The Fort Calhoun Senior Legion baseball team made its comeback from seven runs down Tuesday night, but it still needed a go-ahead swing.
Josh Miranda knew it as he stepped into the batter's box during the bottom of the sixth inning against the ETC Knights Black.
“I was looking for a hard-contact ball just to drive in that run,” he said.
With Sam Genoways on base, Miranda smashed a Knights pitch over the right field fence, giving the Zig Drywall Pioneers a 13-11 lead — the score they'd win by through seven frames.
“I don't know how I did it, but, you know, once I hit it I was like, 'No way, I did it,'” the slugger said. “That was my first home run in high school.”
Kenny Wellwood, who allowed just one hit during the four innings of relief he pitched, closed out the win from there, pushing Post 348's season record to 5-5 overall.
“It was an all-team effort,” Miranda said. “Pitching did amazing. Yeah, they had ups and downs, but they fought through it.”
It's not an uncommon occurrence for this Calhoun squad, he said.
“That's all of our games,” Miranda explained. “We fight through them all.”
The Pioneers had no other option against ETC, trailing 11-4 going into the bottom of the fifth inning. Its exactly when they got hot at the plate, though.
Charlie Boumstein was hit by a Knights pitch first, before Wellwood hammered a double to deep right field. From there, Carter Christensen notched an RBI single and Wellwood scored on an error to pull Post 348 within 11-6.
Christensen scored on a passed ball, too, before Miranda walked and Declyn Otte singled into the outfield.
Jordan Back hit his own single through the infield, too, pulling the Pioneers within 11-8.
“Once our team gets going, we really can go,” he said. “I know it looks like we put up a lot of zeros, but we get innings like we did with that seven-run inning. That's what really gets us going.”
Chase Premer hit into a run-scoring error next before — still down two runs — Back found himself in a little bit of trouble on his way toward home plate.
“You know, I was on third base and I was itching for a passed ball,” he said. “This dude, he was all over the place, and I was ready.”
Sure enough, the Knights right-hander put another pitch in the dirt, but it didn't quite get away far enough from the catcher to warrant running toward the plate. Even so, Back found himself a bit too eager, seemingly getting caught in a run down.
“Next thing you know, the pitcher's at the plate with the ball and I'm like, 'Shoot. I'm cooked,'” he said.
The Fort Calhoun runner forced ETC into throwing the ball back and forth, though, and it ultimately got away from the Knights. As a result, Back was able to score, which he was thankful for after the game.
Down, now, just 11-10, JT Mlnarik pushed across the tying run with a double to deep left field.
It was Miranda, though, who ultimately cracked the decisive Post 348 hit beyond the outfield an inning later. His homer resulted in a win against a team from Elkhorn Mount Michael, a school fresh off of a strong NSAA state tournament run.
“That shows who we are and who we can be,” Miranda said.
Post 348 routs Schuyler team
On Sunday, the Zig Drywall Seniors routed the Platte River Rivals, too, 13-0.
Colin Bolay and Mlnarik played large parts in Post 348's win against the team from Schuyler. Mlnarik, the starting pitcher, threw a five-inning no-hitter. He struck out five batters.
Bolay, meanwhile, produced five RBIs on a 2-for-3 evening at the plate. He had two doubles and scored two runs.
Genoways, Wellwood and Christensen also notched RBIs, while Miranda was 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Premer was 1-for-2, too.
The Post 348 Juniors, meanwhile, fell to the Platte River Rivals on Sunday. Zig Drywall scored first, but Schuyler plated the next nine for a 9-1 victory.
The Fort Calhoun squad lost on Tuesday against ETC, too, 7-6.
POST 348 SENIOR LINE SCORES
Tuesday
Fort Calhoun 13, ETC Knights Black 11
ETCB 1 5 0 3 2 0 0 — 11
FC (5-5) 0 0 4 0 7 2 X — 13
Sunday
Fort Calhoun 13, Platte River Rivals 0, 5 inn.
PRR 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
FC (4-5) 1 0 8 4 X — 13
