Junior B Legion team tops Imperial

IMPERIAL -- The McCook Community Bank Juniors B Legion baseball team got half of their scheduled double-header at Imperial in the books Monday, June 21, before Mother Nature intervened.

The combined Juniors B squad topped Imperial 14-11 in Monday's opening game. Severe lightning helped officials call off Monday evening's nightcap.

The locals outlasted the hosts in a slugfest. McCook jumped on the board early with eight runs in the top of the first inning. The Juniors scored their runs on just two hits. Imperial helped the cause with five walks, a hit batter and two errors.

McCook added a single run in the second run, followed by five runs in the top of the third. Kalen Stamm had an RBI single in the second, and Justin Kefalas drove in a run in the third.

Imperial, trailing 14-3, rallied with six runs in the bottom of the fourth. The hosts added two more runs in the fifth and final inning.

Jon Spilinek picked up the pitching win for McCook. Spilinek went the distance, giving up 7 hits with 8 walks and 8 strikeouts.

Two losses to Curtis

The McCook junior B team dropped two games against Curtis in action at Maywood Saturday afternoon. Curtis won by scores of 6-5 and 16-10.

Curtis built a 5-2 lead after four innings. Justin Kefalas scored a run for McCook in the third, and Will Burkert scored in the fourth. Curtis, the visiting team on the scoreboard, pushed across what proved to be the winning run in the top of the fifth after Stefon Peterson got on base by a McCook errors and later scored on a base hit.

McCook got consecutive singles by Jake Calvert, Kefalas and Chase Midkiff to start the final inning. The locals put the tying run aboard, but Curtis retired McCook with a strikeout and ground out.

The Juniors scored three runs in the opening inning of Saturday's second game. All three runs came without a base hit. McCook added two runs in the second, helped by William Flanagan's single, and Curtis came back with three runs in the bottom of the frame.

McCook stretched the lead to 7-2 in the top of the third with hits by Jon Spilinek and Jacob Fritsche. Curtis exploded for 11 runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to seven straight singles.

McCook scored three runs in the fourth on just one hit.

Home games June 22-23

The Junior B teams return to action at home Tuesday, June 22, against Cozad. The Reds will open at 6:30 p.m. at the Jaycees Sports Complex, followed by the Blacks and Cozad at approximately 8 p.m. The Juniors B combined team gets another shot at Curtis in a home double-header Wednesday, June 23, starting at 6 p.m.