Most of Arlington High School's baseball games will have afternoon start times this spring.
The first pitch of the season, however, came after 7:30 p.m. Friday in Ralston.
“Little cold,” senior Blaine Vogt said.
The Eagles' bats, however, were the opposite against Omaha Northwest. AHS (1-1 overall) won 12-0 in five innings, advancing to the title game of Omaha Concordia's four-team tourney.
“It was good to get out and start off strong,” Vogt said.
Coach Tyler Stender's team lost 5-1 to the host Mustangs on Saturday, but it first jumped out to a 6-0 lead through one inning against the Huskies. After a 1-2-3 inning for opening-day starting pitcher Tyler Ott, both Killian McIntosh and Tim Halley reached base for Vogt, who doubled to deep centerfield at Orval Smith Memorial Field.
Ahead 2-0, Ott walked and Oliver Ladehoff bunted on base before Luke Sharp made contact into a Northwest error. The miscue cost the Huskies, who fell behind 4-0.
From there, both McIntosh and Halley drew bases-loaded free bases to push the AHS advantage to six runs. It added six more runs from there, too, with Wes Monke walking in the Eagles' seventh of the game during the second inning.
Ott then notched a two-run single in the third before Henry Lancaster scored on a passed ball during the fourth. Vogt added his third RBI of the game during the fourth frame, too, before scoring on a passed ball himself.
Ott unofficially finished with nine strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings before Monke earned the last out on the mound, capping the 1-0 start for Arlington. The Eagles' first win was its first by run-rule, too.
“We've been working really hard on the field every day hitting,” Vogt said. “And it was good to get out there and see what we've been practicing put in play.”
On Saturday, though, Arlington managed just one fifth-inning run. Trailing Concordia 5-0, both Sharp and Tanner Kyllo walked, setting up Monke's two-out RBI single.
The Mustangs kept AHS in check from there, though, producing the four-run victory. Coach Stender's team dropped to 1-1 in defeat. It was set to play Monday in Wayne before Thursday's 4:30 p.m. contest at Tekamah-Herman, which added baseball as a spring sport this season.
AHS BASEBALL LINE SCORES
Saturday
Omaha Concordia 5, Arlington 1
OC (2-0) 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 — 5
AHS (1-1) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 — 1
Friday
Arlington 12, Omaha Northwest 0, 5 inn.
ONW (0-1) 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
AHS (1-0) 6 1 2 3 X — 12
