Close games define opening round of Trailblazer Conference baseball tournament

PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. - Tuesday marked the opening round of the seven-team Trailblazer Conference baseball tournament with six teams in action and the results did not disappoint.

Two of the three games were low scoring affairs while Ralston and Malcolm combined for 33 runs in seven innings. Tuesday night's action had everything from strong pitching to errors, hot bats and baserunning miscues to go along with warm spring weather. 

Top-seeded Wahoo was the only team not in action after it secured a first-round bye. 

No. 2 Malcolm 17, No. 7 Ralston 16

Let's begin the recap with one of the wilder games of the young season. After overcoming an early 5-4 deficit, the Class C No. 1 Clippers went ahead 16-7 with a six-run fifth inning. Malcolm was a baserunning mistake away from ending the game with the 10-run rule in the fifth--which proved to be a critical moment in the game just a half inning later.

Ralston stormed back, scoring eight runs in the top of the sixth to pull within one run at 16-15 on just three hits. Malcolm hit four batters and walked another along with an error to help the Rams climb back. 

But in the bottom half of the inning, Hayden Frank took the first pitch he saw over the fence for a solo home run to put Malcolm up by two and clinch the win. How big was Frank's homer? The Rams scored one in the top of the seventh that would have tied the game. 

Four Clippers had three hits each and Mason Wisnieski knocked in five RBIs. 

No. 6 Platteview 3, No. 3 Plattsmouth 2 (8 inn.)

Plattsmouth came into Tuesday riding a seven-game winning streak and was fresh off an impressive 5-1 win on the road against Beatrice. 

The Blue Devils took an early 2-0 lead against Trojan's starter Bryson Banks in the bottom of the first with Gage Olsen accounting for an RBI. From there the left-hander kept the Plattsmouth hitters off balance and out of the scoring column. 

The Trojans finally broke through against Blue Devil's starter Gabe Villamonte in the fifth, cashing in for two runs to tie the game. Villamonte and Banks tossed scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh to move the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, senior Austin Krenzer delivered the game-winning run for Platteview with a sacrifice fly. Banks shut down Plattsmouth one final time in the bottom half and allowed just three hits while striking out six to earn the win. 

Villamonte struck out seven and allowed only one earned run in the complete game loss. 

No. 4 Beatrice 3, No. 5 Nebraska City 0

The Pioneers and Orangemen played to a scoreless tie for four and a half innings as Keston Holman and Husker pledge Tucker Timmerman kept the offenses at bay. 

Holman didn't allow a single hit for Nebraska City until Gage Walter singled with two outs in the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth, though, the Orangeman got to the Pioneer ace, bringing in three runs--two of which came on a Kale Koch single. 

Deegan Nelson came on in relief of Ty Weichel in the seventh, needing just 12 pitches to retire the side as the Orangeman escaped with a three-run victory.

The Pioneers hit into three double plays while mustering only four hits. Holman struck out eight in his five innings and allowed three unearned runs. It was far from a clean game defensively as each team made three errors. 

Beatrice will now play on the road Thursday against No. 1 Wahoo in the semifinals at 5 p.m. while Platteview will play at Malcolm in the second semifinal also at 5 p.m. Nebraska City, Plattsmouth and Ralston will play in the consolation bracket. The championship is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m.