The Storm finishes with a record of 20-12.

Beatrice scored seven runs on just five hits — of the seven players who came across the plate, only two reached on hits. Losing pitcher Derek Bippes issued six free passes in five innings, striking out five and surrendering a two-out solo homer in the sixth.

Offensively, Falls City got fanned a season-high 14 times. Center fielder Tyler DiGiacomo, the team’s hottest hitter all summer, went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI to lead his team.

Falls City opened the tourney Friday night with a 14-2 dismantling of the hosts, as hurler Weston Witt tossed three-hit ball and he and his teammates exploded with run support in the fifth inning, ending it early with a nine-run frame. FC actually trailed 2-0 after three innings, but first baseman Chase Thompson homered to lead off the fourth, and three batters later, with two outs and Bippes on third, Witt crushed a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence to give his team a 3-2 lead that would only get exponentially bigger.

In the bottom of the fifth, nine batters came to the plate and nine batters scored. DiGiacomo tripled his first time to the plate in the fifth, and then homered in his second time up that inning. For the game, he was 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored; Witt finished 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored; Bippes was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one driven in.

The win sent Falls City to a Saturday night meeting with Auburn, a team the Storm beat 19-11 back in June. Auburn, though, capitalized on five FC fielding errors and took the rematch, 6-2, forcing Falls City into the losers’ bracket and against Beatrice today. Starting pitcher Logan Scheitel took the loss, despite surrendering just four hits out of 42 batters in five innings Saturday. He fanned seven and walked three. Hogue then pitched two scoreless innings of no-hit baseball in relief. That kind of pitching generally yields victories, but on this night, the defense failed FC. Errors helped produce Auburn’s run in the second, and then contributed heavily to a three-run Auburn fifth.

Falls City didn’t help its cause much at the plate, though, either. The Storm missed a potential big inning in the first, as DiGiacomo led off with a walk and scored on a one-out double by Rudy Vritska, who was left stranded in the frame. FC moved a runner to third in the third inning, yet failed to score him, and then in the fourth had the bases loaded with just one out, yet failed to bring a single run across.

The post BLUE STORM DONE FOR 2014 appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

Seniors:
Falls City (#2) vs. Syracuse (#7) – June 25 @ 8:00 p.m. at Auburn. With a win, will play June 27 @ 8:00 p.m. in Auburn.

The post FC LEGION BASEBALL LEAGUE appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

The post Legion baseball meeting Sunday appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

FC was defeated 11-0 by Hickman last Tuesday in the Nebraska American Legion Baseball Area 1 District Championship, which was held in Falls City for the first time ever.

The Blue Storm allowed Hickman a bevy of extra outs, as they committed four errors, walked eight batters and plunked another three. Eight of the 11 runs were not earned and Hickman, which outscored their district foes 41-0 in four games, finished the game with no extra-base hits for the first time all tournament.

Hickman rolled past Elkhorn Mt. Michael 10-5 Friday  and Saturday defeated Waverly 7-0 to set up a game with Area 4 champion Seward last night at the Class B State Tournament in Gering. A win and Hickman would be three wins away from another state championship, after winning Class B this past spring.

“We didn’t go into either game with Hickman and play scared,” Huppert said. We were ready and they knew it too. It was one or two plays from being a one or two run game. We had a few too many errors and walks. It’s the old story, you walk two or three guys, they get one timely hit and it will change the game.”

FC lefthander Reese Hogue took the loss on the mound against Hickman after he allowed three earned runs and walked four in one inning of work. Hogue struggled with his control out of the gates and tossed 36 pitches in the first inning, 12 of which crossed as strikes.

Chaz Dunn, Jordy Stoller and Lane Scheitel were responsible for FC’s three hits. Dunn and Stoller had back-to-back singles in the first inning against Hickman starter Payton Kinney and Scheitel’s came in the top of the fifth off of Jake Peterson, who had just entered the game in relief.

FC finished 3-2 in the district tournament, 19-12 overall and should return all but two players – first baseman Wade Witt and pitcher Lane Scheitel – in 2014. That experience coming back and the opportunity to play a quality opponent like Hickman twice will keep Huppert optimistic.

FC thrived on the base paths this season and the lack of base runners in the two losses to Hickman put the clamps on their “small ball” philosophy, a philosophy adopted prior to the 2012 season.

Huppert mentioned a story he read about Nebraska Cornhusker head coach Darin Erstad, who said one of the things the Huskers would do was be aggressive on the bases. Erstad said when they were on base, the other team would have to do everything they could to keep them out of scoring position. Huppert began instilling this in his players before last season and said they have made huge strides, no pun intended, since they started working on situational running.

“I told the guys we were going to be aggressive,” Huppert said. “We are going to push ourselves on the base paths. We practiced base running and still have more work to do on our leads and jumps, but I’ve had a lot of coaches tell us how much it affects how they game plan us or adjust during the games. It (aggressive base running) breaks up double plays and sets up the style we want to play.

“We still have to work on the mental part and I think the biggest thing is their mentality when they bunt. Getting over that, ‘I’d rather swing away’ mentality and moving more towards, ‘What do I have to do to get on base or to move one of my teammates over.’”

The Seniors swiped 162 bases this summer and were caught 26 times, which equates to an 86 percent success rate. Up from 80 percent last summer when they stole 160 bags and a dramatic improvement from the 60 stolen bases recorded in 2011.

Huppert also mentioned beefing up the schedule next year and in the future. Waterloo Valley, Springfield, Louisville, whose Juniors recently won the Class C State Championship, and Ashland to the Southeast Nebraska Baseball Conference.

“We may finish .500 next year, but I think it will help us in the long run and push these guys to show them where we stand.

“My biggest thing about wanting these boys to do well this year in the program and putting all the time we put into it, from the players, the parents and the coaches, is to basically show that we need spring baseball at the high school level. We deserve it. These boys want it and most importantly, they deserve it.”

Huppert pointed to the Juniors’ wins over Beatrice and Nebraska City at the area tourney and the competitive games the Seniors had with Plattsmouth and state qualifier Sabetha, KS.   

The other big takeaways from the weekend and the season were the reactions to the brand new Fiedler Complex, notably Southeast Nebraska Communications Field.

Huppert said he spoke with people from each of the other five communities represented at the tournament, as well as visitors throughout the summer and almost unanimously, the sentiments were the same.

“The players, coaches and fans loved it. I heard a lot of good things said about the field. People were really impressed.”

Huppert  thanked Tournament Director Kevin Scheitel and all the volunteers for making Falls City’s first district tournament and this season a success, words echoed by Hickman assistant coach Randy Peterson.

“The overall experience was very positive,” Peterson said. “Beautiful facility, great field, very clean, nice restrooms, very nice staff and parents. Just a very well ran tournament and very positive feedback from the players.”

“It’s appreciated, especially coming from their type of program,” Huppert said in response to Peterson’s remarks. “It all went really well, the new facility, everything kind of came together this year. It would have been nice to get two more wins and have been in Gering this weekend, but it helps us because their word is going to get around to the rest of the area. For so many years we had trouble getting people down here to play us, especially the bigger schools, so I’m hoping now Falls City will be more of a draw.”

The post Blue Storm season ends, but hosts leave impression appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

Three is a magic number and it was a theme in Falls City’s 5-1 victory over Auburn Monday night.

FC’s three-run fifth inning was the proverbial knockout punch, but it was a triple play turned by the Blue Storm in the top of the fourth that really took the wind out of Auburn’s sails.

With runners on first and second, Auburn’s Caleb Nelson dribbled one back to FC’s pitcher Logan Scheitel who threw it to first baseman Wade Witt for out number one. Witt then tossed it to shortstop Chaz Dunn at second base for the second out. Dunn then made a perfect throw to home plate where catcher Derek Bippes squeezed it and quickly put the tag down to get Joe Nelson and end the inning. 

Logan Scheitel started the rally in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff single. After Austin Malone went down on strikes, three-straight singles from Tyler DiGiacomo, Chaz Dunn and Jordy Stoller turned into three runs.

Dunn finished 3-3 at the dish with three runs scored and one run batted in. Stoller went 2-3 with one RBI and Lane Scheitel also drove in a run.

Logan Scheitel went the distance and improved to 3-0 on the season. Scheitel scattered four hits over seven innings and struck out five and walked none to improve his ERA to 1.07.

The win marked FC’s third in 10 days against Auburn and they finished the season series 4-2 against their neighbors to the north.

Things get serious in a hurry now though for the Blue Storm and a comparison to David versus Goliath might suffice, although David didn’t have to defeat Goliath twice.

FC third baseman Chase Thompson sets himself to throw after flashing a little leather on a diving stop in the fifth inning. Photo by Jim Langan.

FC (19-11) will need to defeat Hickman twice tonight to advance to the state tournament. No easy task considering top-seeded Hickman has outscored their three district opponents 30-0. Hickman’s three starting pitchers – Payton Kinney, Preston Price and Byron Hood – each pitched complete game shutouts, have allowed four combined hits and fanned 26 batters.

Hood pitched a no-hitter Sunday in a 10-0 win over FC, striking out 12 and walking five in six innings.

Dunn went 3-3 at the plate Saturday and drove in three runs to lead FC passed Auburn 7-2.  He doubled in the fourth inning and singled in the first and sixth innings.

Bippes was 2-2 with a double, a walk and two runs scored, while Malone also scored twice.

Stoller got the win against Auburn Saturday thanks to nine strikeouts. Stoller allowed two earned runs on five hits and five walks over seven innings.

The Blue Storm, which improved to 3-1 in the district tournament last night, defeated Fairbury 7-2 in their opening round matchup. FC jumped in front early with three runs in the first and one in the second. DiGiacomo and Stoller led the attach with a pair of hits each. DiGiacomo drove in two, while Lane Scheitel, Chase Thompson and Wade Witt each finished with one RBI.

FC ace Lane Scheitel picked up the win against Fairbury and Reese Hogue recorded the save. Scheitel struck out seven, walked five and gave up four earned runs. Hogue pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed no hits while striking out two.      

Tonight’s championship is scheduled for 5:30 and if necessary, the second game will immediately follow.

District Game Summaries

Game 1
#1 Hickman    6
#6 Beatrice    0
Hickman catcher Jakson Reetz drove in all six runs as he went 4-4 with a homerun, a double and two singles. Shortstop Trey Hair was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. Payton Kinney pitched a complete game shutout for Hickman. Kinney struck out nine, allowed only two hits and just four Beatrice baserunners.

Game 2
#2 Auburn    9
#5 Nebraska City    8
(16 innings)
Auburn’s Nick Behrends’ leadoff walk to start the bottom of the 16th inning paid off, as he advanced to third on a single from Caleb Nelson and then crossed the plate with the game-winning run on Tyler Ebeler’s sacrifice fly to centerfield. The run was Auburn’s first since the fifth inning and the first of the game in 10 innings. It also put an end to a marathon game that lasted 4 hours and 32 minutes.

Game 4
Elimination Game
#6 Beatrice    7
#5 Nebraska City    5
Nebraska City scored three runs in the top of the sixth to grab a 5-3 lead, but Beatrice battled back with four of their own in the bottom of the inning and closer Drew Hausman earned the save to keep Beatrice alive. Alex Odom and Hart Mauch scored twice each for Beatrice. Nebraska City all-stater Trever Kreifel had a tough night at the dish, as he finished 0-2 and was beaned twice.

Game 5
#1 Hickman    14
#5 Fairbury    0
Preston Price pitched the second complete game shutout of the tournament by a Hickman pitcher in the win Saturday. Price surrendered a pair of hits, walked three and fanned five in his six innings of work. Jakson Reetz scored four runs and John Estudillo blasted a solo homerun in the top of the second and accounted for three runs.

Game 8
Elimination Game
#2 Auburn    3
#6 Beatrice    2
HTRS grad T.J. Standerford held Beatrice to three hits and struck out four in six innings of work,  as Auburn eliminated Beatrice.

The post Seniors storm into district championship appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

A pair of thrilling wins against a league rival and an upset of a perennial power didn’t provide enough momentum in the end.

Falls City’s Blue Storm Juniors’ season ended last Wednesday night in Syracuse, as top-seed Hickman shutout FC, 12-0, in the championship of the Class B Area 1 district tournament.

FC mustered only two hits, each from the bat of Tyler DiGiacomo and Trenton Pentocost took the loss, despite a solid outing in which he allowed three runs on four hits over 2 2/3 innings pitched.

Hickman scored three runs in the top of the first, six in the third and posted another three-spot in the fifth. Mike Johnson, Grant Albers and Mason Bumley combined for five hits and eight RBIs for Hickman and it was Albers’ three-run homer in the first that started the rout. Hickman cruised through their side of the bracket with wins over Syracuse (12-1) and Beatrice (6-4), and would have had to lose twice to FC.

FC, which finished with a runner-up finish in districts and 20 wins for the first time since 2008, upset second-seeded Beatrice 9-5 last Tuesday night. This after Beatrice shutout FC 10-0 in the second round and held the Blue Storm to just two hits.

FC won seven of their final nine games, including a pair of dramatic wins over Nebraska City at districts. The Blue Storm scored two in the bottom of the seventh last Monday night for the 2-1 walk-off victory, then manufactured one in the top of the eighth Friday to win 6-5.

FC’s six-run third inning proved to be the difference in Tuesday’s victory over Beatrice. Three-straight singles from DiGiacomo, Logan Scheitel and Austin Malone drove in four of the six runs after Weston Witt scored FC’s first run of the game on a passed ball earlier in the inning. Malone also scored in the third when Weston’s two-out fly ball to right was mishandled.

The Blue Storm added a pair of insurance runs in the fourth and one in the fifth for first-time starter Koner Hogue, who picked up the win on the mound. Hogue allowed five earned runs, forced six groundouts and seven flyouts in 6 1/3 innings.

DiGiacomo and Pentecost each finished 3-for-4 with a RBI against Beatrice, while Malone and Sawyer Kean finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

The Blue Storm Juniors finished with a record of 20-11 and were coached by Rich Witt, Kory Huppert, Dan Vice, Nick Kraft and Brooks Ivey.

The post Junior Legion season ends with 20 wins, runner-up finish at districts appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

Falls City’s Blue Storm Juniors did just that last night as they defeated Nebraska City 2-1 in an elimination game of the Class B Area 1 District tournament at Syracuse.

Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, FC’s Trenton Pentecost drew a walk and moved all the way around to third on a pair of sacrifice flies, the first from Tyler DiGiacomo and the second from Logan Scheitel.

Austin Malone stepped in and sent the first pitch he saw into left field for the walk-off single to keep the Blue Storm Juniors’ season alive.

FC, now 19-10, will face either top-seeded Hickman or No. 2 Beatrice tonight at 7 in the loser’s bracket. A win moves them into Wednesday’s district championship where they would have to defeat Hickman or Beatrice twice to advance to the State Tournament in Elkhorn July 20-24.

Monday night’s walk-off victory marked the second one-run victory over Nebraska City in four days.

In Friday’s opening round game, FC defeated Nebraska City 6-5 in extra innings. Beatrice shutout FC 10-0 Saturday, but the Blue Storm responded with 11 runs over the final three innings and won 14-7 Sunday afternoon to eliminate Auburn.

Sawyer Kean went 4-5 and drove in four for FC in the win over Auburn. Trenton Pentecost was a perfect 3-3 and drove in a pair, while DiGiacomo and Zack Jordening drove in three and two runs, respectively.

Kean, DiGiacomo and Malone each stole three bases, as FC racked up 14 steals against Auburn.

Weston Witt (4-3) struck out eight and earned the complete game victory for FC.

Jeremy Robinson’s  two-out single in the top of the seventh Friday night scored Preston Deckinger and put FC ahead 5-3, but Nebraska City’s Chris Monaghan launched a two-run home run off DiGiacomo with one out in the bottom of the seventh to tie it. A pair of singles by Scheitel and DiGiacomo to start the eighth were followed by Jordening’s ground ball sacrifice to first that plated Scheitel for the eventual game-winner.

DiGiacomo pitched solid prior to giving up the home run. He had allowed only five hits and three earned runs, while recording four strikeouts to one walk before Monaghan’s game-tying blast.

DiGiacomo and Logan Scheitel, who picked up the victory in relief, also led FC at the plate. The duo batted 4-5 in the lineup and were responsible for four of FC’s seven hits. DiGiacomo drove in two runs, while Weston Witt and Jordening each had one RBI.
    

The post Walk-off win keeps Juniors’ season alive appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

Falls City Blue Storm and Sabetha, KS both threatened with rallies Sunday evening at SNC Field, but it was the hosts, Falls City, that eventually took advantage in a 5-1 win in the NEBKAN Seniors Border Battle championship game.

This was the first NEBKAN Seniors title awarded, due to last year’s being canceled because of rain. Falls City’s Juniors won the NEBKAN title earlier in June and all told, Nebraska is 9-0 against Kansas in the three tournaments.

The win over Sabetha wrapped up a successful weekend for the Blue Storm, who improved to 14-9. FC was 3-0 in the tournament with wins Saturday over Tecumseh and Auburn during the pool play portion.

Sabetha advanced to the final with a 7-4 victory over Doniphan County, KS in the Kansas side of the pool. Holton, KS was to be the third team in the Kansas pool, but could not make the tournament.

FC’s Chaz Dunn two-run double to left field in the top half of the fifth scored Reese Hogue and Tyler DiGiacomo to put the Blue Storm ahead of Sabetha 2-0. FC added three more runs in the seventh via a RBI double by DiGiacomo and benefited from a two-out error by Sabetha pitcher Brendan Garrett, who’s wild throw to first allowed Lane Scheitel and Derek Bippes to score.  

DiGiacomo, Jordy Stoller and Austin Malone each had a hit for FC, who was out-hit eight to four, but Sabetha stranded eight runners.

Scheitel (3-4) earned the victory and snapped his three-game skid on the bump for FC. Lane allowed one earned run, eight hits and two walks while striking out three over seven innings of work.

FC right-hander Derek Bippes grinded it out and earned a tough victory in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Auburn. Bippes, now 4-1 with a team-leading 2.41 ERA (minimum 20 innings pitched), allowed only one hit, but walked five and hit three Auburn batters.

Chase Thompson drove in the game’s only run on a single to left in the bottom of the sixth.

FC then cruised past Tecumseh 15-3 to advance to Sunday’s final. The Blue Storm posted two in the first, seven in the third and six in the fifth, as the game was stopped after five innings via the 10-run rule.

Lane and Logan Scheitel, who hit third and fourth against Tecumseh, combined for five hits, five RBIs and four runs scored. DiGiacomo scored three times, while Thompson, Wade Witt and Weston Witt all crossed home twice each. Weston, Thompson and Hogue drove in three, three and two, respectively.

Logan Scheitel (earned his second victory for the FC as he allowed three runs over five innings. He struck out nine, walked one and surrendered four hits.

The Blue Storm teams travel to Sabetha tonight, then Saturday the Seniors host Syracuse and Auburn.

The post Blue Storm rally late, claim inaugural NEBKAN Seniors Border Battle appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

Opposite of FC is No. 7 Heibel Dermatology (3-13) out of Lincoln and No. 2 Beatrice (12-6), who play at 1 p.m. Friday. A win against Nebraska City and FC plays at 7 p.m. Saturday; a loss and they play at 1 p.m.

The top-half of the bracket is fifth-seeded Auburn (8-14) against No. 4 Syracuse (11-16) at 7 p.m. Friday. Top-seeded Hickman (23-6) earned the bye and will await the Auburn-Syracuse winner.

The district tournament is double-elimination and ends next Wednesday night with the championship game scheduled for 8.

The Blue Storm Juniors rattled off a pair of decisive victories during Friday night’s double-header with Pawnee City. FC won the first game 13-3, then turned around and defeated the visitors 20-12.

FC had more hits (11) in game one compared to game two (10), but benefited from six errors and seven walks in the second game.

Tyler DiGiacomo, Austin Malone and Bradly Rose each drove in four runs for FC in the second game. Zack Jordening struck for three hits and along with Bryan Rose, the pair crossed the plate four times each.

DiGiacomo also led FC with three hits and two RBIs in the 10-run victory. Weston Witt drove in a pair, as did Sawyer Kean.  

Derek McCann (1-0) pitched all five for FC in game one to earn his first victory of the season. In his third appearance of the season, McCann allowed only three hits and struck out five.

Koner Hogue and DiGiacomo each pitched two-plus innings of the second game and combined to hold Pawnee City to just three hits.

The post 15-9 Juniors earn three seed in district tourney appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.

The win came two days after a tough 6-2 defeat in the Southern Division championship at the hands of Tecumseh, a team Falls City 10-run-ruled earlier in June. Elmwood-Murdock-Nehawka, the Northern Division champ, went on to defeat Tecumseh 10-0 in Saturday’s final.

Tyler DiGiacomo went 3-5 with two RBIs against Syracuse and Logan Scheitel and Austin Malone each had a pair of hits and combined for three more RBIs to lead FC, who trailed 6-1 in the sixth before scoring eight runs over the final three innings to defeat Syracuse.  

The Juniors were 9-4 winners over Auburn in the opening round last Tuesday, as Derek McCann finished 3-3 with three RBIs to lead FC. The Blue Storm’s five thru eight batters – Malone, DiGiacomo, McCann and Preston Deckinger – combined for five hits, four RBIs, two walks and scored all six runs in the two big three-run innings by FC.

Logan Scheitel earned the complete game victory for FC and improved to 6-2 on the season. He held Auburn hitless through the first four innings and finished the game with six strikeouts. Scheitel had a solid night at the plate, as well, finishing 2-3 with a run and a RBI. Scheitel also earned the victory Saturday against Syracuse. He allowed two earned over four innings, while striking out four.

The Juniors host Doniphan County, KS tonight at and Pawnee City Friday night for a doubleheader beginning at 6.

Blue Storm Seniors
The Seniors, who hosted the Southern Division teams during last week’s SENBC tournament,  had a rough go of it and finished 1-3 to drop their overall record to 11-8.

FC fell 7-0 to Auburn in last Wednesday’s opening round match, then dropped a 5-3 game to Tecumseh before bouncing back with an 8-7 victory over winless Syracuse in the consolation bracket.

Jordy Stoller picked up his first victory of the year for FC against Syracuse. Stoller pitched all seven innings and allowed eight hits, five earned runs and four walks while striking out five.

Chaz Dunn continued to lead FC at the plate as he finished 2-4 with a run-batted-in against Syracuse. Dunn leads FC in batting average (.426), doubles (5), RBIs (14), on-base percentage (.515) and slugging percentage (.519).

Lane Scheitel drove in a pair of runs for FC against Syracuse.

Falls City filled in for Tecumseh in the fifth-place consolation against Wilmar Electric and despite outhitting their opponent 12-9, fell 8-7.

Wade Witt finished 2-3 at the plate and drove in one while scoring two runs.

DiGiacomo and Dunn finished with a pair of hits and a run scored. Dunn recorded three RBIs.

Derek Bippes, Reese Hogue and Logan Scheitel all pitched for FC. The trio combined for eight strikeouts, five earned and seven hits allowed in the loss.

FC, now 11-8, hosts Doniphan, KS tonight then hosts the NEBKAN Seniors Border Battle this Saturday and Sunday.

The post Juniors third, Seniors seventh in league tourneys appeared first on THE FALLS CITY JOURNAL.