Blair Senior Legion baseball coach James Bilslend typically holds court after games at Vets Field.
On Friday night after the start of the Class B Area 3 Tournament, however, not much was said in the postgame huddle.
“When the mistakes are that glaring, you don't have to say much,” Bilslend explained.
Post 154 lost its opener to Arlington, 4-3, when Post 71 scored two runs during the top of the seventh inning. The loss sent the home squad into an elimination game it had to win Saturday against Fort Calhoun.
“We've got some senior leadership that doesn't want to stop playing baseball,” Bilslend said. “They want to keep playing.”
Blair fell behind Zig Drywall on Saturday, 5-1, but used a six-run third inning to pull out a season-saving 7-6 victory. Lucas Matejka was one of the players to play an important role.
Returning from injury to play in the Area Tourney, Post 154's starting pitcher said he and his team got off to a slow start. It got going, though, as Coach Bilslend's lineup produced six runs and held onto the lead through the end of the seventh frame.
“The energy just stayed up,” Matejka said. “Even though we didn't score the rest of the game, the energy was up and we just relied on pitching.”
He finished 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts, while Hans Sorensen struck out two in 1 1/3 of relief.
“Proud of him,” Matejka said of his teammate.
Sorensen also had a team-best two hits against Calhoun, while Owen Mann and Matejka notched two RBIs apiece. Beyond one at-bat against Arlington, Matejka hadn't played since July 7.
“A lot of ibuprofen and a lot of rest,” he said when asked about the keys to his recovery. “For the past two or three weeks, I've just been resting, icing and elevating my leg for districts.”
After an opening-round loss, Matejka said, “I knew I had to step it up and play a big role.”
The pitcher did as Blair extended its season with a win against Post 348. Bilslend's squad was set to play again Sunday with results from that game and beyond set to appear in this Friday's Washington County Enterprise edition.
Miscues cost Blair opener
The Blair Seniors left nine batters on base Friday against Arlington.
Even worse, Bilslend said, they had three runners caught stealing and were picked off a couple of times, too.
“If they would have run the bases the way that you're supposed to run the bases, we win the ballgame — easy,” the coach noted. “By bad base-running, we left four runs out there.”
The miscues allowed Arlington to come from behind and win with two runs during the top of the seventh inning. The victors had trailed all game after Post 154 scored all three of its runs during the first frame.
Blair's Nelson Kosch, Nathan Murray and Andrew Smutny loaded the bases during the opening frame, providing Carter Saylor the opportunity to hit a two-run single.
Max Rump and Owen Mann reached base from there before Jackson Livingston's infield single plated Post 154's third run.
Pitcher Aiden McBreen and his defense held the lead from there until he was substituted out with 6 1/3 innings under his belt.
“He was absolutely amazing,” Bilslend said. “Absolutely amazing.”
McBreen notched five strikeouts across 82 pitches, but his coach had planned to get him out of the game at 80.
“He just looked to me like he was a little bit tired,” Bilslend said. “So, I thought, 'A fresh arm will get a ground ball, get us out of it and we go home happy.'”
Arlington's Wes Monke and Luke Sharp notched RBIs from there, however, flipping their team's deficit into a lead.
Saylor walked and pinch hitter Lucas Matejka singled during the bottom half of the seventh inning, but a flyout ultimately ended the game in Post 71's favor.
AREA 3 TOURNAMENT LINE SCORES
Saturday
Blair 7, Fort Calhoun 6
BLAIR (18-16) 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 — 7 9 4
FC (21-17) 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 6 4 2
Friday
Arlington 4, Blair 3
ARL (6-8) 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 — 4 5 1
BLAIR (17-16) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 7 2
