Southwest knocks off Columbus
By Kyle Cummings, Columbus Telegram, Neb. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"We're very proud of the kids, not just because we were in a state tournament, but more so of the constant commitment of improvement throughout the year," Columbus head coach
Columbus shook off Saturday's 12-3 loss to
After
"We try to chase (their starting pitcher) as early as we can and I think we did a good job of that again today," Keiser said.
Lincoln Southwest rebounded, knocking home four runs in the first inning, closing
"With (Ramaekers) missing as much time as he did and getting stretched out pretty long last week in districts, it was probably a little unrealistic to ask him to come back today," Keiser explained. "Totally to his credit, he wanted the baseball and he wanted to be the guy out there for us."
"That's a heck of a lineup that we faced," Keiser said. "A lot of big, strong, physical guys that can hit the ball to every field and really make it tough on our pitchers. The fact that (Southwest) had 20 hits shows you what kind of offense we were dealing with."
Kaltenberger drove in three and scored twice, while Mroz recorded a pair of RBIs and two runs and Behrens scored twice and brought home one.
Columbus kept a glimmer of hope when Morton batted home Sliva and
"I feel really good with what we did offensively both days," Keiser said. "I thought all the way through, even if we weren't getting ourselves on base, we were busting our tails and we made pitchers work and throw extra pitches, which is what we try to do."
Lincoln Southwest continued to punish Columbus offensively, plating a run in the third, three runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth inning, ending the game after seven innings.
Keiser expects Lincoln Southwest to make some noise in the state tournament, calling
Though Columbus struggled developing a youthful roster with a limited number of players throughout the season, the progress it made this season paved the way for a bright future next year, especially with every player returning.
"You really don't want to lose sight of the day-to-day effort that is required to be successful, but you can't help but feel good about the foundation we've laid going into next season," Keiser said. "With that being said, part of our focus afterward was, 'Hey, when March comes around, it's going to ask you what you've been doing all winter.' We need to make sure we're all new and improved versions of ourselves when March comes around."
The Columbus Seniors ended the season 11-19.
Sunday at
Columbus (11-19) 202 000 0 -- 4 6 1
Lincoln Southwest 471 302 X -- 17 21 0
-- Pitching: WP --
-- Columbus Leading Hitters:
-- Southwest Leading Hitters:
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