Spencer Weir whiffed nine North Nodaway batters and allowed only two hits, shutting them down in five innings of work as NEN won 11-0 in a run-rule victory. The Bluejays, despite not getting a game under their belts until Thursday, picked up right where they left off last year, when they made it all the way to the State Quarterfinals.
NEN got on the board in the top of the first when Spencer Weir roped a soft line drive that shortstop Austin Bird couldn’t come up with and got on base. Reed McIntyre walked and Cameron Staples singled up the middle to put NEN up 1-0. Chet Spire walked and Brayden Welch flied out to Logan Keho in center to score McIntyre. Staples came home on a wild pitch; North Nodaway put back their iconic wooden backstop for this season and the ball was either bouncing right back at the catcher or taking crazy bounces into no man’s land. Staples was safe on a close play to make it 3-0.
The Bluejays added to their lead in the second when Chance Barber was hit by a pitch. It looked like North Nodaway would get out of the inning despite the heart of NEN’s order coming up when third baseman Makayla Cross handled a tough grounder from Spencer Weir and threw him out at first and Reed McIntyre grounded out to Tyler Bix on the mound. But then Cameron Staples hit one to Austin Bird at short and the ball squirted through his legs for an error and Barber came home. Chet Spire walked and Brayden Welch singled to left to score Staples to make it 5-0.
That finished Bix, and Arron Coleman came on and shut down NEN at first, striking out the side in the third, two on called third strikes. Meanwhile, Makayla Cross roped a single right up the middle with one out to break up Weir’s no-hit bid in the third. That was an attempt to echo the game two years ago, when Jill Spire got a critical hit off Koby Reynolds to start the rally that handed NEN one of their four straight conference titles. But then Weir restored order by striking out Lucas Alvarez and getting Dalton Smyser to fly out to Maverick Price.
Reed McIntyre doubled all the way to the wall in left, over 300 feet away and Arron Coleman plunked Cameron Staples with a pitch despite Coach Jake Shipman’s protests that he made no effort to avoid the pitch. But Coleman got out of the inning, getting Chet Spire to chase after a high pitch, freezing Brayden Welch on a breaking ball, and tagging out McIntyre trying to come home on a wild pitch as the wooden backstop played into North Nodaway’s hands as the ball bounced right back to Bix behind the plate.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Tyler Bix singled to left, but then Arron Coleman’s long fly was reigned in by Brayden Welch – North Nodaway has put a fence around the outfield, but the vast park still kept everything in Thursday despite the wind blowing out to left. An errant pickoff throw by Weir – NEN’s only error – put Bix on second, but then Weir came back to freeze Ryan Riley on a breaking ball to end one of North Nodaway’s few chances to score.
The floodgates opened for NEN in the fifth after Coleman had held the fort for two innings. Ethan Adwell reached on a single and an error when centerfielder Logan Keho let the ball get by him. Maverick Price reached on a dropped third strike and pinch hitter Spencer Gray walked to load the bases.
Chance Barber struck out, but then Spencer Weir doubled off the wall in left to score two and put runners on second and third. Reed McIntyre singled to left and two runs scored as Chace Atkins, running for Weir, came home from second as McIntyre took second on the throw home. Cameron Staples singled to center past a diving Austin Bird to score McIntyre. Chet Spire reached safely as Bird dropped a force as Staples slid in hard to break up the play. Brayden Welch popped out to second, but Ethan Adwell singled home Staples to make it 11-0.
Logan Keho put up a good fight against Weir, getting him to seven pitches before striking out. Andrew Blackford, the littlest man on the team for the Mustangs, drew a walk, but Makayla Cross and Lucas Alvarez struck out as Weir finished the game and preserved the shutout.
No comments:
Post a Comment