BHS baseball drops first 2 to tough competition

Bears lose home opener to No. 1 Antlers

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With Friday's game against Nebraska City postponed due to field conditions, the Blair baseball team opened its 2021 season with games against two of the Eastern Midlands Conference's premier programs.
The Bears went 0-for-2.
“I'm proud of the way we competed,” Bears coach John Roan said. “It doesn't get much tougher than Bennington and Elkhorn right out of the chute.”
BHS lost 4-3 to the Class B No. 6 Badgers on Thursday before Saturday's six-inning, 11-0 loss to the No. 1 Antlers at Vets Field.
“We played good in both games,” Roan said.
The EMC bouts were his first two as Blair head coach.
“I don't think Elkhorn is 11 runs better than us by any means,” he added. “There's just little things we need to do better.”
The Antlers jumped out to a 1-0 advantage during the top half of the opening inning before the Bears started their first half with a strikeout and a groundout. Sophomore Shea Wendt then notched a two-out double, but BHS' threat was thwarted by the second strikeout for EHS pitcher Malakai Vetock.
Down 4-0, Blair's Cade Ulven and Dex Larsen added the Bears' second and third hits during the fourth inning, but, again, Elkhorn kept Roan's team from plating those baserunners.
The Antlers added three runs to their lead during the fifth and four in the sixth frame, ending the afternoon ballgame an inning early — 11-0 — by run rule.
The Bears were scheduled to play again Monday against Omaha Skutt before tonight's 4:30 game against Omaha Concordia, which already has wins over Washington County schools Arlington and Fort Calhoun.

Badgers claim walk-off win over BHS
The Blair baseball season opened Thursday with a 4-3, walk-off loss to No. 6 Bennington.
The Bears built a 3-0 advantage during the road trip before surrendering four runs in the bottom half of the final inning. Wyatt Ogle took the pitching loss after starter Tyler Andersen surrendered his first two runs after six scoreless innings. The starter struck out five.
“Tyler Andersen threw a great, great 6 1/3 innings,” Roan said. “Make one more play and that game's ours.”
Wendt, meanwhile, led the BHS offense with three hits, including a homer. The third baseman was 3-for-3 with with two RBIs.
“What a great way to open up your high school career, really,” Roan said. “I thought he played extremely well both offensively and defensively.”
Morgan Rump also logged an RBI, while Nolan Osterhaus had two hits and Andersen had one.

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