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Speed saves Seniors during 'disappointing W'
McCOOK, Neb. — One run-like-your-hair’s on fire! dash around third base helped Derek Greenlee and the McCook Seniors save a night which clearly “steamed” their coaches.
“If we play like this tomorrow night, we’ll be coming home early,” coach Scott Smalley declared Wednesday evening. “We’ll be getting eight-runned by (Broken) Bow.”
Words like “we weren’t hustling” and “lackadaisical” also flowed from Smalley following the home contest with feisty Cozad.
None of those describe one huge sixth-inning play featuring Greenlee.
DJ Gross had sent his second hit of the night into left and Greenlee patiently worked a second walk. They both advanced on a errant pitch.
Yet the excitement started when another hurl slipped past Cozad’s catcher.
Gross smoothly slid home and — as Cozad handled the baseball like a dog slobbered all over it — Greenlee never stopped his journey from second base after rounding third.
The speedy Southwest Roughrider alum kept speeding until he also scored without Cozad getting close.
Those two runs gave McCook National Bank a 6-0 lead and enough cushion to put to sleep this 6-3 victory.
“We hang our hats on team speed,” Smalley confirmed. “That’s going to win us a lot of games as the year gets going.”
“We give our guys the green light and hope they make the right decisions,” the coach added. “Derek got a good read on that one.”
Amazingly, the same formula of Gross singling and Greenlee walking set up McCook’s other big two-run play.
Seth Dugger couldn’t claim an RBI in the first four games this season.
Yet he battled and eventually sent a huge base hit past Cozad’s shortstop.
Both Gross and Greenlee scored again, turning a tight 1-0 battle into 3-0 breathing room.
“Great for Seth Dugger. He’s struggled a bit and he’d be the first to admit it,” Smalley said. “Hopefully, that will be a breakout hit for him.”
Those clutch heroics were more than enough for starting pitcher Clayton Stevens, who earned his second win of this early season.
Stevens struck out nine in six innings and worked around six Cozad hits. He also didn’t walk one batter — something not seen often even in major-league games.
“Our defense didn’t do him any favors, but Clayton did well,” Smalley confirmed. “He’ll do fine. He’ll be one of our go-to guys all year.”
A pair of huge “pickoffs” helped seal the Seniors’ fourth win through five games.
Stevens erased a Cozad runner to end one two-out threat — just moments after those rival players scoffed at Stevens faking his throw to second base.
The best Cozad rally arrived during its seventh and final at-bat.
McCook’s lead had already been cut in half at 6-3, and reliever Cameryn Berry faced the potential game-tying run with two outs.
However, Berry whirled and again picked a runner off second base that ended this ballgame.
“We classify this one as a disappointing win,” Smalley observed as Cozad actually outhit McCook, 11-7. “But we’ll take any wins we can get.”
Perhaps it’s just an early-season “hiccup” to get out of the system? The Seniors were playing their first game since Sunday’s tough loss at Kearney Runza.
“They better,” Smalley concluded.
McCook plays at Broken Bow tonight in another Juniors-Seniors doubleheader. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. followed by the 7:30 p.m. finale.
McCOOK (4-1)
AB R H RBI
Berry 3 1 0 0
Stevens 3 1 1 0
Krysl 3 0 2 0
Taylor 2 0 0 1
Gross 3 2 2 0
D. Greenlee 1 2 0 0
Dugger 3 0 1 2
L. Greenlee 2 0 0 0
Mockry 3 0 1 0
WP: Stevens (2-0).
Best mound work: Starter Clayton Stevens struck out nine and walked none in six shutout innings.
RBI: Taylor (7), Dugger (1,2).
Stolen bases: Berry, Gross, Krysl, Stevens.