Ottawa Takes Two From the Broncos

(Ottawa, KS) – The baseball team returned to Ottawa on Sunday to complete their four-game series against the Braves that was postponed on Thursday morning. Hastings dropped the first game 12-2 in seven innings and made a comeback from 4-0 down late to tie it at six in the seventh, before losing in the eighth in the second game.

Hastings began the first game with a leadoff double from junior Jaden Stone, who led the team with two hits in the game, and a one-out walk, but a strikeout and a flyout ended the threat.

Ottawa scored in each of the first four innings, beginning with a two-run first inning. They scored on a one-out single and a wild pitch. In the second inning, the Braves had three come around to score to go up 5-0, scoring on an RBI groundout, then a triple and a double plated the next two runs.

The real damage came in the third inning, as four of the six runs that the Braves scored were on wild pitches and the other two RBIs came on singles, taking an 11-0 lead after three. They tacked on a 12th run on a solo home run in the fourth inning.

Freshman pitcher Alex Wilson came on in relief with two outs in the third and gave the Broncos three and a third innings of solid pitching, giving up just the one run on the deep ball.

The Broncos got their first run in the fifth inning. Junior Jace Valdez led off with a double and freshman Jordin Albertson brought him home on a single. 

Hastings got their second run in the seventh inning as they tried to avoid the run rule. Freshman Eddie Henchek stroked a double to center field to start the inning and with one out, senior Alliskair Descartes knocked him in with a single to left. With Descartes on first with one out, the Braves got a strikeout and a flyout to end the game by run rule, 12-2.

In game two, Ottawa took the lead in the third with two runs. With the bases loaded and one out, the Baves were hit by a pitch, then hit a sac fly in the following at-bat. They got two more runs in the fourth on a two-run single up the middle to go up 4-0.

Hastings mounted their comeback in the next half inning, as Albertson doubled to lead off the inning and took third on a flyout. Senior Matt Lucero grounded one to the second baseman to bring in the first Bronco run.

Trailing 4-1 going to the top of the sixth, Descartes got a base hit and junior Jace Delgado walked to start off the inning, then senior Elijah Merritt blasted one over the right field fence for a game-tying three-run home run.

The Braves responded in the bottom of the sixth with a single and advanced to second on an error, then the runner came around to score on a base hit to go up, 5-4. With a runner on third and one out, Ottawa added an insurance run on a sac fly to take a 6-4 lead.

Lucero walked with one out in the top of the seventh and two batters later, Descartes drilled a home run to left, tying it up again at six. Junior Cooper Gierhan pitched a three-up, three-down bottom of the seventh to send the game to extras.

Senior Mason Masur got a two-out single in the eighth, but Hastings was unable to capitalize in the inning. Ottawa walked to begin the bottom of the eighth and was bunted over to second via sacrifice in the next at-bat. A second walk of the inning put runners on first and second with one out and the Braves single in the next at-bat to score the game-winning run, winning 7-6 in eight innings.

Sophomore Devin Otto got the start on the mound in the second game, allowing just two runs on two hits in three innings with four strikeouts. Junior Caden Holm came in later in the game and pitched two innings with two strikeouts. Descartes and Stone each had two hits and Merritt led the team in RBIs with three, all coming on his home run.

Up next, Hastings will play on Friday, Feb 7 in Salina, KS against Clarke beginning at 12pm, then Kansas Wesleyan at 3pm.