LaMere walk-off single lifts Ramblers over Balltown

After dropping a one-run decision to Farley on Monday, Key West (28-9, 10-3 Prairie League) rebounded with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Balltown in Peosta on Wednesday night. Brett LaMere served as the hero, driving home the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the ninth to complete a rally from two runs down.

Balltown, behind starting pitcher Steve McDonough, led 3-0 after five innings. The Ramblers finally got on the board with Luis Reyes' RBI ground out in the bottom of the sixth. Key West later took advantage of two key Balltown errors and a free pass to win on LaMere's walk-off in the ninth.

The clutch two-out hit made a winner of Kenny Capesius, who worked three innings in relief of starter Jake Schaeffer. Capesius moved to 8-0 this season by limiting Balltown to a run on three hits while working the seventh, eighth and ninth frames. Schaeffer allowed three unearned runs in six innings before giving way to Capesius.

Both Anthony Ruden and Chris Briggs went 2-for-5 to lead the Rambler attack. LaMere also drove in a run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly.

Two nights earlier Farley got on top of Key West ace Jordan Hohensee (8-3) with five first-inning runs on five hits. Hohensee settled in, but the Ramblers played catch up the rest of the way and ultimately fell 8-7.

Key West made it a tight contest with a four-run third inning that included a two-run double from Andrew Redman and a two-run homer from Chris Briggs, who tied Redman for the team lead with four long balls on the season.

Farley pushed its lead back up to 8-4 with a run each in the fourth and sixth innings of a seven-inning affair. Key West responded with three tallies in the bottom of the sixth, one coming on a Ruden RBI triple to get back in it. In an attempt at a seventh-inning rally, the Ramblers went down 1-2-3.

Ramblers with multiple hits included Ruden (3-for-4), Ben Oglesby (2-for-2), LaMere (2-for-3) and Briggs (2-for-4).

Key West returned to play Thursday (July 31) with a doubleheader at Cascade. The action got started at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday sweep

The Ramblers outscored Holy Cross and Epworth by a combined tally of 17-1 in a pair of seven-inning Prairie League victories on Sunday afternoon. Key West (27-8, 9-2 Prairie League) topped Holy Cross 10-0 in game 1 before taking a 7-1 win over Epworth in game 2.

The Ramblers nearly got back-to-back shutouts from starting pitchers Kenny Capesius and Austin Bradley. Capesius fired a four-hit shutout in game 1 to remain unbeaten at 7-0. He holds a 1.43 ERA in 56.2 innings. Meanwhile, Bradley had a shutout going in the seventh until JJ Connolly's RBI single with two outs.

A strong offensive day began with Key West racking up three first-inning runs in game 1. Andrew Redman got it started with a two-run single on a day in which he reached base in six of his eight plate appearances. Key West got four more runs in the third and one apiece in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. Anthony Ruden led the attack from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

Chris Briggs got the Ramblers on the board in game 2 with a first-inning RBI single. He added another RBI base hit in the third as part of a 2-for-3 game. Ruden went 2-for-2 with three runs, two walks and two stolen bases. Dan Spain went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, one run and one steal. Jake Schaeffer also collected a pair of hits in a 2-for-4 effort versus Epworth.

Capesius ended up with two strikeouts compared to no walks in game 1. Bradley worked around eight bases on balls and struck out eight. Opposing hitters went a combined 7-for-49 (.143) on the day, dropping the opponent batting average to .182 on the year. The Ramblers have outscored their foes 230-71 over 35 games.

Redman scored three runs on the day to give him 39 for the season, tying the team single-season record set by Spain in 2011.

Key West is scheduled to be in action in each of the next four days. The Ramblers are set to play at Farley at 7 p.m. on  Monday.

Key West holds off Dyersville

One-run games have been rare this season for Key West, but on Monday the Ramblers got a ninth-inning tally to break a 5-5 tie at Dyersville and improve to 4-1 in games decided by a single run. With the 6-5 win, Key West (25-8) continued its dominant run in EIHL action, moving to 10-1 in league play.

Jordan Hohensee got the win on the mound to bump his record to 8-2. Aaron Becker took the loss for Dyersville.

At the plate, Dan Spain (2-for-5) and Luis Reyes (2-for-4) both collected two hits apiece for Key West. Spain cracked a pair of doubles. Anthony Ruden cleared the bases with a three-run double in the fourth. Spain ended up scoring the winning run in the ninth on a wild pitch after leading off with one of his two doubles.

Key West moved ahead 5-3 with two runs in the top of the eighth before Dyersville answered with two of its own in the bottom half. Ahead 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth, the Ramblers turned a double play to end the game.

Key West is off until Sunday when it will host a doubleheader, beginning with Holy Cross at 12 p.m. and ending with Epworth at 2 p.m.

Saeugling homer pushes Dubuque past Ramblers

Aaron Saeugling's two-run homer in the top of the eighth broke a 1-1 tie and lifted Dubuque to a 3-1 win over Key West in the first round of the Cascade Tournament on Saturday night. Seeking their first-ever Cascade title, the Ramblers (24-8) were eliminated by a Blues team they had defeated in the first round of the Farley and Worthington tournaments this season.

Facing Dubuque hurler Mark Hennessey, Key West mustered just a single run when Chris Briggs doubled in Andrew Redman in the bottom of the fourth to knot the score. Hennessey and the Ramblers' Dan Spain then traded zeroes until Saeugling's game-winning blast.

Spain struggled with his control, issuing nine walks (three in the first inning). He worked out of nearly every jam while limiting Dubuque to five hits over an eight-inning complete game. He got a key strikeout in the first inning after walking the bases loaded to keep the Blues off the scoreboard. He was then one out away from maintaining a 1-1 tie in the eighth before Saeugling took him deep.

The Ramblers managed four hits off of Hennessey. They also missed out on a prime scoring chance in the first inning when Spain doubled and Andrew Redman was hit by a pitch with one out. Hennessey got Briggs and Tim Carty to fly out to end the frame.

Key West and Dubuque have already met six times this season. The Ramblers are 4-2 in those contests.

The Ramblers will return to action on Monday when they play at Dyersville at 7 p.m. Key West is 9-1 in EIHL play.

Ramblers rally back from four-run deficit for road win

Down 4-0 after four innings of play at Worthington on Thursday, Key West chipped away until taking the lead for good on Ben Oglesby's RBI single in the eighth on the way to a 7-4 triumph. The late offense helped make a winner of starting pitcher Kenny Capesius, who improved to 6-0 this season. As a team, the Ramblers are 24-7 overall and 9-1 in EIHL action.

Three first-inning unearned runs allowed host Worthington to jump on top early. Key West got back into it by getting a run each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. The Ramblers then got back-to-back two out RBI singles from Luis Reyes and Oglesby for the tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth off of Worthington starter Travis Rahe.

First baseman Chris Briggs put an exclamation point on the victory by crushing his third home run of the season, a two-run blast that easily cleared the right field wall in the top of the ninth.

Capesius worked the first eight innings for Key West. He allowed four runs (one earned) on nine hits and no walks. He struck out five in the process of remaining unbeaten. The Ramblers then turned to Austin Bradley in the ninth. Bradley worked a 1-2-3 frame to collect his team-leading third save.

Anthony Ruden (3-for-5) and Andrew Redman (2-for-4) both notched two or more hits for the Ramblers. Redman also stole two bases and scored a run in the sixth. Ruden scored a run, drove one in and had one steal from the leadoff spot in the lineup.

Rahe ended up being charged with four earned runs over nine innings. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate. He was robbed of a possible home run in his last at bat when Key West left fielder Tony Ebel made a difficult catch up against the wall in the bottom of the eighth.

The Ramblers will be back in action on Saturday for a first-round tournament game in Cascade. Key West takes on Dubuque at 7:30 p.m.

Ramblers fall at Farley despite stellar outing from Hohensee

EIHL all-star game starter Jordan Hohensee did not allow a single hit until the sixth inning, but host Farley made a single unearned run stand up in a 1-0 pitcher's duel. Farley's Jared McIntosh flashed dominant stuff and wiggled out of a couple jams to keep the Ramblers in check. Key West fell to 23-7 overall and 7-2 in Prairie League action.

The game's lone run came home when Farley's Pat Grau hit a sharp grounder toward the first base line that eluded Chris Briggs and allowed Craig Kerper to score from second in the bottom of the sixth. That play came on the heels of back-to-back singles from Craig Kerper and Brian Miller - the first two Farley hits of the night off of Hohensee.

Hohensee dropped to 7-2 despite allowing only two hits and walking none in a six-inning complete game. The Rambler ace needed only 56 pitches on the night. Three of his innings were of the 1-2-3 variety.

Key West left at least one runner in scoring position in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Dan Spain nearly knocked in a pair of runs in the third when he hit a hot shot towards third with runners at second and third. Farley's Adam Seabrooke made a nifty stab and threw Spain out at first to end the inning.

McIntosh ended up with a five-hit shutout. He struck out nine Ramblers, including three in the fourth.

Key West will return to action on Thursday with an EIHL game at Worthington. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Ruden, defense pave way for 2-1 win over Dubuque

Anthony Ruden delivered big pitches with men on base, Ben Oglesby gunned down a late run at the plate and the Ramblers eked out a 2-1 EIHL win over Dubuque on Tuesday night in Peosta. The victory was the fifth in a row and 16th in the last 18 games for Key West (23-6), which is now 8-1 in EIHL action.

Working with a 2-0 lead, Ruden somehow navigated the sixth inning without allowing a single run despite the first three hitters all reaching base. The key play of the game came when Oglesby, playing center field, fielded a single off the bat of Aaron Wulfekuhle and nailed a runner at the plate for the first out. Ruden then got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.

More drama came in the seventh when Austin Bradley relieved Ruden. Andy Danna's sacrifice fly for the second out put the Blues on the board. Key West then sealed the win when catcher Brett LaMere threw out Aaron Saeugling, who attempted to steal second.

The Ramblers got their runs on a Jake Schaeffer RBI single in the bottom of the second and a key two-out RBI base hit by Chris Briggs in the bottom of the third. Briggs' hit scored Andrew Redman, who had doubled to deep left to begin a two-out spurt.

Ruden (4-2) scattered five hits, three walks and two hit batters over his six innings of scoreless work. Bradley then came on to earn his second save of the season.

Wulfekuhle went 2-for-3 for Dubuque and was the only player on either side with multiple hits on the night. Alex Steines took the loss on the mound for the Blues.

The Ramblers have now won each of the last four meetings with Dubuque, including two tournament matchups.

Up Next: Key West will play at Farley at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (July 16) in a Prairie League contest.

Cascade Tournament pairings

Pairings for the 68th annual Cascade Tournament.

First Round
Wed., July 16 - Cascade vs. Placid, 7 p.m.
Wed., July 16 - Worthington vs. Monticello, 8:30 p.m.
Thu., July 17 - Bernard vs. Peosta, 7 p.m.
Thu., July 17 - Epworth vs. Zwingle, 8:30 p.m.
Fri., July 18 - Dyersville vs. East Dubuque, 7 p.m.
Fri., July 18 - Farley vs. Bellevue, 8:30 p.m.
Sat., July 19 - Rickardsville vs. Balltown, 6 p.m.
Sat., July 19 - Dubuque vs. Key West, 7:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals
Sun., July 20 - Cascade/Placid vs. Worthington/Monticello, 1:30 p.m.
Sun., July 20 - Dyersville/East Dubuque vs. Farley/Bellevue, 3 p.m.
Wed., July 23 - Bernard/Peosta vs. Epworth/Zwingle, 7 p.m.
Wed., July 23 - Rickardsville/Balltown vs. Dubuque/Key West, 8:30 p.m.

Semifinals
Fri., July 25 - 7 p.m.
Fri., July 25 - 8:30 p.m.

Consolation
Sat., July 26 - 5:30 p.m.

Championship
Sat., July 26 - 7 p.m.

All-star game wiped out by rain

Key West Ramblers played a big role in the EIHL gaining a 4-0 lead before play was halted in the fourth
inning of Saturday's Telegraph Herald Semi-Pro All-Star game. Heavy rain and lightning forced the contest to be canceled. It will not be made up.

Dan Spain, who started at third base and batted second in the EIHL lineup, had already collected two hits before the rain came. Spain doubled in a run in the first and singled in another in the third in support of starting pitcher Jordan Hohensee, who also represented Key West.

Making his first career all-star appearance, Hohnesee shut out the Prairie League through his first four innings of work and was on track to earn the victory. In nine appearances this season for Key West, Hohensee has a 7-1 record and 1.25 ERA to go along with 60 strikeouts in 65 innings.

Andrew Redman, the Ramblers' leading hitter, started at second base and batted fourth in the lineup.

Sunday's game at Holy Cross postponed: Because of Saturday's heavy rains, Holy Cross postponed Sunday's scheduled Prairie League game. A make-up date is to be determined.

Friday's Result: Key West 15, Monticello 3 (7 innings)

On Friday the Ramblers tallied 17 hits on the way to pummeling Monticello, 15-3, in Peosta. Key West got four runs in the first and five more in the third to take a commanding 9-0 lead. The win bumped the Ramblers to 22-6 overall and 7-1 in EIHL action. During the team's current seven-game EIHL win streak, Key West has outscored its opponents 93-18.

Six Ramblers notched two or more hits in the win over Monticello: Chad Crabill (3-for-3), Brett LaMere (3-for-3), Dan Spain (3-for-5), Chris Briggs (2-for-4), Tony Ebel (2-for-4) and Anthony Ruden (2-for-5). Eight of the team's nine starters had at least one hit.

Spain moved to 3-0 on the mound by working the game's first six innings. He scattered seven hits and three runs (all earned) while striking out three. He was relieved in the seventh by Ruden, who threw a scoreless frame.

Up next: The Ramblers host Dubuque in an EIHL game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Key West has won each of the last three meetings with Dubuque.

Capesius tosses one-hit shutout; Rambler bats supply firepower

Key West put up five runs in the bottom of the eighth to end the game early in a 10-run rule, 10-0 home win over Peosta on Thursday night. Kenny Capesius frustrated Peosta hitters and fired a one-hit shutout to move to 5-0 on the season. Key West is now 21-6 overall and 7-1 in the Prairie League.

Capesius lowered his season ERA to 1.73 in 41.2 innings. As a staff, the Ramblers have a 1.98 ERA and and opponent batting average of .178.

Five Key West hitters totaled two or more hits: Jake Schaeffer (3-for-3), Chad Crabill (2-for-2), Chris Briggs (2-for-5), Andrew Redman (2-for-5) and Anthony Ruden (2-for-5). Both Briggs and Schaeffer tripled once. The Ramblers racked up a total of 16 hits.

Key West got on top early with three runs in the second before adding two more in the fourth.

Winners of 13 of their last 15, the Ramblers return to action Friday (July 11) when they host Monticello at 7 p.m.

Ramblers grab sixth-straight Prairie League win, defeat East Dubuque

Since dropping their Prairie League opener, the Ramblers have now reeled off six-straight in league play after Wednesday night's 6-4 victory at East Dubuque. Key West (20-6) got out to a 6-2 lead on the strength of a three-run second and two-run third to claim its 20th win of the 2014 season, equaling the team's win total from 2013.

Starting pitcher Austin Bradley had given up only six hits in 26 innings of work coming into Wednesday's action. East Dubuque tagged him for seven hits and four runs (three earned) over Bradley's five innings, but the outing was still good enough for Bradley to move to 4-0 on the season. He continues to lead the Rambler pitching staff with a .126 opponent batting average.

EIHL all-star second baseman Andrew Redman bumped his team best average to .443 with a 2-for-3 evening that included a fourth-inning sacrifice fly that capped Key West's scoring. Redman also singled, stole a base and scored a run on Jake Schaeffer's RBI single in the top of the third.

Catcher Chad Crabill also went 2-for-3. He scored a run each in the second and third innings.

Dan Spain, 1-for-4 at the plate on the day, relieved Bradley on the mound in the sixth. Spain retired all six hitters he faced to pick up his first save of the season. Spain has surrendered just a single run in 15 innings this season.

The Ramblers are back in action on Thursday (July 10). They host Peosta at 7 p.m. in another Prairie League battle.

Four league games rescheduled

Four games that had been postponed due to either weather or tournament conflicts have now been rescheduled. The complete schedule can be viewed by clicking the link at the top right of the website.

Rescheduled games:
Thu., July 10 - Peosta (Home) - 7 p.m.
Fri., July 11 - Monticello (Home) - 7 p.m.
Fri., July 18 - East Dubuque (Home) - 7 p.m.
Wed., July 30 - Balltown (Home) - 7 p.m.

Capesius moves to 4-0 in rout of New Vienna

Kenny Capesius bumped his record to 4-0 by hurling eight shutout innings in a 9-0 home victory over New Vienna in Sunday's Prairie League contest. In Capesius' support, the Ramblers pounded out 14 hits to shake off a 3-0 loss to Farley at the Rickardsville Tournament on Saturday. Key West now sits at 19-6 overall and 5-1 in the Prairie League.

After allowing a leadoff single, Capesius settled in and struck out the side in the top of the first. He racked up five more K's on the day and held New Vienna to only four hits and one walk. Capesius lowered his ERA to 2.14 in 33.2 innings on the season.

Offensively, first baseman Chris Briggs continues to heat up. He went 3-for-5 with an RBI single in both the third and eighth innings. The Ramblers put the game out of reach with a four-run eighth that included a two-run single from second baseman Chad Crabill.

Briggs was one of five Ramblers with multiple hits. He was joined by Austin Bradley (2-for-4, run, two stolen bases), Brett LaMere (2-for-4, two RBIs, one run), Dan Spain (2-for-4, three runs, double) and Anthony Ruden (2-for-5, two runs, one RBI, one stolen base).

Bradley, who played the first eight innings in right field, relieved Capesius in the ninth. Bradley duplicated his scoreless frame from the day before. In 26 innings of work this season, Bradley has surrendered just six hits and a single run.

The Ramblers get back to EIHL action on Tuesday night when they host Farley at 7 p.m.

Cascade Tournament: Key West will play Dubuque in the first round on Saturday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Briggs goes deep twice in blowout at Rickardsville

First baseman Chris Briggs crushed his first two home runs of the season (24th and 25th of career) to lead Key West (18-5) to a 12-2, 10-run rule victory at Rickardsville on Wednesday night. The red-hot Ramblers have now won 12 of their last 13 games and are 6-1 in EIHL play.

Briggs (3-for-5) joined Andrew Redman (3-for-4) and Dan Spain (3-for-5) as Ramblers with three hits as part of the 15-hit team outburst. Spain also homered, bringing him with in one long ball of Redman's team high of four.

On the mound, Jordan Hohensee picked up the win to move to 7-1 in his eight starts. Hohensee is set to start on the hill for the EIHL at the all-star game on July 12.

After leading Rickardsville just 5-2 at the end of six innings, Key West exploded with four runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to propel it to a second-straight win by the 10-run rule.

Anthony Ruden went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles.

Dating back to August of 2011, the Ramblers have won 10 of the last 12 meetings with Rickardsville.

Key West will return to Rickardsville for first round action at the Rickardsville Tournament on Saturday. The Ramblers will take on Farley at 12 p.m.

Bradley fires no-hitter in 10-run rule win at Placid

On Sunday right-handed pitcher Austin Bradley did something no Rambler had done since the team's rebirth in 2004. Bradley tossed a no-hitter as Key West breezed to an 10-0 victory in eight innings at Placid. The win gave the Ramblers their 11th in the past 12 games and bumped their overall mark to 17-5.

Bradley, a member of the Ellsworth Community College baseball team, has been another dependable arm for a dominant Rambler pitching staff in 2014. After Sunday's outing, Bradley has allowed just a single run in 24 innings of work, giving him a near spotless 0.38 ERA over six appearances.

As part of Key West's 11-hit attack, Kenny Capesius, Brett LaMere, Ben Oglesby and Luis Reyes all went 2-for-4. The Ramblers got one home run apiece from LaMere, Oglesby and Andrew Redman, who has a team high four long balls on the year.

Coach John Knabel even drove in a pair of runs with a base hit in the top of the eighth. The two-run single allowed the Ramblers to win by the 10-run rule as Sam Nelman took the loss for host Placid.

Key West returns to action on Wednesday for an EIHL game at Rickardsville. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. The Ramblers sport an EIHL record of 5-1.