Neligh #1 Jr. Pee Wees 2-1 In Final Regular Season Games

The Neligh #1 Jr. Pee Wee baseball teams went 2-1 in their final three regular games of the season. They will play Tilden #2 in their first tournament game at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday in Tilden.

Neligh fell to Battle Creek #1, 15-13, but bounced back to win their next two games. They defeated Tilden #2 by a score of 23-9 and won 8-7 over Battle Creek #2. 

Battle Creek #1:
Coach Chris Ford said his team started the game against Battle Creek #1 with hot bats and strong defense; however, failed to finish the game. "The Warriors jumped out to a 13-7 lead after 4 innings, but failed to stop Battle Creek’s 8 runs in the 5th and 6th, and proceeded to strike out 3 of the last 6 batters and had no hits in the last two innings on offense," he said.

Singles: Carter (1), Austin G (2), Isiah A (1), Aiden (1), Austin (1), Jace (1), Gavin (1), Landyn (1), and Carson (1); Doubles: Isiah (1), Aiden (1), Ty (2), and Austin R (1) and Triples: Aiden (1), Ty (1), and Austin R (1). 

Tilden #2:
A couple nights later, Neligh came back on fire against Tilden #2.

"The Neligh Warriors rebounded from a devastating loss two days prior and used relenting offense and smothering defense to slow down a tough Tilden #2 team," Ford said. "The #1 JPW only had one inning in which 3 outs closed the inning (2nd inning) and proceeded to score 5 runs in each of the other 4 innings. Neligh used 16 multi-base hits to overpower a younger Tilden #2 team."

He said the team had an impressive offensive night with 11 singles, 5 doubles, 7 triples, and 5 homeruns. "This was by far was the team’s best hitting of the year," he said. "This win was attributed to strong team play." 

Singles: Carter (3), Cameron A (1), Austin G (2), Ty (2), Isiah A (2), Landyn (1); Doubles: Cameron A (1), Isiah (1), Austin R (1), Cameron S (1), and Carson (1); Triples: Cameron A (1), Ty (1), Gavin (2),  Jace (3); and Home runs: Gavin (1), Aiden (3), Austin R (1).

Battle Creek #2:
Neligh's final regular season game was a close one with Battle Creek #2.

"The Neligh #1 Warriors won their last regular season game against Battle Creek #2 in dramatic fashion," Ford said. "The Warriors started slow, scoring 1 run in the first after allowing BC 3 runs. The 2nd inning the Warrior defense showed up to get a three-up-three-down inning and followed up with 5 runs scored in the bottom of the 2nd." 

He said Battle Creek "came back to life" in the 3rd, scoring 3 runs and followed up on the defensive side of the inning to hold Neligh scoreless and take the lead at 7-6. 

"Neligh's defense clamped down in the 5th and 6th innings, holding Battle Creek scoreless," Ford said. "In the bottom of the 6th with 1 out, Aiden Kuester stepped to the plate and knocked out a triple. His effort paid off when Jace Cameron followed with a double to score Kuester to bring the game all square at 7-7. The next batter Carson Whitesel ground out a single to push the winning run to third. That is when Austin Rudolf stepped up to the plate and fired a rocket directly back at his Coach Pitcher (forcing me to let out a huge grunt in anticipation of getting nailed in the ribs and nearly causing me to drop to the ground) line drive straight up the middle to push Jace Cameron across for the winning run!" 

Neligh won 8-7 with a walk-off single by Austin Rudolf. 

Singles: Austin R (4), Austin G (1), Hayden W (2), Ty (3), Isiah A (2), Landyn (1), Jace C (2), Carson W (1); Doubles:  Austin G (1), Cameron S (1), and Jace C (1); Triples: Aiden K (1); and Home runs: Aiden (1). 

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