Bradley homers twice; Woltkamp earns all-star W

Key West has now won 22 of 23 after going 4-0 this past week. In Saturday's 15-2 trouncing of Balltown, Austin Bradley connected for the first two home runs of his Rambler career while also picking up the win on the mound. Two days earlier, Key West (23-3) toppled Farley, 4-0, to advance to the second round of the Cascade Tournament.

The Ramblers got out to a massive early lead thanks to a 10-run first inning versus Balltown. During the frame, Key West sent 13 hitters to the plate and took advantage of six walks. Included in the outburst was Andrew Redman's third home run of the season. Bradley then added to the lead with a solo blast in the third and a grand slam in the fourth. He also fired 2.1 innings without allowing a single hitter to reach base. Bradley went 3-for-4 in powering the offensive attack. In addition, Nick Woltkamp went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI.

In the tournament win over Farley, Redman and Kenny Capesius combined to shut out the Hawks, who were limited to four hits. Redman tossed the first five innings before giving way to Capesius. Owner of a near perfect 0.29 ERA, Capesius received credit for the win by throwing scoreless sixth and seventh innings.

The game's only runs were pushed across in the bottom of the sixth when run-scoring singles were delivered by Ryan Siems, Woltkamp and Brett LaMere. Both Redman and Siems went 2-for-3 in the win. Key West is aiming for its first-ever Cascade Tournament title. The Ramblers have won a total of 13 tournament titles since the start of 2011.

Key West returns to action at the Cascade Tournament on Wednesday (July 13) when it takes on Peosta in the second round. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Woltkamp earns all-star win
Nick Woltkamp got the nod as the starting pitcher for the Eastern Iowa Hawkeye League in Saturday's annual Telegraph Herald Semi-Pro All-Star Game. Woltkamp routinely worked out of jams while throwing five shutout frames in helping the EIHL to a 4-2 win over the Prairie League. Andrew Redman and Anthony Ruden also represented the Ramblers in the all-star game that took place at Farley Park. John Knabel served as coach of the EIHL.