Bases loaded with two out, Fort Calhoun baseball senior Sam Genoways stutter-stepped a bit under an infield pop fly with the Pioneers' first-ever NSAA Class C State Championships game in the balance.
“I just wanted to make it interesting, you know?” he said Saturday, cracking a smile after fifth-seeded FCHS knocked off No. 4 Lincoln Christian at Fricke Field in Papilllion.
The Crusaders scored three seventh-inning runs, but not the fourth and fifth they needed during a 7-5 loss. While they dropped into an elimination tournament game, the Pioneers advanced onto a second-round matchup with an all-time state record of 1-0.
“Relief and excitement,” Calhoun's Kenny Wellwood said after stepping onto the mound for the last two outs. “That's what we've got right now.”
The relief pitcher was called into duty with Lincoln Christian making its late-game push. The Crusaders had already cut their deficit from five runs to two and were in position to steal the first-round game from coach Roy Prauner's ballclub.
“As I've said earlier and all year, I trust my defense behind me to make a play,” Wellwood said. “So, I'm throwing it in there. I'm throwing to contact.”
After he hit a batter with a pitch to load the bases, the senior Southeast Community College recruit induced a flyout to Presley Olberding in right field.
The next — and final — Lincoln Christian batter worked to a full count against Wellwood, three balls and two strikes, before sending the baseball into the air over Genoways. There was a moment of indecision on the infielder's part, but the Morningside University commit committed and made the play to end the game in the Pioneers' favor.
“Our hearts were beating a little faster today on the field, but it wasn’t a level of nervousness,” senior catcher Chase Premer said. “I would say it was more confidence. We were excited be here and we knew we should be here.”
Fort Calhoun proved it during the top of the fourth inning, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead with three runs. The advantage grew, too, once the Pioneers scored two runs apiece during both the sixth and seventh frames.
First, junior Eli Tinkham's sixth-inning RBI single plated Jayson Reynolds, who ran the bases for Alex Christensen.
“I think I just had full confidence in my ability,” the batter said. “I knew the guys in the dugout trusted me, and I just knew I could deliver for them.”
Ahead 4-1, Chase Bierman's contact swing produced FCHS' fifth run via throwing error before Tinkham plated two more base runners with another single during the top of the seventh frame. Altogether, the junior was 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
The Pioneers' Charlie Boumstein and Christensen had an RBI apiece against the Crusaders, too, while Eric Koterba and Genoways also had hits.
Genoways, notably, started his high school's first-ever state game on the mound as well. He pitched efficiently, throwing six innings and allowing just four hits with a strikeout.
“Starting out in the bullpen, I just really had to calm myself down — just treat it like every other game,” the right-hander said of his pregame work. “And I felt like I had my stuff today. I felt great. Went out there and just trusted myself.”
The pitcher's work stuck and he earned the decision — a Class C win. It was the Pioneers' first in state baseball competition.
NSAA CLASS C STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday
No. 5 Fort Calhoun 7, No. 4 Lincoln Christian 5
FCHS (18-6) 0 0 0 3 0 2 2 — 7 7 1
LC (13-6) 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 — 5 7 4
