Legion Juniors go 2-2 during week on the road

    It was a week that would test the mettle of any team.
    The Pinnacle Bank Junior Legion team had four games in six days last week and there could have been more. Wednesday’s games against Lexington were canceled.
    The Horns split their four games and ran their season record to 13-5 with the postseason knocking.
    Imperial dropped a close, 5-6 contest at McCook June 20. The Horns got off on the right foot, with their first five batters putting the ball in play and scoring one run in the first inning.
    The bottom of the order came through with two runs in the second as McCook pitchers issued two walks and hit one Horn with a pitch. A McCook error and a sac fly by Camron Lempke helped bring the runs home.
    After holding McCook quiet for two innings, Imperial gave up three runs in each the third and fourth innings. Imperial limited the damage by getting the third out of the third inning with the bases loaded.
    Trailing 3-6, the Horns gained one run back in the fifth inning and another in the sixth while holding McCook scoreless. Imperial stranded runners on second and third in the sixth inning and, with a scoreless seventh inning, lost the game.
    The Horns out hit McCook 5-4 and only made two errors to four by McCook. Each team stranded six runners.
    Tristan Jablonski pitched the first three innings, walking six, striking out one and giving up four hits, before Lempke came on in relief, striking out three and not allowing a walk or a hit.
    The Horns bounced back with a 13-6 win at Ogallala last Thursday.
    Leadoff hitter Thomas Reeves set the tone with a triple to start the game. Reeves would go on to score, as would Lempke who reached base with a single.
    The bottom of the order, Carson Terryberry, Tristan Jablonski, Brextin Moreno and Evan O’Neil came through with a walk and three-straight singles to start off a big second inning. The Horns batted around and scored six runs to take an 8-0 lead.
    After giving up two singles and one run in the bottom of the second inning, Imperial plated three more runs in the third with the help of three Ogallala errors.
    The Horns were scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings despite loading the bases in the fourth.
    Three singles, an error and three straight walks set the plate for a five-run inning by Ogallala in the fifth.
    Destry Oxford and O’Neil reached base in the top of the sixth inning and scored the Horns’ final runs of the game.
    Kaden Vogt, Noah Rau and Lempke pitched for Imperial. The trio gave up five hits, struck out nine and walked seven.
    The Horns’ bats racked up 12 hits in the game, including three for Reeves. Jaret Peterson had four RBIs.
    Imperial got its second win of the week Saturday with a 12-1 stomping at Broken Bow.
    The game stayed fairly even for four innings.
    Despite only four Imperial batters coming to the plate, and three of them striking out, Lempke singled and scored after a stolen base and two passed balls.
    Broken Bow had similar luck, scoring one run thanks to an Imperial error, a dropped third strike, a stolen base and a passed ball.
    The Horns cleaned up their defense and sat Broken Bow down in order in the remaining four innings as Peterson dominated on the mound and finished with a no hitter. Peterson struck out nine of the 17 batters he faced and didn’t give up a walk.
    The offense backed Peterson up with one run in each the third and fourth innings, including a home run by Jablonski.
    Imperial put Broken Bow to bed in the fifth inning. The Horns had two hits early in the inning, but feasted on six walks and a batter hit by a pitch. Nine runs in the fifth inning sealed the win.
    Lempke went 3-3 in the game to lead Imperial.
    The week wrapped up with a loss to Holdrege, the league leaders, on Sunday.
    Although Imperial sat Holdrege down in order in the first and second innings, the Horns weren’t able to score runs despite getting runners on base.     Holdrege broke the scoreless trend with two hits and a run in the third inning then a four-run inning in the fourth.
    Imperial finally got on the board in the fifth when Moreno led off the inning with a double and scored on a single by Reeves, who later scored on a single by Gavin Wisnieski.
    Holdrege responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the sixth.
    The Horns got one run back in the seventh inning, but stranded runners on second and third to end the 3-7 loss.
    Rau and Lempke combined for four strike outs and two walks, as well as nine hits.
Up next
    The Junior B team will stay busy. Tuesday it hosted Ogallala for a double header. This weekend the Horns will head to Sidney for a two-day tournament.
    In addition, Thursday the complete Juniors team will head to Cambridge for a double header.
    Districts will begin July 7 at Hershey and wrap up July 12.
    The state tournament will begin July 15 in Imperial.
    Horns Head Coach Bruce Peterson used five pitchers last week and says he has a good idea what he wants his rotation to look like in the postseason. Overall Peterson has used 11 pitchers this season.