Second round play at the Class B state Junior League tourney featured a match up between Alliance and West Point. Both teams got wins on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s contest which was played in Gering. The Spartans plated 6 scores in the second and cruised to a 13 to 0 victory. Their record now stands at 29-3-1 on the year. Up by 6, the White club scored 4 more in the third to get the W. Alliance finished with 11 hits with Jaxon Poss leading the way with 3. The Peltz Co got a one hitter by starter Espen Lanik who went 4 innings and collected 8 strikeouts. Carver Nemnich ended the 5 frame ball game with a scoreless fifth.
Alliance went the plate first and received a hit by Nemnich but no runs. West Point also got a first inning knock but no scores. It would be the Bombers lone hit on the night. Inning #2 was a good one for the Spartans. The 6 run spree started with a Nason Thompson walk and Tony Escamilla reaching on an error by WP. A run scoring single by Jaxson Esparza made it 1 to 0. Alliance then loaded the bases after a hit by Poss. The Spartans then went on by 2 thanks to a sacrifice fly by Braeden Clarke. An RBI single by Lanik followed as the Peltz Co went by 3. Run four came after another miscue by the Bombers. Creighton Fritzler added to the White club’s lead with an another sac fly. The top of the second closed with the Spartans extending their advantage to 6 after a passed ball and a double by Kobe Strom. West Point failed to get into the scoring column in the home half as Lanik recorded 2 strikeouts.
Four more Spartans scores in the top of the third put their lead at 10. Alliance got a hit by Poss, a wild pitch, and a 3 run double by Nemnich to go up 10 to 0. Lanik struck out of three Bombers in the bottom of the third, keeping the lead at 10. In the fourth, a single by Escamilla was the lone highlight as the Peltz Co failed to score. Two more Lanik k’s kept the momentum on the side of the Spartans in the bottom of inning 4. After 4 frames of action, the White Club enjoyed a 10 to 0 lead
Any hopes of a big Bombers comeback were silenced in the fifth. Alliance plated three more tallies to go up by 13. Knocks by Creighton Fritzler, Escamilla, and Poss got things rolling. An error by West Point made it 11 to 0 and the lead went to 12 after a sacrifice fly by Strom. With the bases full, the Peltz Co’s final score came on an RBI walk by Clarke. Nemnich sealed the deal on the bump in bottom of the fifth with 2 strikeouts. Final Alliance 13 West Point 0. The game was called after 5 frames due to the run rule.
Spartans 0 6 4 0 3 13
Bombers 0 0 0 0 0 0
Eleven hits for the White team three Poss, two each Escamilla and Nemnich, one apiece Lanik, Fritzler, Strom and Esparza.
The Peltz Co will take on Elkhorn on Monday for their next game.