterling pitching performance and a quick-strike offense powered Greene County to it’s sixth consecutive win. The Rams are now two games over .500 (13-11 overall) with one game remaining, a road tilt with North Polk. 

Thursday’s win secured the baseball program no worse than a .500 record for the year and a winning record in the regular season. 

The Rams last finished the summer with a winning record in 2015, when they went 19-11 overall and tied for second in the Heart of Iowa Conference. 

Greene County wasted little time putting their stamp on the non-conference game July 6, plating a staggering nine runs in the bottom of the first inning. 

The Rams added two more in the second inning and Fouch took care of it on the mound from there. 

He struck out four Titan batters and allowed just three walks on 68 pitches. The senior lowered his season ERA to a team-leading 1.44 while improving his record to 5-2. He’s allowed just eight earned runs in 39 innings while walking 10, holding opponents to a batting average of .198. The Ram pitching staff as a whole now maintains a 2.38 ERA, which is ninth lowest in the state but third best in a stellar Heart of Iowa Conference. North Polk leads the way with a 1.88 ERA while Gilbert boasts a 2.28 team ERA. 

Senior Chase Stoline went two-for-three with three stolen bases and an RBI. The lead-off hitter now has 34 thefts on the year, the second best mark in all of 3A. The center fielder holds an 11 steal lead over PCM’s Preston Van Wyk (23) among players in the Heart of Iowa Conference.

Ben Wilkens and freshman designated hitter, Nick Breon each drove in three runs, apiece, while Austin Delp and Tom Gannon each collected a pair of RBI as well. 

The Rams needed just eight hits to collect their double digit run total, tallying 12 total steals as a team, improving their conference-leading mark to 91, which is 14 more than PCM. 

Greene County last lost June 23, a narrow 11-10 defeat at the hands of South Hamilton. They’ve ripped off three straight home wins, securing a winning record at home with a 6-5 mark this summer. 

The Rams have just one regular season game remaining, a road tilt with HOIC foe, North Polk Tuesday, July 11. The Comets (22-6)  are fresh off a 1-0 win over fourth-ranked Saydel. They sit just a half game back of the conference lead (12-3) as they need a win over Greene County to secure at least a share of the conference title with Saydel (13-3). 

The Rams fell 8-4, back on June 13 in Jefferson in the season’s first matchup. 

Greene County opens postseason play in 3A district 15 Friday, July 14 against ADM (17-11). First pitch is set for 5 p.m. in Harlan. The winner will face either No. 2 Harlan or Carroll Monday, July 17 in the district final.