SIOUX CITY — Sometimes, it only takes one hit to make history.
A day after the Pella softball team made history with their unlikely run to their first state, the Pella baseball team had a chance to make some history of their own as they battled No. 1 Wahlert for the Class 3A crown. The score was locked at one in a pitcher’s dual before Landyn Bethards put his down in Pella folklore with a two-out two run double to put the Dutch in front in the seventh. Teagan Hoekstra closed it out in the bottom of the inning to make it a double Dutch summer with the baseball team capturing their first state title with a 3-1 triumph.
“I’m kind of speechless, I’m just so proud of this group for the way that they battled and just competed day in and day out,” Pella head coach Jesse Jablonski said. “This was something that was their goal since the end of the Heelan game up in Cedar Rapids last year, this is what they had their sights set on. They knew they were good enough to do it and they never lost sight of that all offseason.”
The top two teams in Class 3A entered Friday looking for their first state titles. Jablonski, in his 15th year leading the Dutch, led his veteran group of 12 seniors onto the field as fans were in store for a couple of pitching gems.
Pella sent out their junior lefty in Hoekstra while Wahlert countered with their ace, Will Pierro.
The game started with Samuel Carlson getting plunked by Pierro to get on base early for the Dutch. A ground out would move him to second before a Golden Eagle error and a fielder’s choice from Hayes Lautenbach would score Carlson for the first run of the game to make it 1-0.
Hoekstra would go through the first two innings unharmed before Wahlert took advantage of a pair of Dutch fielding errors allowing the tying run to score to equal things at 1-1 after three.
Both pitchers settled in and it was an old fashion pitcher’s duel with only three combined hits by the two sides through six innings. Wahlert was responsible for all three of those knocks.
Play quickly moved to the top of the seventh and the pressure was on the Dutch, who still were without a hit and had the backside of their lineup coming up.
Once again, it would all start with a Pella batter getting plunk as Nathan Carey took a pitch in the ribcage to gain a free bag. Pierro would strike out the next batter to get the second out of the inning. Nathan VandeLune then drew a walk to put runners on first and second for the nine hole hitter Bethards.
The bottom of the lineup has been big for the Dutch all postseason run, could they come through one more time?
“Just going back to our philosophy, keep the line moving,” VandeLune said. “That was our whole goal. When I came up to my at-bat, I just told myself let’s just have some fun here. Get to the next guy. When I got on first I met with coach J and told him Landyn’s going to come up big.”
Bethards stepped into the box 0-for-2 on the day, but had a chance to play hero. One of the key Pella seniors would lock in and turn on a fastball in zone, flying it over a retreating Wahlert left fielder as Jablonski started whipping his arm around, sending the pinch runner of Landen Pleima home from second and VandeLune all the around from first with a head first slide at the plate awaking the Dutch side as their first hit of the day was the biggest one of the game.
“I saw fastball and let it rip,” Bethards said. “To be honest, I really blacked out there. I didn’t really think too much, I was just so excited.”
Play would move into the bottom of the seventh with Hoekstra going back out try to finish the job. The first batter would reach on an error but Hoekstra would respond in a big way as he would punch out the next two batters to bring the Dutch one out away with the top of the Wahlert lineup coming up.
The tying run was at the plate but history was in the hands of the Dutch. Hoekstra would rock and fire and a fly ball would be sent out to right center field with all-state centerfielder Isaiah Kettler camping under it to make the catch and start the second Pella title celebration in as many days.
It was also the perfect ending to the career of Pella’s 12 seniors, who were making their third state appearance and finished with an 100 wins over their four year careers with the last one being the most special of the bunch.
“We’ve been talking about this since freshman year,” VandeLune said. “That group of seniors that got us our first taste of state, plus all of that work, we’ve just been dreaming about this moment. It’s just surreal. It doesn’t even feel real, but it’s amazing.”
Although not a part of that senior group, it was a trying year with a sweet finish for Hoekstra. The junior lefty missed a majority of the season with a non-throwing arm injury. Hoekstra was able to make a couple of appearances late and gained enough trust to get into the rotation for the postseason.
Hoekstra saved his best for last tossing seven innings while allowing one unearned run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts on his way to the win.
“It was a frustrating year for him at times,” Jablonski said of Hoekstra. “It was a trying year, but he never lost sight of wanting to get back. He wanted to do it for his teammates and that’s what makes him a special guy. We weren’t sure going into the playoffs what his role might look like but when he threw his last regular season game and he threw really, really well. Then we said let’s roll with it and see what we get. He came into the playoffs and he looked like Teagan again.”
Friday caps off a busy week for Pella supporters who went back and forth between Fort Dodge and Sioux City for the softball and baseball tournaments. The Lady Dutch squad capped off an improbable run to their first title on Thursday and the boys made it a double Dutch with their own first championship on Friday to make 2025 an unforgettable summer in Pella.
“The girls had an amazing game yesterday and they’ve had an amazing season,” VandeLune said. “Being the eight seed and just coming in saying no one’s going to put us down, that’s just a testament to Pella athletics. I think we’re striving to be the best and I think this kind of just shows that this class of 2025, and the juniors and the underclassmen underneath us, we can get it done and it’s amazing to see.”