EAGLES SOAR BACK TO STATE, Beat WIC Rival Tri-Center for State Berth, 6-1

Underwood's Garrett Luett (7-15-25)

Underwood Coach Andy Vanfossen (7-15-25)

EAGLES SOAR BACK TO STATE, Beat WIC Rival Tri-Center for State Berth, 6-1 –

(7-15-25) - The Hwy 191 series was on the ultimate stage Tuesday.

The 2A Substate 8 Championship came down to Underwood vs Tri-Center and Garrett Luett willed his team to a three-peat by pitching a complete game, striking out 15 in the Eagles 6-1 win over the Trojans.

Underwood will now have an opportunity to defend the 2A State Baseball Title after reaching Carroll for the third year in a row.

The Eagles took advantage of 10 hit batters while only accumulating two hits. Coach Andy Vanfossen liked how his seasoned group persevered.

“I think we were able to bear down. I think our experience showed tonight… Again, just very, very proud of the boys and just super excited for them.”

Underwood got their first two runs on an unusual play. With one out and runners at 1st & 2nd, an errant throw by Tri-Center catcher Tristen Gunderson in an attempt to pick off Ryker Adair at 1st got through Trojan 1st baseman Brody Wiedner and bounced away. Vanfossen decided to be aggressive and sent Hudson Ross home where he reached safely. But throw got away from Gunderson and Ryker continued around 3rd to score the 2nd run that would give the Eagles a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“It’s funny how baseball works,” said Vanfossen. “Just a play here or play there.”

Luett took over from there, putting on a masterful performance where he struck out 9 consecutive batters over the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings. This was after allowing three of the first four batters he face to start the game to reach base as Tri-Center took the early lead.

“I think it was just staying calm in tight situations,” Luett said of his effort on the mound. “You just got to take a deep breath and reset. You know, just go to the next pitch. I think that's what I did and started leaning on my fastball a bit more than I wasn't that first inning and just kept finding way to get outs.”

Luett, who also added an RBI single late, feels this season has been a full team effort.

“Good teams find ways to win. I think that's a testament to our coaches, our players, our families,” said Luett. “We keep finding ways to win and that's all that really matters at this point.”

Carter Kunze, who took time out from Grand View to play for Tri-Center, had an RBI single in his final game with the Trojans, who finish their season 19-5.

View past scores by visiting the Iowa High School Athletic Association's website, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union website,
or Iowa Quik Stats