Bluejays Blank North Nodaway in First Round of Districts

Northeast Nodaway’s baseball team shut out North Nodaway 10-0 Friday to advance in districts and set up a showdown with St. Joseph Christian. Previously, the Bluejays had beaten the Mustangs 19-0. However, North Nodaway had improved since the first game, getting their first win over East Harrison 11-1. They then came back for seconds, successfully invading North Andrew and getting a 16-9 win. 

Dylan McIntyre singled to start off the Bluejays in the first and advanced on right fielder Darron Bix’s error. But Bix atoned for his miscue the rest of the game, robbing the Bluejays of several hits and delaying the end by a long time. Ben Boswell flied out to Jeremiah Dobbins to advance McIntyre and Colton Swalley flied out to Bix to score him to make it 1-0. Northeast restarted the inning when Lane Dack tripled to the wall in left, running coach Vance Proffitt’s stop sign to take the extra base. Auston Pride was plunked and a balk scored Dack. Grant McIntyre reached on an error to score Pride. That made it 3-0.

The Bluejays added to their lead in the second when Zach Pride walked and Dylan McIntyre tripled to the wall in right. He came home on an errant pickoff try to make it 5-0.

But then Ethan Fry settled down in the third and fourth innings and shut down the Bluejays. He had gotten the first win of the season for the Mustangs when he pitched them to victory in their 11-1 win over East Harrison. Fry ran out of pitches after four and Northeast greeted Brice Trimble in the fifth with Colton Swalley’s double down the left field line. Trimble nearly got out of it as Lane Dack struck out and Auston Pride popped out to Andrew Phillips at third. Phillips’ return filled a big hole for the Mustangs and was one of the reasons for their improvement. But Grant McIntyre tripled to the wall in center and Brayden Munns and Landon Wilmes walked to load the bases. Zach Pride singled in two more to make it 8-0. Darron Bix kept North Nodaway going as he ran down Dylan McIntyre’s drive in right that would have ended it on the ten run rule.

The game finally ended in the sixth when Ben Boswell singled off Trimble’s glove and beat out a scratch hit. Colton Swalley reached on an error and stole second and Lane Dack’s pop fly behind short dropped into no man’s land and both runs scored to end the game.