MINDEN – Holdrege found themselves dangerously close to squandering another final inning lead in the B6 Area Legion Tournament, but instead continued on their season by outing Cozad 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. Click here to listen to the broadcast.
Holdrege, seeded #6 coming into the tournament, landed into the bottom bracket by falling in a heartbreaker to Doniphan-Trumbull on Friday afternoon. Click here to review that contest. Cozad, at #7, lost 9-1 to Broken Bow Friday evening.
As First State Bank began the contest with Tate Florell on the mound, a strong defensive showing began. Florell was efficient, starting his performance with a strikeout and not allowing a run through the top of the fifth inning. The strong batting continued for Holdrege after taking some time to get started, as Holdrege scored after filling the bases and walking a courtesy runner in.
Holdrege added another score at the bottom of the third, as Florell had an RBI single allowing Cade Kirwan to run in making the First State Bank lead 2-0.
Another run was added in the bottom of the fourth as Kaden Broeker brought in another score, extending the lead to three.
The contest was in reach for Holdrege to close out the contest heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. Loading the bases again and scoring two in the inning, a change from Jacob Engel to Nolan Wetovick on the mound proved wise for Cozad as the First State Bank seniors were held at bay at just two earned runs in the fifth, rather than extending the lead and potentially closing the game with a run-rule inning.
Instead, Holdrege remained scoreless the rest of the contest while Wetovick retired batters in the sixth. Cozad was also held scoreless until the final moments.
At the top of the seventh, Holdrege brought in Cole Guthrie to close the contest, as a similar situation unfolded from the day prior. The First State Bank seniors allowed walks and runners to score off of errors, bringing in two runs for Cozad after a few high throws. Paul Cole then singled and made his way into scoring position, but remained stranded at third as Guthrie retired batter Isaac White and won the contest 5-4 in favor of Holdrege.
Cozad sees their season come to a close, as Holdrege continues to fight to stay alive. The seniors will face the winner of Minden/McCook at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, with the KUVR broadcast pregame starting at 1:50 p.m.
