Millard West beats North Star, Millard North
Millard West erupted for 22 runs and notched two victories Thursday in the elimination bracket of the Class A state baseball tournament at Sherman Field.
The victories, 12-2 over Lincoln North Star and 10-3 over Millard North, propel Millard West into Friday’s championship against Grand Island at Haymarket Park.
Grand Island is 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament so Millard West would have to win two games Friday.
“The only thing missing right now is a state championship,” said Millard West junior Steve Jensen, who hit two home runs and drove in eight runs in the two games. He also pitched a seven-hitter to beat North Star in the first game.
Jensen’s second blast of the day was crucial for the Wildcats against Millard North.
Millard West took a 4-0 lead in the second inning but Millard North rallied on a three-run home run by Brett Koehn in the fourth inning.
“We had four runs and had left a few runners on and then we let Millard North keep hanging around and they got the three-run home run,” Millard West coach Frank Ryan said. “But Jensen, who had an unbelievable day, came through for us with a big home run at the right time.”
After Jensen’s home run in the fourth, teammate Shawn Hoover, who doubled in the fourth inning, hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give pitcher Tyler Niederklein more than enough runs to earn the victory.
For Millard West, the victories put the Wildcats in the state championship for the fifth time. A year ago, Millard West notched its fourth second-place finish since 2000.
The victory over Millard North also avenged a 1-0 loss to the Mustangs in a game Tuesday.
Earlier Thursday, Millard West ended North Star’s first appearance in the state tournament.
The Wildcats struck for six runs in the first two innings. Jon Schneider delivered a two-run single and in the second, after Alex Miller doubled, Jesse Ver Velde singled him in and winning pitcher Jensen tripled in a run and scored on a sacrifice by Hoover.
Jensen hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Millard West added five more in the fifth. Ver Velde, who had three hits and scored three times, singled in his second run of the game and then Jensen ended the game on the 10-run rule with an RBI double. He also had three hits and drove in four runs.
North Star score in the fourth when Nate Wilder doubled and scored on a single by Jacob Hiatt and Ricky Ideus doubled in John Branum.
“We’ve been breathing off emotion and when they put six runs up in the first two innings, that hurt,” North Star coach Lanny Bolles said. “We were worried that we might run out of steam. But we had such a great run this year. I’m sure if you told us at the beginning of the year that we’d finish fourth at state, we would have been happy.”
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.
The victories, 12-2 over Lincoln North Star and 10-3 over Millard North, propel Millard West into Friday’s championship against Grand Island at Haymarket Park.
Grand Island is 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament so Millard West would have to win two games Friday.
“The only thing missing right now is a state championship,” said Millard West junior Steve Jensen, who hit two home runs and drove in eight runs in the two games. He also pitched a seven-hitter to beat North Star in the first game.
Jensen’s second blast of the day was crucial for the Wildcats against Millard North.
Millard West took a 4-0 lead in the second inning but Millard North rallied on a three-run home run by Brett Koehn in the fourth inning.
“We had four runs and had left a few runners on and then we let Millard North keep hanging around and they got the three-run home run,” Millard West coach Frank Ryan said. “But Jensen, who had an unbelievable day, came through for us with a big home run at the right time.”
After Jensen’s home run in the fourth, teammate Shawn Hoover, who doubled in the fourth inning, hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give pitcher Tyler Niederklein more than enough runs to earn the victory.
For Millard West, the victories put the Wildcats in the state championship for the fifth time. A year ago, Millard West notched its fourth second-place finish since 2000.
The victory over Millard North also avenged a 1-0 loss to the Mustangs in a game Tuesday.
Earlier Thursday, Millard West ended North Star’s first appearance in the state tournament.
The Wildcats struck for six runs in the first two innings. Jon Schneider delivered a two-run single and in the second, after Alex Miller doubled, Jesse Ver Velde singled him in and winning pitcher Jensen tripled in a run and scored on a sacrifice by Hoover.
Jensen hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Millard West added five more in the fifth. Ver Velde, who had three hits and scored three times, singled in his second run of the game and then Jensen ended the game on the 10-run rule with an RBI double. He also had three hits and drove in four runs.
North Star score in the fourth when Nate Wilder doubled and scored on a single by Jacob Hiatt and Ricky Ideus doubled in John Branum.
“We’ve been breathing off emotion and when they put six runs up in the first two innings, that hurt,” North Star coach Lanny Bolles said. “We were worried that we might run out of steam. But we had such a great run this year. I’m sure if you told us at the beginning of the year that we’d finish fourth at state, we would have been happy.”
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.