Chasing down a ‘W’

 The ball leapt off the bat of Oelwein’s John Leo Thursday night and New Hampton pitcher Ryan Gorman had a one-word thought.“Zach.”That would be Zach Wemark, who raced back into the gap, had to spin around because the ball was tailing so much and then made a spectacular catch to end New Hampton’s 7-5 eight-inning win over Northeast Iowa Conference rival Oelwein.“I have confidence in every one of our outfielders, but as soon as I saw that ball all I could think was, ‘Zach,’” Gorman said. “I knew he could chase it down.”And the junior did despite that ball tailing and a glaring sun in his eyes. At the last possible moment, Wemark dove, the ball landed in his glove and he cartwheeled near the fence.“A ball like that, you don’t really think,” Wemark said. “You just go and hope you can chase it down. I thought I had it for sure and then man, it really tailed and that sun was brutal. But I was lucky enough to get it.”It was a crazy catch that ended a crazy night of baseball as New Hampton improved to 18-2 overall and 9-1 in the NEIC while Oelwein fell to 14-7 overall and 6-4 in league play.The Chickasaws appeared in firm control early as they struck for three runs in the top of the first. For the full story, please see the June 24 Tribune.