Fremont, Nebraska – Mother Nature played a toll on Friday night’s ILB game between the Fremont Moo and the Nebraska Prospects at Historic Moller Field. Late Friday afternoon a thunderstorm forced the start of the contest back to an 8 p.m., first pitch. Then, the skies opened at the end of the bottom of the eighth, forcing the game to be called with the Prospects claiming a 7-3 win over Fremont.
The Moo did start the scoring, however, in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Cooper Fuchino hit a ground rule double to right off Prospects starter Cooper Katskee. Then, Carter Sintek hit a ball that ricocheted off Katskee’s glove, over to Paul Schuyler at second. However, Schuyler’s throw to first pulled Jackson Trout off the bag and Fuchino scurried home to put Fremont up 1-0.
The Prospects took the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Against Fremont starter Logan Anderson, the Prospects’ Jackson Trout was hit by a pitch. Then, Elliott Peterson drew a walk. Two batters later, Brice Waller was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After Anderson struck out Jacob Perrin for the second out, Paul Schuyler was hit by a pitch, scoring Trout, to make it 1-1. Then, a wild pitch scored Peterson to put the Prospects up 2-1.
In the top of the sixth, the Prospects added two more runs. Brice Waller was hit by a pitch, then took second and third on consecutive wild pitches. Two batters later, Paul Schuyler hit a liner to right which Miles Meadows dove for and missed. Schuyler hustled all the way around the bases and scored for a two-run inside-the-park home run, to make it 4-1.
The Prospects tallied three more runs in the top of the seventh. With one out, versus Fremont reliever Hayden Kelberlau, Elliott Peterson was hit by a pitch. Nico Sall drew a walk. Then, Brice Waller reached on a fielder’s choice, as Sall was forced out at second, leaving runners at the corners. Josh Perrin was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Then, Luke Bies hit a two-rbi single to right, scoring Peterson and Waller to make it 6-1. Then, Bodi Waller singled, plating Perrin, to make it a 7-1 Prospects lead.
The Moo tallied two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Against reliever Cameron Pickens, Fremont’s Dean Reynolds led off with a double. Then, Jack Torosian singled, scoring Reynolds to make it 7-2. Torosian advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Cooper Fuchino drew a walk. Then, Carter Sintek reached on a fielder’s choice, as Fuchino was forced out at second, leaving runners at the corners. A wild pitch scored Torosian to make it a 7-3 game.
Neither team scored in the eighth, and the rain came down forcing the game to be called prior to the start of the ninth inning.
The Prospects (7-20, 2-10), scored seven runs off five hits and committed two errors. Fremont (26-18, 13-7) had three runs with six hits and had one error.
Prospects starter Cooper Katskee (2-0) earned the win. He pitched 5.0 innings, giving up one unearned run off four hits, struck out six and walked one, had one wild pitch and hit one batter. Cameron Pickens pitched 2.0 innings, giving up two runs off two hits, struck out two and walked four and had two wild pitches. Jonathan Moffitt pitched 1.0 inning and struck out three.
Fremont starter Logan Anderson (1-2) took the loss. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs off two hits, struck out six, walked three, yielded the inside-the-park home run to Paul Schuyler, had five wild pitches and hit four batters. Hayden Kelberlau pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three runs off three hits, struck out three, walked two, had one wild pitch and hit two batters.
Offensively for The Prospects, Paul Schuyler was 1-for-2 with an inside-the-park home run and three rbi’s. Bodi Waller was 2-for-4 and drove in one.
For Fremont, Jack Torosian was 2-for-4 with an rbi.
The two teams will play the final game of the series Saturday night. First pitch at Historic Moller Field is 7:05 p.m.
