It always had to happen this way, yes?
Polk County’s senior class did Tuesday what it has done best over the past four years – find a way to win. The Wolverines stared at an early 5-1 deficit and didn’t blink, stealing 15 bases and running Owen out of The Bottoms with a 14-5 setback in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs.
And Gunnar Alm did what he has done so well over the past four years – delivered a moment to remember. In what was likely his final home at-bat, Alm put an exclamation mark on the win with a grand slam, belting his 30th career homer over the fence in left-center in the bottom of the sixth inning.
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Noah Harden shook off a rough early inning and kept Owen in check. Aaron Jackson and Cooper Meyer each had a pair of hits. Alex Perry drove in a couple of runs. Zalen McCraw drove in one. Blake Anderson led perhaps the most spirited dugout cheers that you’ll ever hear.
Seniors making sure they’d walk off their home field for the last time with heads held high.
“Like I’ve said a million times, our goal this season was to have a winning season for them for the first time, and we’ve done that,” said Polk County head coach Billy Alm. “This is just icing on the cake right now.”
Polk County (16-9) moves on to a second-round matchup at Walkertown. That game is set for Friday at 6 p.m.
Owen’s Kevin Perez dropped a three-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole in the top of the third, helping give the Warhorses a 5-1 lead. The Wolverines answered with four runs in the bottom of the third in a manner that foreshadowed how the rest of the game would fare.
Alm singled to open the inning, stole second and third, then scored on Harden’s single to left. Harden stole second, then moved to third on a Meyer infield single with two outs.
Polk County has a handful of plays it runs with runners on first and third. One of those got Meyer to second before Jackson reached on an infield single that scored Harden. Jackson then stole second, and another infield single allowed Meyer to score.
Another first-and-third steal resulted in Jackson scoring on an errant throw to home, tying the game at 5-5.
Five hits, only two of them reaching the outfield, five steals, four runs.
“We found out that we could steal a little bit,” Alm said. “So we were putting pressure on them there.
“With the first and third stuff, we work on that every day in practice. They executed it tonight and got us back in the game, got the momentum in our favor and we took it from there.”
Polk scored three runs in the fourth in a similar manner. Alm singled with one out, stole second, stole third and scored on Perry’s base hit to right. Nate Fagan’s single set up runners on first and third, and a balk allowed Perry to score. Meyer then drove home Fagan with a sharp single to left to make it 8-5.
Polk added two more runs in the fifth before a sixth inning that provided a fairytale ending for Alm’s home career. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs before Alm cleared them, hammering a 1-1 pitch just over Owen center fielder Jackson Warnock, who crashed into the fence trying to corral the drive.
Fagan pitched a scoreless seventh in relief of Harden, who scattered six hits and struck out three in earning the win.
Alm finished 4-for-5 with five RBI, a school record-tying five steals and three runs, boosting his career total to 153, currently a state record. Harden was 2-for-4, Meyer was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Jackson was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
