Nikes snap Hounds 3-game streak

FORT MADISON – The Fort Madison Bloodhounds dropped a 6-0 decision to Class 1A No. 1 Burlington Notre Dame Friday night.
The Hounds held off arguably the area’s best high school baseball team for six innings behind some stellar pitching from junior Luke Hellige and solid defense.
The Bloodhound went 4 1/3 innings allowing just three hits and one run earned while fanning two.
The Nikes opened the game with a couple one-out hits including a double by Caden Schwenker that moved runners into scoring position. Eli Oleson then hit a sacrifice fly to right scoring Spencer Brent. Hellige would get a ground out to end the inning and then the teams would go scoreless for the next four innings.
Fort Madison had two runners on with one out in the bottom of the second, but back-to-back strikeouts by the Nikes’ Jaxon Sadler would end that threat. The Hounds would put two more on with one out in the bottom of the fourth when Tateum Schelic and Stephan Berlett would both single. But again back-to-back strikeouts would strand both runners.
In the bottom of the fifth inning Michael Fuller would open the bottom half with a walk and Brody Cashman would get hit by a pitch. Mitchell would pop up a sacrifice bunt attempt for the first out. Hunter Cresswell would fan and then Fuller would get picked off at second to end the inning.
Brent would reach on an error to open the sixth, but he would get caught stealing second , and Berlett, on in relief of Hellige, would get the next two hitters to end the inning.
Fort Madison would go down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the sixth and then the flood gates would open in the top of the seventh.
Berlett would get a strikeout to open the seventh, but then a single and an RBI double by Logan Brent would make it 2-0. Jeremiah Crow reached on an error and then an RBI single would make it 3-0 with just one out.
The Hounds walked the next hitter to set up a force anywhere, but a wild pitch would plate another run before Brent would come up with a single to right scoring two more runs setting the final at 6-0.
Hellige suffered the loss giving up the one run in the bottom of the first inning. Berlett’s line was five runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Schelich, Berlett and Fuller had the only hits for Fort Madison (7-5, 3-2 in Southeast Conference).
The Hounds travel to Davenport today for games with West and Central beginning at noon.
Thursday night Schelich got the win in a 4-3 conference win over Washington, the Hounds third win over the Demons this week. Schelich also had two hits in the win. Cresswell had one hit and an RBI. Berlett had the only other RBI for the Hounds in the win. Reece Huey,  and Aiden Mitchell also had hits in Thursday’s game. Fort Madison scored one run each in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings. Washington put up all three runs in the first inning with Huey on the mound.