Photo by Jake Olson: North Union's Dyson Wikert is all smiles after scoring the Warriors third run of Tuesday night's contest against Garner-Hayfield-Ventura at Bancroft Memorial Park.

BANCROFT – Casey Rezac could do no wrong.

The final pitch of Tuesday night’s start against Garner-Hayfield-Ventura ended with a routine groundball to his defense. Wiley Stevens’ underhand toss to Dyson Wikert not only sent North Union to the home half of the sixth, but preluded a grand round of applause from the fans at Bancroft Memorial Park. They knew this effort was special.

Three walks and two hits were the only blemishes you could find on Casey Rezac’s final stat line. He countered this with an impressive 11 strikeouts over six shutout frames. Two of which proved to be inning-ending outs in the fourth and fifth with runners on base. It was dominance from the jump.

Casey Rezac’s gem was the biggest factor in North Union’s 3-2 win over the Cardinals. This victory snaps the Warriors’ (9-9) previous three-game losing streak against North Iowa, Forest City and West Hancock. They return to action on Friday night against Bishop Garrigan, starting at 7:30 p.m.

“Typically, we were thinking if he [Casey Rezac] goes four innings, then we were going to switch to Wiley. But he just kept rolling, obviously,” North Union head coach Cory Rezac said. “He was throwing strikes, striking people out, and getting groundballs when we needed.”

“I’m super proud that we had pitching all night and hits when we needed them. We haven’t swept Garner in; I don’t even know how long it’s been. So I’m super happy”

The timely hitting Cory Rezac mentioned came immediately in the first inning. He called the early shot of offense a jump start for the rest of the night.

Casey Rezac and Max Merrill got things started with back-to-back walks on Cardinal pitcher Brady Rudisill. The contest-defining RBI came from the hands of Wikert in the No. 5 spot. Wikert collected one of North Union’s three hits with a swift swing from the right side of the box, sending the ball deep into center field that cleared off the base paths.

After slipping his way home on a passed ball moments later, the Warriors were feeling confident about their early three-run scoring effort.

“That was just big right there,” Cory Rezac said on the first inning offense. “While you don’t feel quite comfortable with a three-run lead, that just set the tone. It was a great start and helped us keep it rolling.”

But Rudisill only settled in from there. His next two innings flew with efficiency, striking out four batters while only allowing one North Union hit from Merrill. It was up to Casey Rezac to keep his team in the contest with his own pitching prowess.

The top of the fourth was Garner-Hayfield-Ventura’s best chance to strike back. Two of Casey Rezac’s three free bases came to Kaden Kral and Quentin Holder, putting runners on quickly with two away. He loaded the bases soon after with a pitch that caught Chance Derr’s left shoulder.

This didn’t faze him whatsoever. In fact, Casey Rezac took it as an opportunity to add another strikeout to his resume, fanning Parker Stearns with an emphatic strike three call to escape the jam. His confident stride back to the home dugout was the epitome of his outing. Nothing was shaking his belief on the rubber.

Casey Rezac tossed two more scoreless frames for the Warriors. He picked up three more strikeouts while stranding two more runners on base. The longest start of his varsity pitching career came at just the right time.

“This is his first year of varsity,” Cory Rezac said. “He pitched very sparingly for junior varsity. Usually, he just caught. But he’s worked a lot on the off-season on it. He’s definitely in consideration for a pitcher to throw when we need a guy.”

A two-out walk in the bottom of the sixth by Castor Kollasch was the final mark on an impressive start from Rudisill. The freshman finished with seven strikeouts and allowed three hits, two of which came in the first frame. Tate Friederich trotted in and effectively did his part from the bullpen. The duo’s pitching efforts gave the Cardinals one last chance to answer.

And answer they did. Wiley Stevens’ first few pitches of his relief effort were met with consecutive hits by Stearns and Zane Black at the bottom of Garner-Hayfield-Ventura’s batting order. This plated an immediate run to break the shutout.

Kral kept the rally going with two outs on the board. He reached base for the third time in the contest, this time with an RBI double that landed perfectly down the right field line. Brighton Kraus walked as the next batter. Both he and Kral advanced a base via a steal quickly after.

However, one pitch was all it took for Stevens to seal the victory. A collective sigh of relief occurred the moment Drew Sears’ jam shot fell into the waiting glove of Wikert. Cory Rezac never had a doubt.

“Wiley has been our workhorse since I coached them in fourth grade,” Cory Rezac said. “You could throw him at any time and he never wants to be pulled. Yeah, it got a little shaky, but I had faith in Wiley for sure.”