Horns finish as Class C Junior Legion runners up

    Two wins in the first two days felt like a big deal for the Pinnacle Bank Imperial Junior Legion team last week. The Horns had more in store for fans as the week went on.
    Imperial lost to Malcolm in a winners bracket game, but advanced to the Class C state championship game with a come from behind win over DCB that set up a Thursday rematch with Malcolm.
First tourney loss
    Malcolm, which finished with a 14-6 record in Class B this spring before rolling into Legion season, handed Imperial its first loss of the tournament July 19.
    Camron Lempke quickly put the Horns on the board, singling then coming home on a double by Jaret Peterson. It would be Imperial’s only run in the game.
    Malcolm took the lead in the bottom of the inning thanks to two of its first three batters hitting doubles.
    The Horns went down in order in the second and third innings, while Malcolm only had two hits, but Malcolm took advantage of three Imperial errors to score four runs.
    One Malcolm run in the fourth inning was the final run of the game, a 1-7 Imperial loss.
    Imperial had five hits in the game while Malcolm had nine hits in five innings.
    Peterson pitched five innings and Gavin Wisnieski came on for an inning of relief. Together they struck out six and walked three.
     The Horns dug themselves into a hole in their losers bracket game the next day against Dannebrog-Cairo-Boelus.
    Needing a win to keep its season alive, Imperial gave up three runs to DCB in the first inning. Thomas Reeves led off the Horns’ half of the inning with a single and came around to score, but Imperial headed into the second inning trailing 1-3.
    DCB had a similar result in the top of the second. DCB scored three runs and was able to hold Imperial scoreless.
    After one-run third and fourth innings by DCB, Imperial had its back to the wall, trailing 1-8 going into the fifth inning.
    The Horns got back on track by setting DCB down in order in the fifth.
    “In the tournament, we consistently had different guys stepping up to make something good happen. From wearing a pitch to get on base to coming up with a two out hit to extend an inning, these guys kept finding ways to stay in the game and that’s exactly what happened against DCB,” Head Coach Bruce Peterson said.
    Offensively, Tyler O’Neil led off and scored with one out. Imperial had two down when Reeves crossed the plate and the runs kept coming. Malachi Christensen, running for Peterson, Mason Wallin and Cooper Dillan crossed home plate leaving Imperial within two runs, 6-8, heading into the sixth inning.
    DCB was able to get a runner on in the sixth inning, but Imperial handled three hit balls cleanly to end the DCB half of the inning.
    The floodgates opened for the Horns soon after. Imperial led off the inning with three straight singles, then tied the game on a double by Wallin. Three more runs scored on a two-out error by DCB putting the Horns squarely in control heading into the seventh inning.
    DCB cut Imperial’s 12-8 by one in the seventh but left two stranded in the 12-9 Horns’ win.
    O’Neil was hit three times in the game, continuing a trend from the regular season.
    Peterson credited Assistant Coach Trevor Peterson with making Horns’ batters tougher at the plate.
    “In past years, at state, we’ve pitched well, played defense well, but we’ve come up short on runs. I think that part of our game has improved this season. Couple that with a never quit until the last out attitude, comeback wins are made possible,” Peterson said.
    Though the win put Imperial in the championship game, the Horns went deep into its pitching rotation.
    Reeves, Wallin and Lempke threw in the contest. Combined they allowed 10 hits, struck out nine and walked eight.
    Peterson said managing pitching is one of the hardest things about this process.
    “We stuck to our pitching plan for the most part, except for the comeback win against DCB. In that game, we were forced to do everything we had to to get that win and it took more arms that I’d have liked,” Peterson said.
    The win over DCB set up a rematch with Malcolm in the championship game.
    Tristan Jablonski started on the mound against Malcolm.
    “I thought our pitchers did very well and some young guys kept us in the game later against a very good hitting Malcolm team in the championship. I knew the last game would be tough, but these guys have shown me that they never give up,” Peterson said.
    A first inning double play shut down an early Imperial chance. Malcolm’s first four batters pounded the ball around the field and put Imperial in a 0-3 deficit.
    The Horns were never able to get their bats going in the game, but played solid defense behind their pitchers.
    After a scoreless second inning, Imperial allowed one run in each the third, fourth and fifth innings.
    Wisnieski came on in relief with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and didn’t allow a run to score.
    The Horns went down in order to end the 0-6 loss.
    Jablonski and Wisnieski gave up 12 hits and three walks in the game.
    Looking back on the tournament, Peterson said six days of hotels, restaurants, driving and rain delays was tough, but this is a quality bunch of young men.
    “We try to get up at the same time every day for breakfast to get moving and not just sit around. We always have a practice when we first arrive on the first night,” Peterson said.
    The Horns arrived at the ballpark two hours early on game day and go through a normal warm-up routine.
    “They stayed focused and when game time arrived, they were ready,” Peterson said.
    At least three juniors starters, Dillan, O’Neil and Wallin, will move up to seniors next year, and the future remains bright for the team.
    With many teams like Lexington and McCook are losing players, Peterson said it’s making it difficult to find games for the Horns’ younger players.
    “I’m already trying to schedule more games next year to accommodate our incoming numbers,” Peterson said, adding, with pitch count rules, some teams don’t want to play more games in a week.
    “So, I will continue to look for positive opportunities for our players,” Peterson said.
    This year’s juniors finished with a 26-5 record.
Final tournament results:
Day 4, July 20
Game 12—Imperial 12, DCB 9
Game 13—Malcolm 10, Pender 2
Day 5, July 21
Game 14—Malcolm 6, Imperial 0