5 Things To Know - Junior Legion C1 Area Tournament

Baseball season has been fast paced from start to finish for the Neligh Junior Legion, but it is now drawing to a close. Starting Friday, Neligh will play host to the C1 Area Tournament, with every team fighting to keep their season alive all weekend.

1. The who and when
Eight teams will meet at Neligh's Riverside Park hoping to earn a spot in the state tournament. As the host team, Neligh earned the three seed, setting them up for a showdown with six-seeded Pierce. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday.

The top seed for the weekend is Bloomfield, who will kick off the tournament against the eight seed, Atkinson. The second seed, Creighton, will be in action against seventh-seeded Battle Creek. Rounding out the first-round matchups will be a battle of the fourth and fifth seeds, Valentine and Crofton. That game will kick off the whole tournament at 10 a.m.

2. How's the weather?
Anyone who has spent time in Nebraska in July will know what to expect this weekend as they make their way to the ball diamond. Temperatures are expected to range anywhere from upper 80's on Friday to upper 90's on Sunday and Monday. On Championship Tuesday, it's expected to reach 92 degrees. The good news? No rain. There won't be many clouds - rain or otherwise - all weekend.

3. Can Neligh outscore the competition?
​The Neligh offense has been impressive all season, averaging more than nine runs a game. They've scored less than five runs in a game just three times and have topped the 10-run mark seven times. With a number of strong offensive teams in the tournament, they'll need to keep the bats alive to make a deep run. They have gotten big hits from all over the lineup, so odds are they will keep it up. On the flip side....

4. Will Neligh lock down defensively?
The Neligh pitching staff and defense has combined to be phenomenal all year long. Beau Murray, Cole Belitz, Jayden Arehart, Kaleb Pofahl and Hunter Charf have combined to lead Neligh on the mound all year long. They all are capable of sitting runners down on strikes just as easily as they are able to get the ground ball out. If they can keep the consistency, expect Neligh to blow through much of the tournament. 

5. Don't forget the younguns
While the Legion will have center stage, the north and south fields will be busy as well. The Quad County Peewee and Pony Tournaments will be full go the whole time as well. The Peewee tournament kicked off Wednesday evening, with Tilden, Elgin and Neligh all represented. Tilden started the tournament again Battle Creek on Wednesday. Elgin will face Albion White Sox Thursday night while Neligh, the two seed, earned a first-round bye and will play that winner on Friday. In the Pony tournament, Neligh kicked off the action against the O’Neill Rebels on Wednesday night. Tilden earned the second seed and will see their first action on Thursday night.