Seniors lose two at Grand Island

June 18--GRAND ISLAND -- The Columbus Cornerstone Insurance Group Seniors American Legion baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader 6-1 and 7-5 against Grand Island Wednesday on the road.

The Seniors had trouble generating offense against Grand Island starter Lane Uhing in Game 1.

"We struggled offensively and we ran into a pitcher that we've faced a few times," Seniors head coach Tom Keiser said of Game 1. "I thought we did a decent job of being competitive, but it wasn't good enough. If we want to be a state tournament team, we have to beat pitchers like that. We need to back up our pitchers offensively and find ways to beat a guy like that."

Nathan Sliva drew a walk in the fourth inning and Jesse Carias was brought in as a courtesy runner. Carias advanced to second base on an error, then to third on a wild pitch. Miles Putnam singled to score Carias for the Seniors' only run.

Tyler Morton went 2 for 3 in Game 1. Blake Bubak, Spencer Humphrey and Brenden Martinsen all recorded a hit.

"To win those kinds of games, we don't need 15 hits, we need one through nine competitive at-bats. That's a challenge, but we've seen our guys do that. We just need to make sure that we get to that point."

The main problem for the Seniors changed from offense to defense in the Game 2 loss.

With five errors committed, the Seniors failed to protect an early 3-0 lead.

Bubak and Brandon Konz contributed doubles in Game 2.

"For us, we really struggled defensively," Keiser said. "We struggled to put a high value on the baseball, and when we put five errors up and make mental and physical errors, you're never going to come out of there with a win. I would say we looked like a poorly coached team, and that falls on my shoulders to find a way to fix that."

The Seniors will travel to Kansas City for a tournament as they look to improve on their 7-9 record.

"We're really look forward to it," Keiser said of the Kansas City trip. "It's fun because we're expecting to see good competition. We'll try to make ourselves better and find ways to improve each day."

The Seniors play Game 1 of their tournament slate Friday.

Wednesday at Grand Island

Game 1

Grand Island 011 003 1 -- 6 11 1

Columbus (7-8) 000 100 0 -- 1 6 2

-- Pitching: WP -- Lane Uhing ; LP -- Tyler Morton

-- Leading Hitters: Blake Bubak 1-3, Tyler Morton 2-3, Miles Putnam 1-3, Spencer Humphrey 1-3, Brenden Martinsen 1-3.

Game 2

Columbus (7-9) 320 000 0 -- 5 5 5

Grand Island 052 000 X -- 7 8 0

-- Pitching: WP -- Karolikowski ; LP -- Tucker Ramaekers

-- Leading Hitters: Blake Bubak 2-4 2B, Tyler Morton 1-3, Miles Putnam 1-2, Brandon Konz 1-3 2B.

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