DES MOINES — Ar-We-Va’s worst fears were realized here Saturday night.

Martensdale-St. Marys displayed all of the talent that has led it to wins in all 41 outings this season, piling up 12 unearned first-inning runs and flattening Ar-We-Va 16-0 in a five-inning Class 1-A state baseball quarterfinal before a two-game session crowd of 1,481 at Principal Park.

The Blue Devils took advantage of six Rocket walks and added six hits — including three triples — in forcing two Ar-We-Va hurlers to make 67 total pitches to get out of the first inning.

Conversely, MSM junior Ethan Westphal fired a no-hitter, getting strikeouts on 11 of the 15 outs. Westphal led Lenox to a runner-up finish in 1-A last season. He improved to 14-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 0.08.

“Their record isn’t blemished,’’ Ar-We-Va coach Phil Snyder said. “I don’t care what kind of teams you play, or where you play at, when you’ve got stats like that, you’ve got them for a reason. They’re good from top to bottom.’’

Top-rated and second-seeded Martensdale-St. Marys (41-0) will play sixth-seeded Preston (24-10) in Thursday’s 2 p.m. semifinal. In its state debut, Ar-We-Va closed at 13-14.

Martensdale-St. Marys wasted no time asserting itself in its eighth state appearance. The Blue Devils sent 16 men to the plate in the opening frame. Mixed in with the six walks, the big blows were a two-run double by Josh Defenbaugh that made it 5-0 and a three-run triple by Dillon Coates that pushed it to 10-0.

“I think we were all pretty nervous about coming in here and playing them,’’ Ar-We-Va senior Ryan Schurke said. “After that first inning, we settled down a little bit.’’

On the mound, Westphal was equally impressive. He baffled the Rockets with his assortment of pitches from multiple arm angles.

“I didn’t exactly expect it,’’ Westphal said of his team’s 12-run, first-inning outburst. “But it felt good to get a little run support.’’

Westphal struck out the side in the fifth to end it.

When the Rockets look back on the 2010 season, they said they won’t think of the score of their final game, but the remarkable journey to reach state for the first time. They won three straight 3-2 games to make the 1-A field.

The Rockets graduate five seniors: Neal Liechti, Matt Dalton, Schurke, Jeremy Ehlers and Derrick Cornelius.

“I had good memories with all these boys,’’ Schurke said. “It just (stinks) that we have to lose and stop playing baseball with these guys. But it was fun playing with them for all these years.’’

Snyder said the season was a lesson in hanging in there when things aren’t going well.

“We didn’t play well most of the year,’’ he said. “But we knew we could win. It’s not like we were getting blown out every game, or that we didn’t have any hitting or pitching. ... Then all of a sudden we pulled it together.’’

Martensdale-St. Marys (41-0)..................(12)00 13—16 11 0

Ar-We-Va (13-14)...................000 00—0 0 3

W: Ethan Westphal (14-0). L: Neal Liechti (3-5). 2B: MSM, Zeb Noel, Josh Defenbaugh. 3B: MSM, Westphal

Contact the writer:

444-1055, kevin.white@owh.com

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