By TRAVIS O’GORMAN
The Box Butte County Bad Boys 10U baseball team set their team goal in October. Win the State Tournament. The goal became reality over the holiday weekend when the Bad Boys won the Nebraska Cal Ripken 10U Baseball State Tournament in Gering.
The Bad Boys came out of the gates slow in game one on Friday afternoon against the host team Gering. The Bad Boys and Gering traded runs in the first three innings and were tied at three after the third inning. The Bad Boy bats exploded in the fourth when they batted around the lineup scoring ten runs. Carsen Bunnell, Teagen O’Gorman, Jace Jensen, Casyn Nelson, and Izzy Garcia each had RBIs in the inning. That was all the Bad Boys would need as Cormic Stark would record the final six outs for the Bad Boys to secure the victory 13-3. The Bad Boys collected 18 hits in the game. Garcia, Stark and Miguel Galvan all pitched for the Bad Boys.
The Bad Boys were under the lights on Friday night taking on Westco in what would turn out to be the most exciting game of the tournament. The Bad Boys got off to an early lead scoring one in the first and two in the third to take a 3-0 lead after three. Neither team could plate a run in the fourth. The two teams traded runs in the fifth. The top of the sixth started with the Bad Boys leading 5-1. Westco would not go away quietly scoring five runs in the top of the 6th to take a 6-5 lead. The Bad Boys would score one in the bottom half to force extra innings with the game tied at six. Westco scored two more in the top of the seventh to take a 8-6 lead and setting up a wild finish in the bottom of the seventh. With two on and two out, Miguel Galvan singled to right field scoring Teagen O’Gorman to cut Westco’s lead to 8-7. Carsen Bunnell would score two pitches later on a passed ball. That would bring up Dixon Bair who smacked a single to right field scoring Galvan and securing the walk-off victory 9-8. Fletcher Moseman was excellent on the mound going two and two-thirds, allowing no runs and no hits. He struck out four. Teagen O’Gorman recorded the final six outs for the Bad Boys. O’Gorman, Garcia, Bair and Galvan each had multiple hits for the Bad Boys.
The Bad Boys returned to the field Saturday afternoon for the semi-final game against the Sidney Raiders. The Raiders were no match for the Bad Boys who pounded out fourteen hits in a 14-4 route. Garcia, Galvan and Nelson each had two hits apiece. Cisco Cody and Zander Narjes both got in on the action with RBI singles. Cormic Stark was solid on the mound going three and a third and striking out four for the victory. Dixon Bair closed it out on the mound recording the last two outs.
The Championship game was all about pitching. Fletcher Moseman got the start on the mound in a rematch with Westco for the state title. Moseman was masterful going five and a third, allowing five hits and no runs while striking out six. Teagen O’Gorman recorded the final two outs of the game on the mound securing a 4-0 victory. Jace Jensen lead the Bad Boy hitters with a 2-2 day and an RBI at the plate. The 4-0 tournament record for the Bad Boys brought their season record to 20-6. The Bad Boys will head to Minot, ND for the Midwest Cal Ripken Regional Tournament July 22-26.