It’s the end to summer twelve Pella High School seniors dreamed all about — even if it took 20 outs to get the first, and most important hit, in program history. Pella’s “Dutch Dozen” and #2 ranked baseball team capped off a memorable run, defeating #1 Wahlert for the Class 3A state championship in a 3-1 victory heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

Less than 24 hours after the Pella softball team finished its “Cinderpella” story, the Dutch boys of summer had a tall task against a Golden Eagles squad that held the No. 1 spot in the rankings for the vast majority of the schedule in 2025.

Pella struck first, taking advantage of a Wahlert fielding error and hit-by-pitch, with Lake Cowman driving in Samuel Carlson on a 9-to-6 fielders choice in the 1st. From there, a pitching dual emerged between Pella’s Teagan Hoekstra and the Golden Eagles’ Will Pierro. The Dutch would give up the tying run in the third after a pair of fielding errors on the infield. Both teams would trade zeroes until the top of the 7th.

Backed up with two outs and trying to avoid a pressure-packed situation allowing Wahlert to have just one run to win the title, the Dutch manufactured a rally, with Nathan Carey getting on with a hit-by-pitch and a walk to Nathan Vande Lune. Having struck out twice on just six total pitches, Landyn Bethards flipped the script in the biggest way imaginable. The senior ripped a double to the left field wall, and a throwing error on the relay home allowed both critical runs to score.

Hoekstra finished a complete game gem in the 7th, with Isaiah Kettler catching the final out and sending the boys in black to championship glory. Hear from Bethards, Hoekstra, and Kettler on Monday’s edition of “Today’s Lely Radio Sports Page.”