SC Nebraska News

The Hastings College baseball took on Dordt to open Up Great Plains Athletic Conference action picking up the doubleheader sweep 11-1 and 4-2 on a beautiful afternoon out at Duncan Field. This is the first time the Broncos have started conference play 2-0 since 2012 when Hastings swept Dordt 4-0 and 4-3.

Game one brought out one of the Defenders best pitchers in Nick Yeager as he came in with a 3-1 record and a solid 1.91 ERA. Yeager had very little trouble with the Bronco bats through the first five innings picking up seven strikeouts in the process.

His counter part was true freshman Markus Miller as he faced early trouble in the first as Dordt put runners on second and third with not outs. Miller then picked up a strikeout and two straight pop outs to end the threat to keep the game knotted 0-0. Miller then ran into more trouble in the second as an error but a runner on second with no outs. Miller would to right back to work getting a pop out, a fly out and a ground out to end yet another early Defender threat.

Dordt would eventually pick up a run in the fifth to go up 1-0 and the way Yeager was pitching it seemed maybe this would be enough support. The Bronco bats had other plans in the sixth as Tristan Martinez began the inning with a single to center. After Jace Valdez moved Martinez into scoring position, Jaden Stone hit a frozen rope down the left field line to tie the game 1-1. After Tyler Kissler grounded out and it seemed Yeager may get out of the inning, Eli Merritt came up big with a RBI single to center for the 2-1 lead. Then the flood gates just opened up once Dordt pulled Yeager from the mound.

Dylan Otto reached on a four pitch walk followed by a RBI single from Brody Severin. Another pitching change didn't slow the Hastings offense as Matt Lucero found the hole on the left side to make it 4-1. James Velasquez doubled down the left field line to make it 6-1 as the route was on. Hastings scored two more runs in the frame to take an 8-1 lead into the final inning.

That was all the run support Miller needed as he would shut down the Defenders in the final two innings to come away with the 11-1 victory.

Miller moved to 2-0 on the year going 7.0 innings giving up one run on just five hits.

Lucero led the way at the plate going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. Stone went 2-for-4 with a RBI and two runs scored. Severin and Velasquez led the way with two RBIs each.

Now the Broncos were hoping to go to 2-0 in conference play for the first time in 11 years but were up against Gyeongju Kim. Kim defeated the Broncos a year ago by pitching 11.0 innings while striking out 21 Broncos as Hastings lost that game 3-1. The Broncos wanted to make sure they didn't run into a déjà vu moment and did just that.

The game remained scoreless into the third where the Bronco bats went to work. Martinez began the inning by reaching on an error. Valdez would single to right to put Hastings on the board at 1-0. Stone then laced a ball into the gap in left center making his way to third for a RBI triple as the Bronco dugout loved every second of it. Kissler then brought Stone home when he lined out to center to make it 3-0.

Velasquez was on the mound for the Broncos and ran into a bit of trouble himself in the third giving up a leadoff double and a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Kissler helped his pitcher out by throwing out Nolan Christianson at second for the first out. After an infield single made it 3-1, Velasquez got a pop out and a ground out to end the threat as HC now led 3-1.

That lead held until the Defenders picked up a run in the fifth to make it 3-2 and then head coach Joel Schipper turned to Alec Fichter to close the door.

Fichter would run into a bit of trouble in the sixth as Dordt had runners on first and second with one out but Fichter got Logan Harris to line out to center but Caleb Beard took off for third so Stone threw the ball to Valdez for the double play ending the inning.

The Broncos took advantage off a dropped foul ball and Merritt made the Defenders pay with a RBI single to center to make it 4-2. That was more than enough for Fichter as he got a strikeout and two ground outs to end the game while also picking up his second save of the season as the Broncos came away with the sweep.

Velasquez picked up the win by going 5.0 innings giving up two runs on four hits while striking out six.

Kissler and Merritt led the way at the plate with two hits each along with a RBI each.

Hastings improves to 8-14, (2-0) on the year and will be back in action Saturday Mar.25 as Jamestown comes to town for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 pm out at Duncan Field in Hastings, NE.

Original source can be found here