The Zig Drywall Pioneers clung to their 2023 summer season for four hours and eight minutes Monday night.
The Senior Legion baseball team played 14 grueling innings against Wahoo at the B3 Area Tournament and lost, 7-4. The Post 348 team coached by Jerry Wellwood was eliminated from postseason play at Elkhorn Mount Michael with a 1-2 tourney record.
“I know all 18 of us left it out on that field out there,” outfielder Tristan Fuhrman said. “We were all in that dugout for the whole 14 innings. The 42 outs, we got them as a team.”
In defeat, though, the Pioneers closed the season 16-16-1 overall.
“I thought it was a blast,” Sam Halford said.
After Chase Premer hit an RBI single during the third inning and Kenny Wellwood scored on a passed ball in the fifth, Fort Calhoun still trailed the Reds 4-2 going into the bottom of seventh inning Monday. Trenton Barry highlighted Wahoo's efforts with a solo homer against Zig Drywall starter Declyn Otte, who threw 5 2/3 innings with three strikeouts.
So, needing two runs to force extras, the Pioneers' Ty Hallberg led off the seventh. He popped the ball into the air above the infield and disappointedly jogged down the line before the Reds were unable to glove the seemingly sure out.
Seeing that his pop fly had found grass, Hallberg sprinted and slid head first into first base in time, hurting his wrist and two fingers on his left hand.
“I think my pinky might be broke or something,” he said after the game, able to laugh off the whole situation.
Hallberg stayed in the game, knowing it might be his last. As a result, the 2022 Fort Calhoun High School grad scored first on Sam Halford's game-tying, two-RBI single against Wahoo ace Jonas Schnakenberg, who'd come in to shut down the Pioneers' rally.
Eric Koterba, who ran for Wellwood after the batter was hit by a pitch, scored second with a slide at home plate, beating the tag of the Post 82 catcher. The run evened the score, 4-4.
“It was a pretty good feeling to go out on that,” Halford said of his clutch hit. “Wish we could have rallied and got another run in and finished the game, but it is what it is.”
In extras, Wahoo and Fort Calhoun played six even frames as the 4-all tally held. Hallberg, injured glove hand and all, earned five of his seven strikeouts in relief of Ott during the stretch, while Wellwood struck out two more from the mound.
At the plate, Hallberg singled in the eighth inning, too, while Wellwood recorded a hit in the ninth and Sam Genoways notched one in the 11th.
The Pioneers watched, though, as Wahoo broke the tie during the top of the 14th inning — nearly four hours after the B3 Tourney game had started. The Reds first scored on a error at home plate before back-to-back RBIs pushed their lead to 7-4.
A flyout and a strikeout into the bottom of the 14th inning, Fort Calhoun's Austin Welchert made his and his team's last plate appearance of the summer.
“I didn't have any pressure going up there,” the 2023 FCHS graduate said, explaining how he's played baseball his whole life. “I just didn't want to strike out.”
He didn't.
“I had a flyout, but we did everything we could,” Welchert said.
The loss ended a memorable summer on the diamond.
“More than just teammates, we're all buddies and friends,” Fuhrman explained. “Playing the game together just brought us closer.”
Both Welchert and Hallberg said they hadn't originally planned on playing Legion baseball this summer, but were convinced to.
“I'm glad that I did,” Welchert said.
“I don't regret it at all,” Hallberg added. “It was the most fun I had during baseball all my years.”
Fort Calhoun eliminates Arlington
Fort Calhoun eliminated Arlington from the B3 Tournament on Sunday, 4-2.
The loss ended Post 71's season at 7-13 overall after a 1-2 Area showing.
“Our record and finish probably isn't what our seniors expected or wanted, but at the end of the day they were a solid club and an even better group of guys,” Eagles coach Tyler Stender said. “The seniors will be missed, but their time with the program and their influence on the younger guys was impactful.”
Arlington cut a 4-0 deficit to two runs during the top of the fifth inning, but the Pioneers held it off from there.
“They made a couple big plays and we didn't,” Stender said. “Both pitchers threw really well, and it was more about who could make more plays defensively than getting the big hit.”
Facing right-hander Kaden Pittman, Fort Calhoun scored its first run during the first inning. Hallberg singled and stole second base before Halford hit into a Post 71 error for a 1-0 lead.
The Pioneers doubled their advantage in the second frame, too. Alex Christensen reached base on an error and Welchert singled before Fuhrman hit into another run-scoring Arlington miscue.
The Eagles limited the damage during the inning, though, getting the third out at home plate.
However, two more Fort Calhoun runners would reach home in the fourth inning. Kenny Wellwood's two-RBI single to right field made the score 4-0 in Post 348's advantage.
Finally, during the fifth inning, Arlington responded. Darren Olson doubled before Luke Sharp hit an RBI single into centerfield. Braden Monke then hit into a run-scoring error, pulling the Eagles within 4-2.
In its last chance at the plate, though, Post 71 grounded out once and flew out twice against Genoways — the winning pitcher.
After the season-ending defeat, Stender credited his senior players for their efforts.
“Whether it be their play or their leadership, we wouldn't have been as competitive in this tourney if it wasn't for them,” he said. “Monke, (Trevor) Denker, Pittman, (Dalton) Newcomer and Olson all made an impact during the tournament and all year.”
SENIOR LEGION LINE SCORES
Monday
Wahoo 7, Fort Calhoun 4, 14 inn.
WAHOO 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 — 7
FC (16-16-1) 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 4
Sunday
Fort Calhoun 4, Arlington 2
ARLO (7-13) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 — 2
FC (16-15-1) 1 1 0 2 0 0 X — 4
