Hastings Opens First Home Series with Day 1 Split
(Hastings, NE) – In their first home games of the season, Hastings went 1-1 to Mayville State. They lost the opener in a close 2-1 extra-inning game, but rebounded with a 10-1 blowout win in game two.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | X | 10 | 10 | 2 |
(Hastings, NE) – In their first home games of the season, Hastings went 1-1 to Mayville State. They lost the opener in a close 2-1 extra-inning game, but rebounded with a 10-1 blowout win in game two.
Offense was hard to come by in game one, though the Comets did score in the second with a leadoff double that came around to score on an error to go up 1-0. Hastings got a runner on in the bottom half of the inning as junior Tristan Martinez was hit with one out, but the Broncos came up empty in the next two at-bats.
Hastings got on the board in the fifth as freshman Eddie Henchek hit a one-out single to center. Junior Ben Richter ran for him and stole second. After a strikeout, senior Alliskair Descartes hit an RBI single to right to tie it up at one.
Senior pitcher James Velasquez got Hastings through six innings, giving up just the unearned run on four hits, striking out six. The Broncos managed to get runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh, but Mayville State got out of the inning unscathed.
In the top of the eighth, the Comets' first two batters singled and moved up to second and third. During the next at-bat, the ball got away from sophomore catcher Jared Delgado on a passed ball, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
The Broncos had a chance in the bottom of the eighth, as junior Jaden Stone walked and freshman Jordin Albertson walked. The Comets were able to record outs on the next three batters to hold on to the 2-1 win.
In game two, Hastings scored first by Henchek hitting a single to start the inning, followed by senior Elijah Merritt's RBI triple to go up 1-0. The Comets came back in the next half inning with a run of their own on a sac fly to tie the game at one.
The game remained tied at one until the bottom of the fifth when the Hastings bats came to life, scoring eight runs in the inning. Martinez singled and seniors Tyler Welsh and Mason Masur walked to load the bases with no out. Descartes walked to bring in a run, then after a pitching change, Stone and junior Jace Valdez walked to make it 4-1.
After a strikeout, Henchek cleared the bases with a three-run RBI triple, then Merritt singled him in to go up 8-1. Merritt took second on a passed ball and later scored on a Welsh single to right to conclude the eight-run inning at 9-1 going to the sixth.
Hastings added another run in the ninth on a Henchek two-out single after Stone and Delgado each recorded base hits in the inning, as Hastings took the win, 10-1.
Henchek was a perfect 4-4 at the plate with four RBIs and two runs scored, while Merritt was 2-4 with two RBIs and one run. Junior Markus Miller got the win by pitching all seven innings, giving up one earned run on four hits, with four strikeouts.
Hastings will complete the four-game series tomorrow against Mayville State with a double-header beginning at 12pm.
