Knights edge Jays 6-5 in War Eagle action

Gehlen's Jordan Sitzmann slides into home to give the Jays a run in the second inning during Monday's War Eagle Conference game against Unity Christian in Le Mars. [Click to enlarge]

Missed opportunities doomed the Gehlen baseball team yet again as the Jays fell 6-5 to Unity Christian at home in War Eagle Conference baseball action on Monday.

The Jays left the bases loaded twice and stranded 11 runners in the contest.

"We're one or two hits away from putting three or four runs on the board, but we can't find the guy to come through in the situation," Gehlen coach Marty Kurth said. "We get guys on base, but we leave them stranded."

Gehlen opened with an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Unity took a 2-1 lead with two runs in the third and touched Gehlen starter Tyler Meyer for three in the fifth to lead 5-1. The Jays got one back in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh, but could not get over the hump as they lost their fourth straight contest.

"The fifth inning kind of hurt us," Kurth said. "They had almost half their hits in that one inning. We mixed in an error and that was the difference in the ball game."

Gehlen left the bases loaded in the fifth and the sixth innings.

Meyer suffered the loss on the mound. The junior allowed five earned runs as he scattered 12 hits. He struck out one and did not walk a batter.

"For giving up 12 hits, he did a nice job," Kurth said. "He worked out of some jams."

Aaron Schlesser and Shaun Ryan led the Jays at the plate. Schlesser was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Ryan was 2-for-3 with a triple. Meyer added an RBI double and Zach Wurth drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

Gehlen (4-12, 2-10) looks to bounce back as it hosts rival Remsen St. Mary's on Wednesday. The Hawks defeated the Jays 16-5 at home in the teams' first meeting this season and 19-14 at the Spalding tournament on Saturday.