Cinderella run ends

July 24--DUBUQUE -- The playoff run was fun while it lasted.

Dubuque Hempstead, the No. 1-ranked baseball team in Class 4A entering Wednesday, ended Clinton's chances at back-to-back appearances in the state tournament in Des Moines. The Mustangs knocked out the River Kings 4-1 at Petrakis Park.

Clinton (16-22-1) got its only run in the first inning off an RBI single from Evan Jackson that scored courtesy runner Nate Harden, running for pitcher Jake Faur. Faur reached base with a single to left field before Johnny Sullivan singled to left-center.

After that, Mustangs pitcher Jeremy Vaassen allowed just four other River Kings baserunners for the remaining six innings.

"That's the way he's been the last three years at this level," Jeff Rapp, the Mustangs' coach, said. "He pitches backwards a lot, throws curveballs for strikes that has made him so successful."

Clinton coach Kevin Cunningham credited the Mustangs' left-handed ace for shutting down a hot offense.

"We didn't get timely hits," he said. "We got guys on base but didn't get them over, but we fought until the very end. Their pitcher got settled in; he kept us off and changed speeds well. There's a reason he came into this game 8-0."

Meanwhile, the Mustangs' big inning came in the fourth when Hempstead broke the 1-1 tie on an RBI single from Jacob Unmacht, then a sacrifice fly RBI by Vaassen.

Hempstead added an insurance run in the fifth inning once the River Kings switched from Faur to Nick Houzenga. Faur faced three batters in the fifth before exiting the mound, where he allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits.

Faur struck out 12 Dubuque Senior hitters the last time he took to the Petrakis Park mound Friday; he had just four against Hempstead on Wednesday.

Despite the win, Rapp credited the River Kings for being a scrappy team, including when the Hempstead guys went to see Clinton's big comeback win earlier this week against North Scott.

"They're competitors, tough kids, and they never quit," Rapp said. "They were a big challenge for us; they never feel they're out of the game. We knew they were going to come out and battle."

Even though Vaassen didn't appear to be in trouble during the late innings, Rapp's team refused to let its guard down.

"We knew we still had work to do," he said. "We weren't putting it on cruise control; we were aware that they could come back at any point."

Hempstead is the No. 2 seed for the state tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines -- Waukee is Class 4A's top seed. There were five Des Moines area schools that qualified for the state tournament. Davenport Assumption was the lone MAC school to qualify, and it made it in 3A.

Alas, the River Kings did not, but that doesn't dampen the fact Clinton finished in the top 16 in Class 4A despite having a disappointing win-loss total.

"We spent most of the season frustrated," Cunningham said. "Our record didn't really speak to what our abilities showed on the field, but we came out and I'm proud of what we did. It wasn't meant to be."

Cunningham also learned a lot about himself through all the tribulations that Clinton experienced this summer.

"I think I'm going to be a better coach in the future, and I kind of got away from some of my basic tendencies," Cunningham said. "John Wooden said it best, 'Players don't want to be criticized, they want to be mentored,' and I think as a coach, I need to get back and mentor the kids more.

"We get to start again in January, and we have some talent in this program," Cunningham said. "We brought up four freshmen who are going to be good, good varsity players."

However, Clinton loses five seniors who will exit the program, including Doug Kennedy, who took the final at-bat of the season.

"I wanted him to have that," Cunningham said. "I think the program owed that to him; he came to work hard every single day."

Another season, Jordan Chapman, knows there's some good to take from a season like this one.

"Not too bad considering what our record was, and we started to come on strong at the right time, but can't hang our heads about losing to the No. 1 team," Chapman said. "No one expected us to be here."

DUBUQUE HEMPSTEAD 4, CLINTON 1

Clinton 100 000 0 -- 1 4 1

Hempstead 001 210 x -- 4 9 0

Jake Faur (5 1/3 ip, 8 h, 4 r, 3 er, 1 bb, 4 so), Nick Houzenga (1 2/3 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 3 so) and Garret Knutsen. Jeremy Vaassen (7 ip, 4 h, 1 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 6 so) and Brady Breitbach. Multiple hits -- Clinton (Johnny Sullivan 2). 2B -- Hempstead (Chris Tomkins). RBIs -- Clinton (Evan Jackson); Hempstead (Tomkins, Vaassen, Nick Kutsch).

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