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These young kittens on North Linn’s baseball team can play, too
Lynx like freshman Jackson Nielsen, Liam Thompson and Macoy Winn, as well as sophomores Waylon Raue and Will Sommerfelt lift Class 1A’s No. 5-ranked baseball club over Midland, 13-3, in six innings
Jul. 8, 2025 11:01 pm, Updated: Jul. 9, 2025 12:13 pm
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TROY MILLS - You know all about the Big Three.
Seniors Mason Bechen, Cole Griffith and Cael Benesh are the heart and soul of this North Linn baseball team, and have been for awhile. They hit 2-3-4 in the Lynx batting order, play great defense behind the plate (Benesh), in center field (Griffith) and at first base (Bechen).
Bechen and Griffith have been super key guys on the mound, Griffith starting Tuesday night’s Class 1A district game at home against Midland that fifth-ranked North Linn won, 13-3, in six innings.
But the reason longtime head coach Travis Griffith says he feels comfortable handing over the program to co-head coach Justin Kress after this season is two-fold. One, Kress is a really good young coach, Griffith feels.
And, two, there are a lot of really good young players that are playing significant roles on a team that is 24-3 and in a district semifinal Saturday night at home against North Tama (14-11). In other words, the success the North Linn baseball program has enjoyed for the better part of a decade and more isn’t just going to disappear.
“I think we’ve got a good, long future ahead of us,” said freshman Liam Thompson, who walked twice, singled twice (including one that capped off a hard-fought nine-pitch at-bat), drove in two runs and for good measure pitched two scoreless innings for the save. “I think we’ll get two or three years of success with our younger players. And more because a lot of our young kids are good, too. I think it’s just going to be a long road of success and wins.”
Griffith found a spot of trouble in the third inning and was replaced by Jackson Nielsen. He’s a freshman and recorded this pitching victory with 1 2/3 scoreless relief innings.
Waylon Raue had three hits and scored three times. He’s just a sophomore.
Will Sommerfelt assumed the leadoff spot in the NL batting order earlier this season because he has a proclivity at getting on base, many times by bunt and getting hit by pitches, and stealing bases. He’s just a sophomore.
“I love the opportunity because I love getting on base and having to score,” said Sommerfelt, who reached all five times he was up including once on a hit pitch and twice on singles that scored runs. “I’ve got great hitters behind me that can do that for me. “It really just helps screw the teams up. They’re not really used to our play style, and it helps us get going.”
North Linn wasn’t facing any old pitching slouch Tuesday night, either, as Midland’s Anthony Harrington came into the game having struck out 61 hitters in 28 innings. The Lynx scored four runs in the bottom of the second, all unearned.
Midland (9-12) scored three times in the third to make it a 4-3 game, but North Linn eventually pulled away, getting a run in the fourth and four each in the fifth and sixth. Midland did not play North Linn’s bunt game very well defensively, which hurt it, and had other defensive miscues.
Coach Griffith felt his team was a bit off in its game, in part because it had to do a lot of work to get the field ready after a very isolated cell produced heavy rain over the school campus for about a half-hour. Eventually, the coaches and players got the field ready to go for the game.
“I thought we executed well,” Griffith said. “Obviously they didn’t cover the bunts well. As soon as you see them miss one bunt, you just keep bunting.”
Dane Ballou had a two-run double for Midland in the third and a RBI double from Harrington. The Eagles did coax seven walks out of the three North Linn pitchers.
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