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Ironhawks end on high note Vermilion scores runs in bunches and sweeps Mesabi to end season
Out of the playoff chase, the Vermilion Ironhawks nonetheless made the most of a season-ending series with Mesabi.
The community college baseball team won all four games - all by 10 runs or more - and racked 65 runs in less than 24 hours while sweeping the Norse.
And though the Ironhawks didn’t advance to the regional playoffs, they did become only the third team in program history to reach the 20-win mark. Vermilion finished a busy spring with a 20-23 record.
The Vermilion offense was clicking on all cylinders against the Norse, winning Saturday’s games 15-3 and 17-3, and finishing at home Sunday with 15-5 and 18-8 wins.
Vermilion also recognized all 12 of its sophomores during a pregame ceremony and the Ironhawks and family members lingered long after the second game to take photos and reminisce. “If we weren’t going to make it to the postseason, Sunday was about as good of an ending as we could have hoped for,” said Vermilion head coach Tom Coombe. “There were a lot of family members there, and our sophomores all got to play and contributed, and we played well the entire weekend.”
Sophomore Desoto Hood, a Florida native who finished with seven home runs and 52 runs batted in for the year, joined fellow Florida sophomore Jake Casazza in hitting back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning of Sunday’s finale.
The bombs capped a ninerun inning and served as an exclamation point for the series.
Vermilion erased a 5-0 deficit in the second game, with sophomores Jacob Mickelson and Kelbee Woodham combining to hold the Norse in check after the opening inning.
Casazza, who hit .353 for the season with 41 RBI, was three-for three with four RBI for the game while sophomore Jack Velasquez went three-for-three.
Woodham finished with two hits and three RBI and another sophomore - Mason Kostka - had two hits, two RBI and scored three times.
In Sunday’s opener, Vermilion took control with an eight-run second inning and never looked back.
Sophomore catcher Charlie Spahn ripped three hits in his final game in a Vermilion uniform, while the Ironhawks also got big contributions from three freshmen.
Centerfielder Nick Berglund was three-for-four with three runs scored, Will Thibodeau ripped four hits and scored three runs and shortstop Chris Arambula had three hits while knocking in four runs.
Freshman pitcher Jerron Turney worked four innings to get the win and fanned nine while Xavier Ibarra came on in relief to record another two strikeouts.
Vermilion rapped out 17 hits in Saturday’s first game - played at Rock Ridge - and scored eight times in the top of the first.
Sophomore first baseman Chase Snyder’s bases-clearing triple was part of the first inning uprising and one of many big hits.
Arambula, Hood and Casazza collected three hits each and Vermilion had six extra-base hits in the game.
Woodham added two hits and Berglund finished with two hits and two runs scored to back the pitching of sophomore Marcus Haire, who collected his fifth win of the year, going all five innings and scattering seven hits.
The Ironhawks took advantage of 15 walks issued by Mesabi pitchers in Saturday’s nightcap.
Arambula had two of Vermilion’s five hits while Landon Wilkins worked four innings on the mound to get his fourth win of the spring. Sophomore Jake Palomo fanned two in a scoreless fifth.
