NORFOLK, Neb. – The Northeast Community College baseball team opened conference play in a doubleheader Tuesday at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Baseball Field against Iowa Lakes Community College. The Hawks downed the Lakers in both contests by final scores of 10-2 and 7-0 to pick up their third victory in two days.
Northeast (15-10, 2-0 ICCAC) received a fantastic outing on the mound from starting pitcher Nick Vilims (Evergreen, Colo.) in Game 1 as the sophomore tossed five innings, allowed three hits, zero earned runs and fanned seven batters from Iowa Lakes. Derek Woolwine (Boulder, Colo.), Ian Shaw (Ogallala, Neb.), Brice Wallar (Papillion, Neb.) and Rusty Wortman (Gretna, Neb.) all tallied RBIs in the showdown to give the Hawks their first conference triumph of the season.
Game 2 was more of the same for Northeast as starter Matthew Kitzman (Osseo, Minn.) also threw five innings on the mound, allowing just two hits and no earned runs while striking out seven batters. Wallar tallied his second triple of the day in the second matchup while Pierce Wright (Olathe, Kan.) singled to record two RBIs.
STAT SHEET GAME 1:
Derek Woolwine (Boulder, Colo.): 1-1, 2 RBI, BB
Brice Wallar (Papillion, Neb.): 2-2, 3B, R, RBI
Nick Vilims (Evergreen, Colo.): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K
STAT SHEET GAME 2:
Derek Woolwine (Boulder, Colo.): 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Pierce Wright (Olathe, Kan.): 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI
Matthew Kitzman (Osseo, Minn.): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7 K
HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:
Head Baseball Coach Marcus Clapp on the dominance of his pitchers today:
“We threw strikes,” Clapp said. “We got ahead. It was good to see Matthew Kitzman come out and have command of his pitches today. When he does, he can be really good. He needed it. Nick Vilims did what he needed to do. He pumped the zone. Overall, I thought we pitched pretty well today. Hopefully we can keep building on that on the mound. Two wins in conference, I’m going to take it.”
Clapp on battling defending Region 11 champion No. 6 Southeastern Community College next:
“We get the opportunity to play a ranked team,” Clapp said. “If you can’t get excited for that, then you aren’t going to get excited. It’s an opportunity for us. We’re going to go in there and worry about ourselves, and if we play like we can, we will have a good series.”
UP NEXT:
The Hawks will hit the road for a three-game set with No. 6 Southeastern Community College beginning in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday in West Burlington, Iowa.
