Area 7 district legion baseball tourney came to an end of Tuesday with a contest between Alliance and Chadron. A big second inning powered the Spartans past PVC 12 to 6, sending Alliance to the state tournament. The game was played in Alliance. With the win, the Peltz Co goes to 26 and 12 for the season. The Seniors broke open a close ball game with 5 scores in the second in getting the victory. Tony Escamilla was the Spartans starter and went 4.2 frames and had 2 strikeouts. Reliever Lexton Salcido tossed the final 2.1 innings and also recorded 2 k’s. At the dish, the Peltz Co ended with 8 knocks. Kobe Strom, Escamilla, and Jaxson Esparza led the Spartan on offense with 2 hits each.
Alliance hit first and scored once in the opening inning. Walks to Kegan Rodriguez and Strom began the scoring. Escamilla then helped his cause with an RBI single, giving the Peltz Co a one run advantage. Post 12 responded with one in the home half. PVC had some hot bats in the bottom of the first. Chadron had 3 hits to start the contest. A PVC runner was thrown out at the plate to deny Chadron their first tally. Another knock then tied the game at 1. The Spartans would then spin a double play to get out of the jam. After one inning of play, the battle was knotted at 1 all.
Momentum then went back to the Peltz Co in the top of the second. Alliance scored 5 times in the frame to break the game open. Action began with the Seniors loading the sacks thanks to walks to Cody Galles and Rodriguez and Nason Thompson getting hit by a pitch. Free passes to Espen Lanik and Carver Nemnich ensued as the Spartans surged ahead 3 to 1. Strom was next and his ground out made it 4 to 1. The scoring continued with a sacrifice fly by Escamilla and an RBI hit by Esparza. Down 6 to 1, Chadron got one in the home half. Another double play by Alliance foiled the rally. No runs were tallied in the third by either side. The highlight of the frame came in the bottom of the inning with Carver throwing out a Chadron runner trying to steal. With 3 innings in the book, Alliance was up 6 to 2.
Inning #4 had the Peltz Co increasing their margin. Rodriguez walked and later scored on an error by Post 12. Alliance would get fourth inning hits by Strom and Escamilla but both runners were stranded. Escamilla had a scoreless frame in the bottom of the inning with one strikeout. Things got tight in the fifth with the Seniors failing to score while PVC pushed 3 across to slice their deficit to 7 to 5. A two run triple by Chadron was the big hit as PVC got close.
Alliance counter with 4 scores in the top of the sixth. Once again it was Rodriguez starting the scoring by reaching on an error by Chadron. Lanik then walked and the Spartans loaded the bases when Strom was struck by a pitch. A passed ball and a wild pitch made the score 9 to 5. Escamilla also got a free pass as the rally continued. The Peltz Co finished the scoring with RBI singles by Esparza and Creighton Fritzler. With the scoreboard reading Alliance 11 Chadron 5, PVC used a double and a single in the bottom of the sixth to pull within five.
An insurance run in the top of the 7th gave the Spartans some breathing room. Knocks by Nemnich and Strom put the score at 12 to 6. Chadron had 2 hits in their at bat but a Salcido strikeout ended the game. Final Alliance 12 Chadron 6
Peltz Co. 1 5 0 1 0 4 1 12
Post 12 1 1 0 0 3 1 0 6
Eight hits for the Spartans, two apiece Strom, Escamilla and Esparza, one each Fritzler and Nemnich.
Alliance will now participate in the Class B state tournament in Minden which begins on Saturday. The Spartans will play Holdrege at 4:00. Other teams playing in the tourney besides Alliance and Holdrege are: Lincoln Christian, Waverly, Mount Michael, York, Wayne, and the host team Minden. These squads will take part in the National Division. Chadron qualified in the American Division and will play in Auburn.