Blair Senior Legion pitcher Dylan Swanson felt he started Tuesday's home game against Wahoo a little wild.
“But then I started taking deep breaths and getting back to my mechanics,” the lefty said.
The Bear eventually struck out 11 batters, allowing just two hits during a seven-inning, 6-0 win at Vets Field. Coach James Bilslend's Post 154 team improved to 11-1 in victory.
“It got a lot more easy once I got into my flow, my rhythm,” Swanson said.
While Wahoo was kept in check, Blair scored its first runs during the bottom of the third inning. Conner O'Neil ran out an infield single, Bo Nielsen walked and Brady Brown was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Swanson produced a 1-0 lead by sac fly. Greyson Kay then tallied an RBI single for a two-run advantage.
The opposition recorded its first hit against Swanson and the Bears during the fourth inning, but Post 154 responded with three runs during the bottom half. Tanner Jacobson scored on a passed ball and Swanson hit into a two-run error.
Finally, during the fifth frame, Jacobson added an RBI single for Blair's final tally — its sixth.
“Our defense,” Swanson said when asked what the overall key to victory was. “Especially (catcher) Nate (Wachter). He called a really good game.”
The Bears were set to contend for wins Nos. 12 and 13 on Wednesday and Thursday, and will host Omaha Concordia at 8 p.m. today.
The Blair Juniors, meanwhile, lost a 10-1 game to Wahoo on Tuesday evening. The Bears' loss was their fifth in a row as they dropped to 4-9 overall. They play at Omaha Gross today with the first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.
Bears top Nemaha in S.D.
O'Neil tripled during the eighth inning Sunday, propelling the Post 154 Bears to a victory in their last game of a rain-soaked trip to Yankton, S.D.
Blair's 8-6 win against Nemaha Senior Legion was the continuation of a Lewis & Clark Classic game that started Saturday. It was delayed by rain, but, ultimately, resulted in the Bears improving to 10-1 overall. They went 2-1 in tourney matchups.
O'Neil finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs against Nemaha, while Kay hit a two-run homer. Wachter, Swanson and Nielsen plated runs, too.
Defensively, Jacobson — who scored on O'Neil's eighth-inning triple with Lee Chavez-Lara — started on the pitcher's mound, while Nielsen ended up with the victory. The latter Bear finished with seven strikeouts across six innings.
POST 154 SENIOR LINE SCORES
Tuesday
Blair 6, Wahoo 0
WAHOO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
BLAIR (11-1) 0 0 2 3 1 0 X — 6
Sunday
Blair 8, Nemaha 6, 8 inn.
BLAIR (10-1) 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 — 8 11 0
NEMAHA 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 — 6 5 0
