Alliance is playing host to the Class B Area 7 district which began on Friday. The Spartans are the top seeded and faced Imperial in their first contest. Due to the weather, the game was moved from Saturday to Sunday and it was a thriller. A walk off single by Alliance’s Espen Lanik proved to be the difference as the Peltz Co downed the Horns 2 to 1 in 8 innings. With the win, the Seniors go to 24-12 on the year and move on in the winner’s bracket with a battle with Gering scheduled for later on Sunday. Lanik started for the Spartans and went 7 frames, striking out 7. Tony Escamilla tossed the 8th. Alliance ended the battle with just 4 hits. Imperial led 1 to 0 after 3 innings but the Peltz Co tallied a run in the fourth to tie the contest. Alliance bats would go silent until the 8th when a single by Lanik ended the game.
Strong starting pitcher by both sides set the stage for the low scoring affair. Lanik had 2 scoreless innings to start the matchup and had 3 early k’s. Jaxson Esparza had a single for the Peltz Co in the second but didn’t cross the plate. The Horns broke thru in the third with a tally. Imperial used 3 hits to garner an early one run advantage. Alliance failed to score in the bottom of the third and the contest went to the fourth with the Seniors down 1 to 0
Pinnacle Bank went down 1-2-3 in the top of inning 4 while the Spartans tied the game with one score. The Peltz Co got hits from Braeden Clarke and Cody Gallas to began a rally. Lanik then loaded the bases as he was hit by a pitch. Alliance then got their first run thanks to an RBI walk by Creighton Fritzler. After 4 frames of play, the ball game was knotted at 1.
Frames 5,6, and 7 were scoreless as the battle went to extra innings. Lanik had 3 strikeouts for the Seniors in his last 2 innings of work. In the bottom of the 8th, Esparza set the table for the walk off by reaching on an error by the Horns. Nason Thompson was next and he was hit by a pitch, moving the winning run into scoring position. A Clarke bunt ensued as the Spartans continued putting the pressure on the Pinnacle Bank squad. Lanik then ended the game with his walk off single. Final Alliance 2 Imperial 1
Horns 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Spartans 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
Four hits for the Peltz Co. one each Lanik, Clarke, Gallas, Esparza.
Alliance advancing to a Sunday matchup with Gering later in the day Spartans.