Humphrey hits walk-off, Putnam adds five hits as Columbus advances at state tourney

July 26--OMAHA -- Spencer Humphrey delivered a pair of clutch hits, including a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning to help the Columbus Seniors keep their season alive Sunday at Omaha Westside.

The Columbus Cornerstone Insurance Group Seniors American Legion baseball team defeated Elkhorn 5-4 and will play the loser of Papillion-La Vista vs. Creighton Prep Monday at Omaha Westside.

Trailing 4-3 in the eighth inning, Humphrey doubled to score Miles Putnam who got on base with his fourth hit of the afternoon.

Both teams were quiet in the ninth, before Humphrey and Putnam teamed up again in the bottom of the tenth.

Puntam singled and was advanced to third on a Tucker Ramaekers single.

With two outs, Humphrey hit a groundball and beat out a throw to first base from the shortstop to score Putnam.

"I think the good part was that (Humphrey) knew he was going to get an off-speed pitch," Columbus Seniors head coach Tom Keiser said. "He had studied and he knew what was going to come and he was ready for it. We have a lot of competitors on this team and you feel good no matter which guy is up there because you know that all of them want to come through. Nobody is afraid of the moment anymore."

Putnam's 5-for-5 day included an RBI-single in the third inning and two runs scored. His five hit total was more than the entire team put together (4) in Saturday's 6-3 loss to Bellevue West.

"That's a big day for Miles," Keiser said. "When you come out in the state tournament and you have a day like that, that's a great sign. He's been a regular contributor for us and what I think I'm most impressed with is he had to work real hard for those five hits. Enough people know who he is and he's not going to get fastballs every at-bat anymore."

Blake Bubak pitched seven strong innings, giving up two earned runs. Dylan Benne and Cade Hansen pitched three innings of scoreless relief as Hansen ended up with the pitching win.

"You can't say enough about what our pitchers did, to be perfectly honest," Keiser said. "Blake pitched better than his line would look, and if you watched the game, he pitched better than what our (defense) gave him. We played a few mistakes and didn't play particularly sharp for a few innings but that guy battled. Not only did he do that, but I thought Benne and Hansen did the exact same thing."

Columbus committed four errors, including two in the sixth inning that cost two runs and tied the game at 3-3.

Ramaekers had a first-inning RBI triple, going 2 for 4 in the game. Nathan Sliva's only hit was an RBI double in the fifth inning to score Bubak.

For Elkhorn, Drew Smith went 2 for 3 with a double and Tanner Hunt went 3 for 4 with a double.

A win Monday would advance the Seniors to the quarterfinals. Columbus' win was the first victory for a non-Omaha metro team over a metro team in either side of the state tournament bracket.

"Once again, at this point, you're trying to win and make it another day," Keiser said. "Any day that you get to play baseball is a fun day and a great day. Any day you get to be with your teammates is a great day, so we're just looking for another chance."

Sunday at Omaha Westside

Elkhorn 001 002 010 -- 4 6 0

Columbus 101 010 011 -- 5 13 4

-- Pitching: WP -- Cade Hansen; LP -Jacob Uhing

-- Columbus Seniors Leading Hitters: Blake Bubak 1-4, Tyler Morton 1-5, Nathan Sliva 1-4 2B, Miles Putnam 5-5, Tucker Ramaekers 2-4 3B, Spencer Humphrey 2-5 2B.

-- Elkhorn Leading Hitters: Drew Smith 2-3 2B, Jack Morock 2-5 2B, Tanner Hunt 3-4 2B, Evan Sinz 1-4.

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