Seniors send early message for districts

It was a special afternoon for four of the McCook National Bank American Legion Seniors Sunday as they played their final game at the Jaycee Sports Complex.

Before the game, Mark Rogers, Allan Shiers, Phil Hayes and Jared Muehlenkamp were all honored for their dedication to the program.

After the ceremony was over, the Seniors showed their dominance as they showered a barrage of 15 hits on Lexington in their 12-2 win.

The American Legion Seniors started off the game convincingly powerful by scoring six runs in the first two innings.

They were held hitless during the third and fourth, but scored six more runs in the final two innings to defeat Lexington in six innings.

Evan Koetter dominated the game on the mound by striking out 10 in the complete game three-hitter.

"Evan came out and had a great game for us. He was beating them with his fastball and dropping in a curveball every now and then. The defense was really backing him up as well," head coach Justin Wacker said.

Koetter was also toying with Lexington's base runners as he successfully picked off three runners on first.

"Evan did his best job of holding base runners on this season and that was really big for us. It is one of the little things that most people don‚t pay attention to," Wacker said. "This win should boost his confidence going into the postseason."

Jared Muehlenkamp also had another big day at the plate by rapping out three doubles.

"He is starting to hit the gaps well. He has been hitting any type of pitch that comes his way," Wacker said.

Allan Shiers capped off his final home game with a bang as he pounded a three-run homerun over the right-center fence.

"I think that was Al's first home run ever on this field. That is something that you think about for your last at-bat and his dream came true," Wacker said. "Everyone's bats are starting to come around and I think we are starting to peak at the right time."

Since this was the final home game for four of the American Legion Seniors, Wacker reflected on their season this year and their dedication to the program.

Mark Rogers

"Mark has been our starting second basemen for the second year in a row. He has been solid and has really stepped it up defensively toward the end of the season. He has been the only mainstay in the infield all season long. At the plate, he is a good contact hitter and will be productive wherever we put him in the line-up."

Allan Shiers

"Al has been a great leader out of the catcher spot. He has been one of our key hitters that we rely on day in and day out. He is great at practice, during the game, or in-between the games. He is just a great leader for us.

Phil Hayes

"Phil has been a great addition to the program. He is a solid outfielder and one of our top pitchers as well. He has stepped in and played good for us all year and is a key player."

Jared Muehlenkamp

"Jared is in the same league as Al. He has been one of our top pitchers and hitters for the past couple of years. He displays great leadership skills and always steps up in big games to get the job done. He will be a big loss for us both on and off the field.

WP: Evan Koetter. LP: Ryan Guntrod.

1B-McCook:Burton, Kotschwar, Shiers, Hayes, Bryant (2), Potthoff (2), Koetter. Lexington: Mandelko, Remmick, Berke.

2B-McCook:Muehlenkamp (3), Hayes, Bryant.

HR-McCook:Shiers.

H Muehlenkamp ignites MNB's two game sweep -- It was an afternoon to remember for Jared Muehlenkamp.

After hitting seven home runs during the previous season, the top finally popped as Muehlenkamp muscled out two towering homeruns against Colby Saturday at the Jayces Sports Complex.

Muehlenkamp added two doubles and a single to go a combined 5 for 8 during the doubleheader as McCook swept Colby 11-10 and 6-2.

"I was seeing the ball pretty well today. I made some solid contact and turned on some inside pitches for my two homeruns," Muehlenkamp said.

In the opener, the game started as a slugfest. Both teams scored three runs in the opening frame and the ball was in flight until the end of the game.

McCook jumped out to a 10-6 lead after five innings of play, but Colby kept creeping back into the game as they capitalized on two MNB errors to score three more runs.

"Game one was a pretty ugly game to be honest. We had a lot of errors that really hurt us," head coach Justin Wacker said.

In the bottom of the six, Mark Rogers‚ double tacked on one more run for the Seniors as they grasped a two-run lead approaching the seventh.

In that frame, Colby scored another run on a McCook National miscue, but Jared Muehlenkamp got the final batter to ground out stranding the tying run on third in the Seniors one run triumph.

"Jared did a good job on the mound. He was letting the batters put the ball in play, but the defense didn't play very well behind him," Wacker said.

"In the wind, his change-up was really effective and was keeping the middle of their order off balance."

Along with Muehlenkamp, Brett Burton also hit the ball well by going 3 for 5 at the plate.

"Brett Burton had a great day at the dish. He had three hits and three stolen bases. When we get that sort of production from our lead off guy, it really sets a charge into the team," Wacker said.

McCook came away with a four-run victory in the second game of the day as the defense stepped up their level of play.

"The second game was a great turn around for us. We wanted to focus on defense from the beginning. We still had our errors, but made them in situations where they didn't hurt us. It was nice to hold a team under three runs," Wacker said.

Mark Rogers came up with another big double for the Seniors as he drove in two runs to put MNB up 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Colby could only score one more run in the bottom of the seventh, as pitcher Brad Potthoff retired the 2-3-4 batters to cap of the day.

"Brad kept the hitters off balance at the plate and was getting them to pop-up the ball quite a bit. We also played great defense behind him, which was why we only gave up two runs," Wacker said.

"This was definitely one of my better performances. They couldn't get my timing down and were either hitting grounders or fly balls," Potthoff said.

McCook also continued hitting as they snubbed eight hits off of the Colby pitching staff.

"We hit the ball well today, which was good to see after our last game with Holdrege. I think everyone had at least one hard hit ball, so hopefully everyone will keep hitting that way going into districts," Wacker said.

GAME 1

WP: Jared Muehlenkamp. LP: Bruce Arnberger.

1B-McCook: Burton (3), Sughroue, Shiers, Bryant (2), Potthoff, Koetter. Colby: Wilson (2), Gatz (2), Arnberger, Dietz, Bieker (2), Heier (3), Plumisto (2).

2B-McCook: Muehlenkamp, Potthoff, Rogers.

3B-McCook: Koetter.

HR: McCook: Muehlenkamp. Colby: Arnberger.

GAME 2

WP: Brad Potthoff. LP: Heath Bieker.

1B-McCook: Burton, Sughroue, Muehlenkamp, Shiers, Koetter. Colby: Wilson, Arnberger, Bieker, Dietz (2), Augustine, Heier, Plumisto.

2B-McCook: Muehlenkamp, Rogers.

HR-McCook: Muehlenkamp.