Seniors bats quiet in loss to Gothenburg

Friday, June 11, 2010
Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook National Bank Seniors catcher Justin Terry blocks this pitch during Legion baseball action against Gothenburg Wednesday, June 9 at the Jaycees Sports Complex. The seniors dropped a 11-6 decision to Gothenburg.

McCook National Bank Seniors Legion baseball coach Mike Broomfield had a couple of mysteries to solve after an 11-6 loss to Gothenburg Wednesday, June 9.

Broomfield's squad could not come up with timely hits with runners aboard, while Gothenburg did.

"Gothenburg hit the ball very well. I was surprised," Broomfield said. "We just did not hit the ball. We left at least a dozen runs on the bases."

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook First Central Bank Juniors pitcher Tristan Thomas delivers a pitch to home plate against Gothenburg Wednesday evening. Thomas gave up just three hits in McCook's 14-0 win.

"The pitching we faced tonight, we really should have unloaded on them. We threw BP (batting practice) last night (Tuesday), we threw BP this afternoon (Wednesday) before the game, and guys were crushing the ball. We come out here tonight, I don't know what the deal is."

McCook had the bases loaded in the fourth and seventh innings while they recorded the third out of the inning, and the Seniors stranded runners on second and third in the bottom of the fifth.

The hosts drew first blood with a run in the first inning. Shane Wallen advanced to third base and scored when Gothenburg tried to throw out Spencer Gillen as he stole second.

Gothenburg pushed across two runs in the top of the second on a walk and two singles. McCook came back with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Clint Beguin hit an RBI single, and Wallen knocked in two runs when the Gothenburg center fielder misplayed a high fly ball.

Gothenburg took an 8-4 lead with six runs in the third frame, helped by four hits and a McCook error. The visitors added two runs in the sixth on a walk, two singles and a McCook throwing error. The Seniors answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth when Gothenburg dropped a fly ball in the outfield.

The visitors scored one more run in the seventh, and McCook added a run in their final at bat. Chris Conroy and Chance Pearson hit back-to-back singles. Conroy advanced to third and Pearson was thrown out at second on an infield grounder by Matt Thayer. Wallen hit a hard shot that was deflected by the Gothenburg pitcher, but the visitors couldn't make the defensive play ant Conroy scored.

McCook loaded the bases with two outs when Cody Broomfield walked. But Gothenburg induced a fly ball to end the game.

Thayer, Broomfield and Beguin pitched for the Seniors, with Thayer, the starter, taking the loss.

Juniors earn first win of season

It was a happy night Wednesday, June 9, for the McCook First Central Bank Juniors.

The Legion baseball Juniors picked up their first victory of the season with a 14-0 rout over Gothenburg. The contest at the Jaycees Sports Complex was shortened to five innings via the 10-run rule.

Gothenburg probably won't be the best team McCook will face this season. But Juniors head coach Austin Larson said Wednesday's win was huge and will hopefully give his team a spark.

"That was our first time playing these guys this year," Larson said. "It was a good point in the season to play them, boost our confidence a little bit and get a win on the board, which feels good. I think we'll continue to win games."

The Juniors found a potent offense, scoring at least two runs in every inning while striking out just four times all night.

"It's nice to get runs on the board, get those insurance runs," Coach Larson said. "Even if we give up a couple runs, we have those runs to put us on top and keep us ahead -- that's good. You can never score too many runs."

The locals scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, including a single by Gavin Harsh and a double by Lucas Post. McCook tallied four more runs in the second, with hits by Drew Bredvick and Clint Beguin.

The Juniors stretched the lead to 12-0 after three innings, taking advantage of four walks and a hit batsman in the bottom of the inning. Post dropped a fly ball in front of the right fielder for an RBI single in the fourth inning to give McCook its final run.

Harsh scored four runs for McCook after reaching base three times by walks and another after he was hit by a pitch. Beguin had four hits to lead the Juniors attack, and Post collected a double and single.

Tristan Thomas turned in a strong effort on the mound for the Juniors. Thomas went the distance, allowing just three hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

"He pitched pretty good for us. He was throwing strikes," Coach Larson said of Thomas. "They weren't really touching him. They got a couple hit off him in a couple innings, but we kept them off the scoreboard."

Sidney Wood Bat Tourney

McCook returns to action with a long road trip to the Nebraska panhandle to compete in the Sidney Wood Bat Tournament.

"Yeah, a three-hour tour," Coach Broomfield said, with a smile on his face, as he talked about the long weekend trek.

The Seniors will compete with the tournament hosts, Chappell and Hershey in the round-robin format. Broomfield said Sidney supplies wood bats for all the teams.

McCook is set to face Chappell Saturday at 4 p.m. CDT, and Hershey at 6:30 p.m. The locals then play Sidney Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CDT. The top two teams after the round-robin play will meet Sunday evening for the tournament championship, with the other two teams playing for third place.

Juniors at tournament in Grand Island

The Juniors have a tough weekend with tournament action at Grand Island. McCook will face the other five teams in the tournament field in a round-robin format, with one game Friday night, two more games Saturday and two games Sunday.

The Juniors open the tournament against the host G.I. Five Points Friday at 8 p.m. McCook also has games Saturday against Lincoln North Star at 3 p.m. and Kearney Five Points at 5:30 p.m., followed by Sunday tests against the Columbus Reds at 10 a.m. and Lincoln East at 12:30 p.m.

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