Neligh Dominates Valentine To Keep Season Alive

After a rough outing dropped them to the bottom bracket on Saturday, Neligh bounced back in a big way with a dominant 11-1 win over Valentine. 

From the first pitch, Neligh was well in control of the game. Cole Belitz got the start on the mound, holding Valentine to just three hits while striking out four in three innings of work. Kaleb Pofahl came in for the relief in the fourth, continuing Neligh's strong night. He added one more strikeout and gave up just one hit.

Offensively, Belitz really helped his own cause. His RBI single in the first scored leadoff man Beau Murray before setting him up to score himself on a Hunter Reestman single. He also added runs in the fourth and fifth innings to finish the day 3-3 with an RBI and three runs.

After Murray and Belitz scored in the first, Conor Ramold added a run in the second. Belitz and Reestman then scored in the fourth to give Neligh a 5-1 lead before a big fifth inning put the game away. Jayden Arehart came around to get the scoring started before Ramold, Belitz, Andrew Herley and Austin Rice all made their way around. Neligh completed a 10-run win when a wild pitch to Ramold allowed Hunter Charf to come in for the winning run.

Neligh now awaits the winner of Battle Creek versus Bloomfield/Wausa. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Monday.