Sub-State Baseball Tournament at Slater: First round/Semi-finals - Collins won a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Stanhope. The contest was in doubt until the final out. Collins started out as if they meant to salt the game away early, putting two men on base, but due to several bad breaks, they failed to score. Nichol opened Collins' second inning with a double and advanced to third on D. Fitzgerald's hit. Nichol was picked off third when a squeeze bunt backfired. Fitzgerald later scored on Clark's double. Collins score again in the third on a triple by Vasey and a single by Laird. This ended the scoring for both teams. Vasey pitched seven innings. Runs - 0, hits - No Hitter - second consecutive no-hit game (fully expect this is another all-time Collins school record), strikeouts - 17, walks - 1. Team fielding errors - five that enabled three Stanhope runners to reach third base. In each case, Vasey struck out the following batters to stymie any rally. Nichol caught. Collins had seven hits. Lineup: Pat Fitzgerald (58) (lf) 0 hits; Bill Ballard (56) (3b) 0 hits; John Vasey (56) (p) 1 hit; Larry Laird (56) (1b) 1 hit; Jerry Nichol (56) (c) 2 hits; Norlyn Smith (57) (rf) 0 hits; David Fitzgerald (57) (ss) 1 hit; Ben Clark (57) (cf) 2 hits; Gordon Smith (58) (2b) 0 hits; Bob Rice (56) (rf) 0 hits.
Final - Collins scored a huge victory over East Des Moines, 1-0 to win the Sub-State Tourney Championship and move on to the State Tournament. Collins scored their one run in the first inning when John Vasey reached first on an error by the East DM shortstop. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-base error by the third baseman of East DM. Vasey pitched seven innings. Runs - 0, hits - 5, strikeouts - 14, walks - 7. Nichol caught. In the fifth inning, East DM's first batter hit a triple down the left field line. Vasey retired the next two batters on strikes and nailed East DM runner trying to steal home for the third out. The Collins catcher, Nichol, did a super job of holding the ball on the play after being hit hard by the East base runner at home place. (See below January 2006 insert.) In the sixth inning, an even bigger test occurred as Vasey walked the first batter, the next batter singled, and the following bunted safely for a hit. The Des Moines team had the bases jammed with none out. Vasey again struck out the next two batters and had a force out at home on another attempted squeeze play. These are two of the frequent jams Vasey worked himself into, but each time he and the team successfully came out on top. In the seventh inning, Vasey struck out the batter who had hit the triple in the fifth inning. The following batter singled, and Vasey completed the game with two more strikeouts. Leading hitters for Collins were Clark and Nichol, each with a double. (Insert 2005: Box score not found)
(Insert January 2006: Personal visit with Collins player regarding the above East Des Moines game. East DM team was highly rated with a Des Moines sports announcer picking them to win the State title. Narrative on the fifth inning attempt by the East DM runner to steal home with two outs: Collins pitcher, Vasey, turned his back toward third base to pick up a rosin bag that is customarily lying on the ground behind the pitcher's mound. The East DM third base runner [sprinter on track team] instantly began a dash toward home, attempting to score the tying run. Collins catcher, Nichol hollered at Vasey, who quickly fired the ball to Nichol, catching it a split second before the East DM runner's shoulder smashed into his chest, knocking him backward and the wind from his chest. Nichol did a super job of holding onto the ball and the umpire made his "your out" call. A heated encounter followed with the umpire holding to his decision.)