Not Done Yet! Neligh Juniors Surge past Hartington; Seal Spot in District Title Game

An offensive showcase led the Neligh Junior Legion baseball team to a 13-7 triumph over Hartington Monday in the district tournament at Pierce.

"What I liked about this game was the enthusiasm and fight we brought to this game," said Neligh coach Dan Murray. "It started in the beginning and it continued until the last inning. The fight was amazing and it was maybe the best I've seen all year."

Hartington got off to a hot start to open the game. Three-straight hits led to the first run of the contest and two more runs came around to give Hartington a 3-0 edge.

Neligh responded with five runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead. A bases-loaded hit batter, a wild pitch, an error and a fielder's choice pushed Neligh ahead 5-3.

"We talked after the first and told them that three runs is nothing to worry about and we've been here before," coach Murray said. "They took it from there and they went to the dugout and came out with the bats. They got after it all night long."

Hartington answered with a RBI single by Jacob Keiser in its next at bat to cut the deficit to one.

Neligh once again put a five spot on the board to take a commanding 10-4 advantage. Three errors, a balk and a Dawson Kaup single tallied the runs for Neligh in the second.

"We got behind and got down on ourselves last night (Neligh's 8-2 loss to Creighton) and that's what hurt us," said Neligh second baseman Brock Kester. "Tonight we were down, but we kept our head in it and we played through the whole game."

Following a scoreless third, the Neligh Juniors added two runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth. Hunter Charf's sacrifice fly scored Kaleb Pofahl from third, Beau Murray's groundout brought in Kaup and Murray's RBI single in the sixth completed the scoring for Neligh.

​Hartington attempted to rally in the seventh by loading the bases with no outs. Hartington scored three runs, but the hole was too large as Neligh ended Hartington's season.

"Tonight's win was a good one just to get to a championship (game)," Kester said. "It was good to bounce back. We got Creighton tomorrow and it will be good to get back at them. We'll get them tomorrow."

Neligh took advantage of six Hartington errors in the contest. Kester went a perfect three-for-three with a run scored to lead Neligh. Beau Murray recorded three hits, two RBI and two runs scored. Conor Ramold, Brandon Evans, Charf and Hunter Reestman each scored twice and Kaup tallied two hits and two runs batted in.

"We did really good hitting today and hopefully we can bring that tomorrow," Kester said.

Charf picked up the win on the mound. In six innings of work, Charf allowed four runs on six hits and struck out four. Reestman and Andrew Jacobsen each saw time on the mound as well for the Juniors.

"I was really impressed with our defense and our pitching," coach Murray said. "The pitching has been lights out this whole tournament. Every game we have pitched to win."

Neligh (8-5) now has the task of beating Creighton twice Tuesday in order to win a district title. The first game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and if Neligh wins, game two is at 8 p.m.

"Creighton is tough, they've always been tough and they always play us tough," coach Murray said. "I expect these guys to show up, be ready, bring the fight to Creighton and we'll see what happens. It's going to be a good game."