Gunnar Alm homered twice in the opener and Nate Fagan drove in three runs in the nightcap as Polk County split a Western Highlands Conference baseball doubleheader with Mitchell on Friday.
Mitchell won the first game 8-5 before the Wolverines rallied to take the second game 8-5.
Game 1: Mitchell 8, Polk County 5
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Alm put on a show in the opener, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, three runs scored and two RBI. He also reached the 100th hit milestone of his varsity career in the game.
Polk County (6-4, 3-1) jumped out to an early lead when Alm led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to cut Mitchell’s early 2-0 lead to 2-1.
The Wolverines pulled within 4-3 in the third inning when Alex Perry drove in a run with a single and Gavin Waldbillig followed with a sacrifice fly. Alm tied the game 4-4 with his second solo home run in the fourth inning.
Mitchell (2-6, 2-2) regained the lead in the fifth inning, scoring three runs to take a 7-4 advantage. The Mountaineers added an insurance run in the seventh.
Polk County scored a run in the fifth when Cooper Meyer’s groundout brought home Nate Fagan, who had singled.
Perry finished 1-for-4 with an RBI, Fagan went 2-for-4 with a double and Meyer was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base.
Game 2: Polk County 8, Mitchell 5
The Wolverines bounced back in the nightcap, scoring three runs in the first inning and never trailing.
Polk County loaded the bases with one out in the first when Alm and Noah Harden drew walks and Fagan singled to drive home Alm. Meyer’s fielder’s choice grounder brought home Harden, and Fagan scored on a wild pitch to give the Wolverines a 3-0 lead.
Mitchell responded with four runs in the third inning, three of those on an AJ Mackey home run. But Polk County answered in the fourth, scoring two runs to regain a 5-4 advantage. Fagan’s single drove in Harden, and Meyer walked with the bases loaded to force in Perry.
The game stood tied at 5-5 until the seventh inning when Polk County broke through for three runs. Zalen McCraw singled and Alm walked before Harden delivered a two-run single. Perry reached on a dropped third strike, allowing Harden to advance to third, and Fagan’s single brought home the insurance run.
Fagan led the offensive attack with four hits in five at-bats and three RBI. Harden reached base all five times, going 1-for-1 with four walks (tying the school record), three runs scored and two RBI. Meyer added an RBI, McCraw finished 1-for-1 with a run and a stolen base, and Alm scored twice and stole three bases despite going 0-for-1 at the plate as he walked three times, two of those intentional walks.
Perry pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, five runs, three walks and striking out four. Gavin Waldbillig earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of relief, allowing one hit with one walk and one strikeout.
Polk County hosts Mountain Heritage on Tuesday.
