STC senior, Dalton Doyle, is greeted by teammates after he hit a homerun on Thursday, June 25 when the Trojans played Beckman. STC topped the Trailblazers in game one 4-3. Chronicle Photo/Allison Graham

South Tama baseball hosted the reigning 2014 state runner-up, Dyersville Beckman on Thursday, June 25. The Trailblazers fell to Davenport Assumption 1-0 in last year’s state championship game.

STC relied on their defense and key opportunities early in the game to notch a 4-3 win in game one. Beckman got out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. But the Trojans who had suffered through a tough losing streak last week found themselves on an uphill swing. They swept CPU on the road Tuesday evening and were looking to keep things rolling.

Senior, Nick Wilgenbusch was leading the Trailblazers from the mound. First up from the plate was STC’s Cody Kellogg. Kellogg’s hit flew out to center field earning him a triple. Lane Koch was second up for the Trojans. Koch hit a foul ball just off of home plate that caught the Trailblazers sleeping on the play. Kellogg took advantage and made it home for a run. Pitcher Grant Koch then hit a line drive to left field for a single. Nick Ryan came in as a courtesy runner for Koch. Colson Frakes’s single then landed him on first. Dalton Doyle hit a fly out to left field. Frakes and Ryan worked the bases during Mitch Thede’s at-bat. Frakes managed to sneak home which tied up the score at 2-2. Wilgenbusch then walked Thede and Bailey Chyma, which loaded the bases for the Trojans. Not happy with how things were progressing, Beckman switched out pitchers bringing in Colin Squires. Squires hit Cael Kellogg with a pitch. This kept the bases loaded for STC while bringing in Ryan for a run, which put the Trojans up 3-2.

From here on out the Trojans relied heavily on their defense to keep the Trailblazers at bay. Senior Grant Koch was pitching for the Trojans. Shortstop Dalton Doyle, second baseman Mitch Thede and first baseman Cody Kellogg all contributed to get some key defensive stops throughout the night.

The play of the game came in the bottom of the fifth. The Trojans weren’t seeing much offensive production but with a loud whack of the ball Doyle sent Squires’ pitch sailing over the fence for a homerun! Doyle was joined by his teammates for celebration at the plate and some congratulatory fist bumps. The homerun gave the Trojans some security with a 4-2 lead.

Beckman scored a run in the top of the sixth but it would not be enough to push them over the top.

Doyle came in to finish out the game in the top of the seventh. The Trailblazers made one last effort but a huge stop at home plate by catcher Cael Kellogg gave the Trojans the 4-3 win.

Game two saw both teams struggling to get their bats swinging. Doyle led the Trojans from the mound. The Trailblazers took game two in a 2-0 victory.