The Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) Tournament champions couldn't beat coach Roy Prauner's Fort Calhoun baseball team twice.
Instead, the NCC runner-ups plated seven runs during the third inning and beat Branched Oak on Thursday, 12-6. The Pioneers improved to 6-8 with the home win, while the Bucks fell to 9-5.
Less than a week earlier, FCHS fell to the same team 9-2. So, what was the difference?
“They just kept their energy up the whole game and there wasn't any letdown,” Prauner said. “Just better approaches at the plate, understanding the situation and being aggressive at the right time.”
Justin Myer pushed across the Pioneers' first run during the bottom half of the first frame, but the home team took control of Thursday's matchup in the third when every player in the lineup reached base.
Ty Hallberg's one-out double kicked off the tear. Tylan Conner then scored him when his single swing sent the ball out of the infield.
Calhoun's Zach Faucher scored next on a passed ball before Myer walked and Jake Seina's RBI double pushed the home team out front, 4-3. That lead grew by two runs with Tristan Fuhrman's single.
Austin Welchert and Zane Schwarz then reached base, allowing Harrison Schmitt — who struck out to lead-off the inning — to redeem himself and hit an RBI single past the Branched Oak third baseman. Hallberg's second hit of the bottom of the third gave Prauner's lineup an 8-3 advantage.
From there, the Pioneers outscored the Bucks 4-3, tallying all four of those runs during the fifth inning. Hallberg finished with four hits, Seina had three RBIs, and the FCHS pitchers — Myer and Faucher — combined for four strikeouts.
Fort Calhoun fell to Branched Oak for the title, but they doubled them up at home just days later.
