The Audubon Baseball team beat the Exira-EHK Spartans 6-4 powered behind a five-run sixth inning. Despite the Spartans having the game-winning run at the plate, a couple of Brody Schultes strikeouts secured the Wheeler victory.

Head Coach Eric Borkowski said the win was needed after recent struggles.

Exira-EHK tacked on the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. Junior Austin Rasmussen led off with a walk and was driven in by a Josh Nelson single which led to a throwing error.

Starting pitchers Adam Obrecht and Spartan ace Alex Hanson brought their A-game as the two struck out a combined 17 hitters.

In the second, Senior Gabe Jensen drew a lead-off walk for the Wheelers and tied the game at one by scoring on a Spartan fielding error. After that, zeroes were put up on the scoreboard until the bottom of the fourth.

In that fourth inning, five-hole hitter Anthony Young steps into the batter’s box and squared up a baseball heading deep towards the left field corner and flies over the fence for a solo home run. As the rest of his team met him at home plate, Exira-EHK took a 2-1 lead and Young hit the second home run all season for the Spartans.

Later in the sixth, the bats got hungry for Audubon. A pair of base hits followed by reaching on a fielding error created a bases loaded opportunity for pinch-hitter Brody Weber.

Weber found the gap in right center and drives in two to give the Wheelers a 3-2 lead. Nine-hitter Aiden Kjergaard copies Weber and brings another pair home. All of a sudden, Audubon had a four-run lead with three outs to go. Senior Mason Steckler contributed heavily to the offensive effort for the Wheelers by going 3-4. Steckler says this was a big confidence booster after his recent slump.

In the bottom of the seventh, three consecutive walks forced Borkowski to make a pitching change. He turned to Schultes who gave up a two-run single right awayoff the bat of Spartan hitter Josiah King to make it a 6-3 ballgame. Schultes settled back in striking out the next two batters he faced and finished with a ground ball out in the infield.

Borkowski complimented Schultes’ grit under pressure.

The Wheelers win their sixth game of the year and face CAM Wednesday night. Meanwhile for the Spartans, they begin postseason play Saturday.