Wayne survived into Monday’s play in the Class B Area 5 Seniors tournament, but it wasn’t easy.
Wayne came from behind with three runs in the fifth and six more in the sixth to eliminate Neligh with a wild 17-12 win Sunday at Hank Overin Field, moving into Monday’s 7:30 p.m. matchup against Lakeview, who lost to O'Neill 11-6 in Sunday's winners bracket matchup.
Wayne got three in the first inning on an RBI double by Tyler Lutt and RBI singles by Zane Jackson and Brennen O’Reilly to take the early advantage. They countered two-run innings by Neligh and led 7-4 in the top of the fourth when Jackson doubled home Payten Gamble and Kaleb Anderson came home on a passed ball.
Neligh scored four runs on two hits, two walks and an error to take an 8-7 lead after four innings, but Wayne responded with three in the top of the fifth to take the lead for good, as Lutt and Jackson had RBI singles and Gamble brought Mason Lee home with a sacrifice fly to make it 10-8.
Wayne scored six key runs in the sixth, highlighted by RBI singles from O’Reilly and Lee, then added another run in the seventh on an O’Reilly RBI double. Neligh scored four in the bottom of the seventh, but could not get any closer as Wayne hung on for the win.
Lee, Lutt, Jackson and O’Reilly each had three hits to spark an 18-hit attack for Wayne (17-12). Jackson ahd four RBI’s and Lutt and O’Reilly each had three. Lee, Anderson and Adam Bentjen each scored three runs. Lutt got the win in relief of Tucker Nichols.
In other Sunday action:
O'Neill comes back to beat Lakeview - O'Neill gave up six runs in the first inning, then came back and exploded for 11 unanswered runs, capped by a seven-run sixth, to guarantee a spot in the finals with an 11-6 win over Lakeview. Tyler Garber's bases-clearing double highlighted Lakeview's early explosion, but they couldn't hang on as O'Neill got two in the second, one in the fourth and one in the fifth to get within two. Alex Thramer's two-run single highlighted the big inning for O'Neill, and Estaban DeLao came on in relief to get the win for the Irish, who will be in Tuesday's championship game regardless of Monday's outcome with West Point.
West Point stays alive with win over Ponca – West Point got all they would need in the first when they scored three runs in the opening frame and Cole Kreikemeier threw a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts to keep top-seeded West Point alive in the tournament. Derek Petz was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and Chase Streeter also had three hits to lead a 14-hit attack. Luke Gnad scored two runs for West Point.
Class B Area 5 at Hank Overin Field
(Seeds in parenthesis)
Friday, July 21 Results
Game 1 — (1) West Point bye.
Game 2 — (4) Lakeview 3, (5) Neligh 1
Game 3 — (6) Wayne 5, (3) Ponca 0
Game 4 — (2) O’Neill 17, (7) Schuyler 1, 5 inn.
Saturday, July 22 Results
Game 5 — Neligh bye.
Game 6 — Ponca 6, Schuyler 2 (Schuyler eliminated)
Game 7 — Lakeview 9, West Point 8
Game 8 — O’Neill 8, Wayne 2
Sunday, July 23 Results
Game 9 — West Point 10, Ponca 0, 6 inn. (Ponca eliminated)
Game 10 — Wayne 17, Neligh 12 (Neligh eliminated)
Game 11 — O’Neill 11, Lakeview 6
Monday, July 24 Schedule
Game 12 — O’Neill vs. West Point, 5 p.m. (West Point out with loss)
Game 13 — Wayne vs. Lakeview, 7:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Tuesday, July 25 Schedule
Game 14 — Championship, 5 p.m.
Game 15 — If needed, 30 minutes after Game 14 completion.
