Class B No. 7 Elkhorn North snapped the Blair baseball team's three-game winning streak and spoiled Senior Night.
The Wolves (16-10 overall) scored the matchup's first eight runs, winning 8-3 Tuesday at Vets Field. The Bears dropped to 7-9 in defeat after celebrating Tyler Andersen, Conner O'Neil, Matt Burns and Kolton Hammer.
“I think it's cool that we're the last four,” Hammer said of his 12th-grade class before its second-to-last home game of the regular season. “We had a lot in our class when we first started, so it's kind of cool how we're the only four left.”
Burns said he's had a lot of support in the sport ever since he started Little League. It's continued through high school under coaches James Bilslend and John Roan.
“I've had fun all four years that I've played even if they haven't been the greatest for me,” he said.
On Tuesday, Burns earned a walk and scored a run against Elkhorn North. Hammer and Andersen, meanwhile, went 0-for-1 as O'Neil notched a hit in three at-bats.
Down 8-0, Blair scraped together three runs during the sixth and seventh innings. Underclassmen Dylan Swanson and Greyson Kay notched RBIs, while Burns, Brady Brown and J'Shawn Unger scored runs.
It wasn't enough, though, as the Wolves' Colin Nowaczyk and Kyler Hanson combined for 15 strikeouts from the pitching mound. Designated hitter Jett Grossart tallied three RBIs.
Elkhorn North's junior varsity, meanwhile, won a 10-7 game against the Bears. Kaden Sears had three RBIs in defeat, while Blaine Rosenbaum and Brayan Caraveo pushed across a run apiece.
With a pair of regular season games to go, BHS' senior class knows what it'll take to end its final spring season in the best way it can.
“We need to stay focused all seven innings,” Burns said. “Play through, get the bats on the ball and just stay — really, it's the big one — stay focused.”
Today, Blair plays in Valley City Park against Douglas County West. Its 4:30 p.m. home finale is next Tuesday against Wahoo.
Bears top Seward, 17-9
A nine-run fifth-inning boosted the Blair baseball team past Seward on Monday. Tied 8-8, the Bears scored nine in the fifth and took a 17-9 road win.
Brown, a sophomore, led coach Bilslend's team with four hits, while both Shea Wendt and Kay plated three runs apiece. Brown, Unger, O'Neil and Nate Wachter each notched two RBIs, too.
Wachter also earned the pitching win with seven strikeouts.
