Tanner Jacobson swung at Friday's first Norris Titan offering during a Eastern Midlands Conference baseball game at Vets Field.
The Blair Bear made contact to lead-off the bottom of the first inning and coach John Roan's Class B No. 10 team eventually beat No. 5, 6-2.
“It's really big,” Jacobson said of the Bears' start. “It just lets everyone in the dugout know we're going to hit this game and we're going to have a great game.”
BHS (4-3 overall) scored three first-inning runs, led by as many as five against the fifth-ranked Titans and earned its third victory of the season.
“We got on top of them early and just kept that momentum rolling,” pitcher Dylan Swanson said.
Bo Nielsen closed out the win with two hitless innings, but the left-hander earned the win. He allowed just three hits across five innings, striking out one.
“I was just trying to command my fastball on the outside and have my off-speed (pitches) around the plate,” Swanson said. “Just to keep them off-balance and let my defense work.”
The Bears committed one error in the field, but also saved runs with their play. After Norris pulled within 3-1 during the third inning, third baseman Kaden Sears fielded a grounder and threw to catcher Nate Wachter, who tagged a Titan out at the plate.
Then, during the sixth inning, Norris appeared ready to rally. With two runners on and no outs, the Titans pulled within 6-2 with a sacrifice fly. Centerfielder Brady Brown, however, recognized a second Norris runner trying to advance from second to third base and threw him out for an unorthodox double play.
A popout later, the Titans' comeback threat was over.
“They played very well,” Swanson said of the BHS infielders and outfielders. “They read the ball.”
Offensively, both Jacobson and Brown finished with two Bear hits. Brown, a junior, was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while both Shea Wendt and Greyson Kay notched extra-base hits and plated runs, too.
“You can't hold our lineup down,” Jacobson said. “Eventually we're going to see it and we did today.”
Bears play 2 more
In addition to Friday's game with the Titans, the Bears faced No. 8 Waverly on Thursday and Hastings on Saturday, winning both.
First, against the Vikings, BHS scored 10 seventh-inning runs to put away their Eastern Midlands Conference opposition 14-3 on the road. Coach Roan's team logged four more hits, 7-3, and had three less errors. It also drew 13 free bases with nine walks and four hit batters.
Wendt, the Bears' pitcher, walked eight himself, but also struck out nine Waverly batters to earn the win on the mound. The senior hit a homer, walked twice and was hit with a pitch, too.
Jacobson and Swanson added two hits apiece against Waverly as Swanson finished with a team-best three RBIs. Jacobson (two), Brown (two), Wendt (two), Kay (two) and Wachter (one) plated runs as well.
Lee Chavez-Lara reached base three times, too, with two walks and an at-bat that ended when he was hit by a Viking pitch.
Then, on Saturday, Blair won by run rule against Hastings, 12-2. Brown — who had two doubles — notched three RBIs against the Tigers, while Unger and Nielsen had two apiece. Jacobson and Swanson added one RBI each, too.
Unger earned the pitching win as well, striking out seven batters in 4 1/3 innings. Brown struck out two in relief as well.
BHS was scheduled to host Beatrice on Monday and next faces Omaha North on Wednesday. The home game with the Vikings starts at 4:30 p.m. on Vets Field.
BHS BASEBALL LINE SCORE
Saturday
No. 10 Blair 12, Hastings 2
HHS (4-3) 0 0 0 1 1 0 — 2 3 3
BHS (4-3) 0 4 1 2 4 1 — 12 10 3
Friday
No. 10 Blair 6, No. 5 Norris 2
NHS (6-4) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 — 2 3 0
BHS (3-3) 3 0 0 3 0 0 X — 6 6 1
Thursday
No. 10 Blair 14, No. 8 Waverly 3
BHS (2-3) 1 0 1 0 2 0 10 — 14 7 0
WHS (3-5) 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 — 3 3 3
