Omaha Concordia beat the Blair Senior Legion team 7-3 Tuesday night at Vets Field.
The Bears were competitive at the plate, making contact, but often finding Mustang mitts.
“We had a lot of 'at 'em balls,' which I encourage,” Post 154 coach James Bilsend said. “Eventually, guess what, they're going to turn into line drives that find a spot where there's no defenders.”
That wasn't the case Tuesday, though.
Concordia led 3-0 against Blair pitcher Kaden Fletcher before he responded with a third-inning RBI single of his own that scored Nolan Osterhaus.
Later, a Canton Lippincott RBI-double scored Dylan Swanson to pull the Bears within 4-2 — the closest they'd get.
The Mustangs built a 7-2 advantage before Swanson's bases loaded sacrifice during the bottom half of the seventh frame. The road team followed up that second out with a third and won by four runs. The loss dropped the Bears' Senior lineup to 5-11 this season.
“We're struggling a little bit, but we're not giving up,” Bilslend said. “We're in every game.”
Post 154 just hasn't been getting the breaks its needed to pick up wins consistently. Its coach said he's telling the players to keep working toward good fortune, which he believes will come.
In the meantime, Blair is dealing with injuries to its lineup. Neither Morgan Rump or Matthew Burns were able to play Tuesday and may not be able to for a bit, Bilslend said.
“It's a little tough, but it's baseball. You only need nine guys to play,” he added. “We have nine. Not a bad nine at all.”
The Bears' scheduled game tonight against Omaha South has been canceled. On Saturday, they'll play two against Gering beginning at noon on Vets Field.
The Blair Junior Legion team, meanwhile, defeated Concordia on Tuesday, 12-3. It plays Lincoln High tonight at Omaha South's Brown Park before Saturday's game against the Packers themselves.
