While Tuesday's opponent played for the Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) Tournament title Monday, the Class C No. 9 Arlington baseball team did not.
The Eagles beat the conference runner-up Fort Calhoun Pioneers 13-6, though, not letting a first-round tourney exit doom the rest of their spring campaign.
“Give Raymond (Central) credit. They came out that day and beat us,” AHS senior Trevor Denker said, referencing his squad's upset loss April 14. “But, right away, we said it, 'That was not our season right there. NCC Tournament, yeah, it sucks, but we knew we were a better team than that.'”
After a slow start Tuesday at the Washington County Fairgrounds, the Eagles proved it against the visiting Pioneers. Senior Braden Monke notched four RBIs, while Grange Suhr added three of his own to go with three hits.
“We knew that, since they played yesterday, their pitching depth was pretty thin,” Denker said. “We took advantage of that and put up 13 runs.”
Arlington's highest-scoring inning was the third when it turned a 4-1 deficit into an 8-4 lead. Denker walked and Killian McIntosh singled, setting up Suhr's RBI single which made an awkward hop over the head of FCHS shortstop Kenny Wellwood.
Dalton Newcomer plated the Eagles' third run of the game by sacrifice before Suhr tied the contest at 4-all, crossing home plate on an error. Tim Halley was hit by a Pioneer pitch to plate another run before Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk.
Denker's two-RBI hit capped the seven-run frame.
“We really came out and just did what we had to do,” Suhr said. “We hit the ball. We put it in play. We knocked in runs.”
Wellwood and Sam Halford plated additional Fort Calhoun runs as the game went on, but Arlington remained ahead on the scoreboard beyond the outfield fence. Monke, Suhr and Jack Bang added insurance RBIs in the latter innings as the Eagles improved to 7-5 overall. The Pioneers, meanwhile, fell to 4-12 in defeat.
Pioneers finish tourney 2nd
Fort Calhoun entered the NCC Tournament on April 14 with just two wins all season.
The Pioneers matched that season-long total across two days, however, and finished second to Platte Valley on Monday in Ashland. Coach Roy Prauner's team beat Louisville first and Class C No. 6 Douglas County West second before a 3-1 title game loss to the Patriots.
“We've been really working at practice,” first baseman Carter Christensen said. “Really just trusting each other and believing we can do it.”
FCHS was in title contention against Class B's No. 8 Platte Valley squad into the final inning, too. The Patriots scored first for a 2-0 lead in the second before the Pioneers pulled within 2-1 in the top of the fourth frame. Chase Premer hit a lead-off single, Christensen doubled and Halford's swing scored Levi Lasher, Premer's courtesy runner.
The tournament hosts kept Fort Calhoun in check from there, though. Jordan Back reached base in the seventh inning, but was unable to score as the Patriots won the NCC title.
Though it wasn't a first-place finish, the Pioneers' spirits were high after a successful tournament run.
“I think it's our pitching,” Christensen said when asked what was key to the Pioneers' success. “We had really good pitching today. I think that really helps our confidence in the field.”
Premer, FCHS' catcher, saw the work of Declyn Otte and his teammates from behind the plate.
“Fantastic,” he said when asked how his pitchers threw during Monday's doubleheader. “You can really tell the amount of work we put in during the offseason. It's just the same repetition over-and-over again and it's starting to show.”
Premer also said his Pioneers' approach in the batter's box played an important role during Calhoun's conference tourney run.
Before facing Platte Valley, though, FCHS topped DC West 3-2 earlier in the day at Yutan. The Falcons had two runners on and one out in the seventh inning when Christensen gloved a waist-high liner at first base and threw it to second for a game-ending double play.
“It kind of found its way to me a little bit,” the infielder said. “It was a real awkward catch, too, but I'm glad I was in the right spot at the right time.”
FCHS earned its first lead by scoring the game's first run in the second frame. Premer's swing gave the Pioneers a brief advantage before DC West tied it back up in the bottom half.
Then, during the top of the fifth frame, Calhoun scored two more runs — including the decisive third. First, Christensen's RBI single plated Lasher. Second, after a Halford single, Sam Genoways — who pitched six of the game's seven innings, too — hit an RBI single for a 3-1 advantage.
The Pioneers held it, too.
Halford saved a potential run in the sixth frame when he knocked down a hard liner between first and second base. The infielder picked the ball up and secured the inning's third out on a short throw to first base.
The Falcons later pulled within 3-2 on an RBI double in the seventh, but Christensen's glove prevented DC West from tying it and forcing extra innings.
Back, the Pioneers' right fielder, made a run-saving play during the second inning, too, catching a fly ball and throwing it to Premer — his catcher — for an out at the plate. All of the defensive efforts helped FCHS advance into the final against Platte Valley.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL LINE SCORES
Tuesday
No. 9 Arlington 13, Fort Calhoun 6
FCHS (4-12) 4 0 0 1 0 1 0 — 6 10 1
AHS (7-5) 0 1 7 2 3 0 X — 13 13 3
Monday
No. 8 Platte Valley 3, Fort Calhoun 1
FCHS (4-11) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1
PV (11-5) 0 2 0 1 0 0 X — 3
Fort Calhoun 3, No. 6 Douglas County West 2
FCHS (4-10) 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 — 3
DCW (7-4) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 — 2
