Seniors end season with top 4 finish

The Legion baseball season wrapped up Aug. 1 for the Pinnacle Bank Imperial Horns.
After winning their first two games of the Seniors tournament, the first wins ever for Imperial at state, the Horns dropped their final two games to the teams that would finish first and second, Malcolm and Dannebrog-Cairo-Boelus, respectively. Wilbur also advanced to the semifinals.
Head Coach Bruce Peterson, “getting the first win of the tournament July 29 against Lincoln Lutheran was huge.”
“At that point, I think everyone realized we could play with anyone. Coming from behind built a lot of momentum too,” Peterson said.
Imperial faced the hosts, Sheridan County, the next day for a game that stretched to the following morning after a rain delay. For the second game in a row, the Horns had to come from behind.
“We never should’ve been down to GR but the rain did give us an opportunity to reset and the next morning, we quickly scored some runs and Jaret (Peterson) completely shut them down striking out seven of nine hitters he faced,” Peterson said.
In their third game, the Horns lost to eventual state champion Malcolm.
“To me, the biggest victory of the tournament was playing Malcolm 5-8. The guys came out hitting and knocked a good pitcher out of the game in the first inning. Malcolm is just so deep with good pitching, we couldn’t keep pace,” Peterson said.
With pitching being a key to success at state, the Horns were in need of fresh arms when day four rolled around. Between the rain delay and some injuries that popped up late, Peterson said he had to adjust his pitching plan and it didn’t fair well against DCB.
Six players stepped up to pitch against DCB, Brextin Moreno, Destry Oxford, Noah Rau, Tristan Jablonski, Tyler O’Neil and Tysen Lempke.
Imperial trailed 2-8 before the wheels fell off in the sixth inning and the Horns gave up 11 runs.
Offensively, the Horns only struck out three times, but also only walked once and had four hits.
Peterson, Gavin Wisnieski, Carter Leibbrandt and Cooper Dillan each had one hit.
Imperial pitchers also struck out three DCB batters and only gave up five hits, but issued 21 walks in the game.
Over all for the summer, Peterson said the seniors played a really good season, especially in the second half, at one point winning eight-straight games against quality teams.
“Many of these guys play roles on both juniors and seniors and an overall record of 35-15 is commendable given the tough schedule we play and the miles we travel,” he concluded.