TRURO – Interstate 35 scored seven runs before a single out was made in the first inning Saturday on its way to an 10-4 win over Clarke in Class 2A District 12 play.
With the loss, Clarke ended its season with a record of 3-24. Interstate 35 advanced to Tuesday's district semifinal against Des Moines Christian.
Darian Brown and Tanner Beem each drove in one run in the first inning before Levi Sandquist and Gideon Smith drove in two runs apiece with base hits, giving Interstate 35 a 6-0 lead, as Clarke pulled starting pitcher Marshall Morrison.
Sophomore Payton Winship came in and Interstate 35 tacked on one more in the first inning, but Winship otherwise shut down the Roadrunner bats.
Clarke got some offense going in the top of the third inning, as senior Billy Otto hit an RBI single with the bases loaded. Winship followed with an three-run triple to cut the Interstate 35 lead to 7-4.
But, Clarke couldn't push Winship across the plate, stranding him at third.
Interstate 35 answered back in the bottom half of the third inning with a Brock Bush RBI single for the 8-4 margin.
The third inning proved to be the only hiccup in an otherwise clean game for Elijah Smith on the hill for the Roadrunners.
Smith pitched six innings, giving up only four hits while walking five and striking out six. Brown closed out the game by striking out the side in the seventh inning.
Interstate 35 then appeared to have picked up an 11-6 win over Des Moines Christian Tuesday night in the semifinal round.
However, as Smith entered the game to pitch in relief, DMC coaches alerted the Woodward-Granger AD that Smith was ineligible to pitch because of the state's new pitch count rule.
Smith threw 103 pitches Saturday and needed four days of rest before he could pitch again.
The game concluded, and after a meeting of athletic directors and a call to the Iowa High School Athletic Association, it was determined Interstate 35 had to forfeit the game. Officially, Des Moines Christian was declared the winner, 7-0.