Defending champ Beckman survives Columbus upset bid

DES MOINES - Survive and advance. That's all that matters.You were the overwhelming favorite, but a one-run win works just as good as a 20-run win."Young kids do read papers and that. They do see records and everything," said Dyersville Beckman Coach Tom Jenk Jr., after his top-ranked, top-seeded Blazers survived Waterloo Columbus, 3-2, in a Class 2A state baseball tournament quarterfinal Monday afternoon. "If it was a paper game, we'd have a 10-run rule. But it wasn't a paper game, it was a game we had to go out and play. That's why you play the game. It ended up being a tough, one-run game."Emphasis on the word "tough," as defending champ Beckman (34-6) had to rally from a two-run hole to beat a team that was 17-23. Honestly, no one in Blazer-land should have expected a laugher, considering Columbus handed Beckman one of its six losses in the regular season.The clubs split a Wamac Conference double-header, with the pitcher that beat the Blazers, Konnor Horan, the guy on the mound Monday afternoon at Principal Park."I really thought, coming in, that we were going to win this game," said Columbus Coach Don Spore. "I really did."The Sailors didn't, though they came mighty close. Horan gave up only four hits and didn't walk anyone, with a wild pitch and Todd Engelken sacrifice fly in the fourth scoring two runs that completed the Beckman comeback.Columbus scored twice in the second on ninth-place hitter Jeff Horak's two-run single, but Engelken got one of those back with a two-out RBI double over the left fielder's head in the bottom of the inning."We knew we had to come in and play hard," Engelken said. "Their pitcher threw a good game. Our bats were a little slow, but they came around towards the end of the game."Beckman ace pitcher Joey Lehmann (12-0) allowed just four earned runs in 83 regular-season innings, but Columbus got half that total in the second. The lanky left-hander, headed to Iowa Central Community College, gave up five hits the first three innings, settled down in the fourth and fifth, then got help from some dubious baserunning the final two.The Columbus sixth ended on a pop-up double play, in which a Sailors courtesy runner strayed well too far off first base. The game ended when Isaac Squires lined into a double play to shortstop."I'd never faced these guys," said Lehmann, who struck out eight. "All of a sudden, they come out hitting. I just had to do what I do. Throw strikes and let the defense work."Beckman plays fifth-seeded Roland-Story (28-13) in a 2A semifinal Thursday night at 6.