Ahead 6-5 with two outs in the seventh inning, one errant throw to third base cost the Zig Drywall Post 348 Pioneers in their Senior American Legion baseball opener.
Syracuse scored a run off of the error, tying the road game before winning it in the eighth inning, 7-6.
“That's what does it,” Fort Calhoun coach Brandon Wynn said. “Sometimes it comes down to one little moment.”
The loss stung, but Friday's game wasn't all bad.
“They made mistakes and came back from it,” the coach said of his Pioneers. “So, I'm proud of that. Just have to be better at the plate.”
Post 348 scored first despite its early struggles against Syracuse pitching. Jordan Back and Tristan Fuhrman earned walks during the third inning, setting up Sam Genoways who plated both base runners with a single to right field.
“That broke the game open,” Wynn said. “We were staring down the barrel of a no-hitter there.”
Genoways later scored on a passed ball before Justin Myer made it home on an error for a 4-0 Fort Calhoun lead.
The Pioneers then added a pair of runs in the fourth when Genoways and Sam Halford registered bases-loaded walks. With that, the home team led 6-1 going into Syracuse's four-run top of the fifth frame.
Still leading 6-5, though, Post 348 went scoreless during the bottom half of the sixth inning even though Fuhrman reached third base with no outs.
The inability to score later cost the Pioneers when a throw to third base missed its mark with two out in the top of the seventh.
High school freshmen Kenny Wellwood and Alex Christensen reached base for Wynn's squad during the bottom half, drawing compliments from their coach even though the latter was called out when the umpire was not informed of his pinch-hitter status.
Syracuse went on to score the game-winning run during the top of the eighth frame. Though Myer walked and Halford hit a single to right field during the bottom half, the visiting team's lead stood for the one-run victory.
Wynn was complimentary of his Fort Calhoun lineup in defeat. It played good defense, made key plays and had “good pitching” from Declyn Otte and Ty Hallberg.
“If they play like that every night with a few more hits sprinkled in, we'll win more than we'll lose,” the coach said.
Earlier in the night, the Fort Calhoun Junior Legion baseball team opened its season with a 13-3 loss to Syracuse. Trailing 10-0, Genoways plated Back for Post 348's first run of the summer season.
