MNB Seniors take 2 convincingly

Tuesday, July 5, 2005

After the McCook National Bank American Legion Seniors dropped two games to Beatrice on Friday night, they rebounded to get two big wins on Saturday.

The Seniors were victorious over Nebraska City 8-4, and they had their way with Syracuse 11-3.

During game one against Nebraska City, McCook was held scoreless until the third inning when they erupted for six runs, with two outs, to lead the game 6-1.

After three batters had been hit by pitches, Phil Hayes cleared the bases with a big double to start the rally.

"We hit the ball well today. We needed someone to step up, and Phil did the job for us to open up the scoring. We showed our patience once again at the plate," head coach Justin Wacker said.

Hayes also started on the mound and had another dynamic performance. He struck out five and let the defense make some great plays behind him, including a web gem from second basemen Mark Rogers as he gobbled up a ball in the hole for a key out.

"Phil came out and did a great job on the mound for us again. He was consistently around the zone and making them put the ball in play," Wacker said.

As Hayes came away with another victory, this sets McCook up nicely for their pitching rotation as districts approach.

"We have three top starters right now which sets us up pretty good for districts. We have a lot of options we can go to with the pitching depth we have right now," Wacker said.

In the second game, McCook finished off Syracuse in five-innings due to the eight run rule.

The Seniors started off slowly for the second time that day, but scored four runs in the third and fifth innings to seal the win.

"We started off a little slow at the plate. By the time our second and third at bats came around, we were ready to drive in some runs," Wacker said.

Brad Potthoff pitched the complete game and left eight Syracuse runners on base.

"Brad did a good job on the mound. He was up there throwing strikes and letting them put the ball in play. We played better defense by only giving up one error," Wacker said.

"It is nice to see that we are making improvements in the field. We will have to continue to play solid defense, especially during the postseason."

The McCook National Bank American Legion Seniors (10-17) will travel to Gothenburg Tuesday for an 8 p.m. first pitch.

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