Bluejays Blank Wildcards for First Win

Northeast Nodaway’s baseball team, after a rough start to the year, got its first win of the year Thursday, beating Stewartsville/Osborn 10-0 in six innings. Drew Dack picked a complete game one hit shutout, striking out nine Wildcards and got plenty of help in the field from Tyler New, who made plenty of catches from center field.

Third baseman Reece Gray dropped Skyler Chorpenning’s pop fly to start the game, but Grant McIntyre gunned him down stealing for the first out. Chance Gibson struck out, and then Brennon Lundy scalded one as hard as one can possibly hit it at this level, but first baseman Landon Wilmes stuck his glove up in a reflex move to snag it and take extra bases away from Lundy.

With one out in the Bluejay first, Drew Dack reached on an error and took second on an errant pickoff throw. Tyler New singled to shallow left and Grant McIntyre tripled to the left field wall to bring two runs home. Camdain Frisch reached on an error to score Grant and make it 3-0 after one.

Dack continued mowing down the orange shirts, bringing his strikeout total to seven after three innings of work. Chorpenning kept the Bluejays off balance by mixing a fastball and a knuckleball, but Drew Dack got hit to lead off the third and stole second. Tyler New’s scratch hit up the middle put runners on first and third. Grant McIntyre grounded out and Reece Gray struck out, but then Camdain Frisch singled just past shortstop to score Dack to make it 4-0.

In the fourth, Dack threw a wild pitch that Lundy swung at for strike three and he reached to start the inning. But Eli Martens flied out to Tyler New. Pop fly balls were an adventure all afternoon for the Bluejays, but this time, New caught the fly ball and doubled Lundy off first to end the threat. New caught the final out for good measure.

Sawyer Thurman doubled down the left field line to start the Bluejay fourth. Lance Runde struck out and Brayden Stevens grounded out and the Wildcards were nearly out of the inning, but Drew Dack singled to right center to make it 5-0 and stole second. Tyler New tripled to the left field corner to score Dack, and Grant McIntyre reached on an error by the third baseman, when he bobbled and threw it away, scoring New. Reece Gray singled to left center field and scored McIntyre. That made it 8-0.

The Wildcards mounted their most promising threat of the afternoon when Ryan Orta’s Texas Leaguer dropped in no-man’s land behind second base for a base hit and Eli Danner walked. But Tyler New made a shoestring catch, and that gave Dack the confidence he needed to strike the next two batters out and get out of the inning.

Northeast was shut out of the fifth when Lance Runde, who had been struggling at the plate, caught hold of one, but right at the shortstop, who doubled Carter Chapman off first. But Tyler New caught his fourth fly ball of the afternoon, and Camdain Frisch fielded two tricky grounders at second in the Wildcard sixth. 

The Bluejays ended it in the sixth when Grant McIntyre doubled off the bag at third to score Brayden Stevens and Reece Gray broke doubled off the wall in left to score Drew Dack.