Hartington Post 4 takes down Ord
HARTINGTON - After dropping a 3-2 decision to Tecumseh in the opening round, Hartington Post 4 reversed the tables on Ord in an elimination game by a 3-2 score to remain alive in the Class C Junior American Legion Baseball Tournament here at Felber Park.
Post 4 took advantage of six Ord errors, some great pitching and a couple of sparkling defensive plays to move along in the tournament.
It eventually took a walk-off single by designated hitter, Keyton Arens to plate the final score.
“Coach told me if we got an out, he was going to call a squeeze,” Arens said. “I came to the plate thinking I was going to bunt. He never called the play so I just went up there swinging and I got a good pitch. I was trying to lift something to the outfield and I caught all of the ball, it was what we needed.”
Koby Detlefsen opened the Hartington seventh with a double to right field then Easton Hochstein worked a walk off of Ord pitcher, Jordan Williams.
Grady Haberer chased Detlefsen to third and Hochstein to second with a ground ball to the Ord shortstop, which was mishandled, setting up Arens’ heroics to end the game.
“We did just enough to get by these guys, we beat a good team here today,” Hartington manager, Don Whitmire said. “I wish we could get a few more hits, but the pitching has been really good here, which you would expect.”
Post 4’s Gavin Klug and Ord’s Colton Thompson were battling in a pitcher’s duel for the first four innings.
Klug allowed just three hits and one run in his four innings of work while Thompson gave up just two hits and a couple of runs in 5.2 innings of work.
Bodie Hochstein pitched two innings for Hartington before Hunter Bensen came on to pitch two innings to get the win in the first extra inning.
Ord loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh on a couple of Post 4 errors and a walk.
Bensen got a strikeout then Bodie Hochstein fielded a ground ball at second base and fired a strike to Micah Cattau, the Hartington catcher to record a force out at home.
“Micah has done a great job for us behind the plate and at the plate,” Whitmire said. “We have had a couple of injuries this season which we avoided pretty much last season and Micah is more than solid, especially when you consider he’s just an eighth-grader.”
Another Bensen strikeout ended the threat.
Easton Hochstein made a play in the Ord half of the fifth, that may have saved the day and the tournament for Hartington.
Ord got two runners on to open its half of the fifth then got a Thompson single to score a run to tie the score 1-1.
Colt Meyer singled into right field where Easton Hochstein picked up the ball and rifled a strike to Cattau to cut down the Ord runner at the plate.
“I knew I had to throw a perfect shot to the plate to get they guy,” Hochstein said. “That’s what I did and Micah made a great play and got him out. That’s why we practice those plays I guess.”
Post 4 advanced to take on Loomis in another elimination game Monday, July 22.
“If we can get our bats going, we’ll be all right,” Whitmire said. “Everybody here is good, so we’ll have to play well.”
Hartington Post 4 Juniors defeat Ord Post 38 Juniors 3-2. O 000 020 00 - 2 8 6 H 000 110 01 - 3 4 3 WP: Hunter Bensen LP: Jordan Williams. 2B: Breiton Whitmire, Koby Detlefsen (H); Grey Geiser (O).