The Wayne High baseball team opened the 2018 campaign with a win on the road Monday, holding off a late rally to post a 3-2 win at Arlington.
The Blue Devils scored first in the top of the first inning when Zane Jackson took a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left field for Wayne’s first run of the season, but Arlington would use a double and two errors to plate two runs in the third to take a 2-1 lead.
Wayne regained the lead in the fifth when Trevor DeBoer doubled and Victor Kniesche came on as a courtesy runner. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Josh Lutt, and after Reid Korth was hit by a pitch, Kniesche came home on Kaleb Anderson’s bunt single to tie the game. Korth gave Wayne the lead when he scored on a sacrifice by Jacob Kneifl.
Arlington left two runners on in the sixth and loaded the bases in the seventh, but Wayne’s defense came through as Lutt flipped to Anderson at second for a fielder’s choice to end the game.
DeBoer got the win in relief of Kneifl, pitching 3 1/3 innings of one-hit baseball for the 1-0 Blue Devils.
Wayne’s scheduled home opener with Fort Calhoun on Tuesday was postponed. They are scheduled to play Thursday at Pender against Thurston County and follow with a Friday game at Wahoo.
