Baseball Knocks Off #1-Seed Doane to Begin GPAC Tournament
(Crete, NE) – In their first game of the GPAC Tournament, #8-seed Hastings rallied to take down #1-seed Doane, 7-5, on Wednesday, marking the first Bronco GPAC Tournament win since 2018.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 3 |
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2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
(Crete, NE) – In their first game of the GPAC Tournament, #8-seed Hastings rallied to take down #1-seed Doane, 7-5, on Wednesday, marking the first Bronco GPAC Tournament win since 2018.
The Tigers got on the board first, as a one-out single and walk turned into two runs. The Broncos committed a throwing error, then Doane scored on a sac fly to go up 2-0.
In the second inning, Doane added a third run on a two-out RBI-double. The lead grew to 4-0 in the third, coming on a sac fly following a one-out triple.
Hastings cut into the lead at 4-1 in the fourth, getting a one-out walk by junior Samuele Bruno, followed by a double by sophomore Peighton Vargas to put both runners in scoring position. Junior Levi Fletcher scored Bruno on a sac fly, but a flyout ended the inning in the next at-bat.
The Broncos flipped the scoreboard in the sixth inning, beginning with junior Evan Morrison going yard on an opposite field solo shot on a 2-0 pitch. With Vargas on first with two outs, junior Joshren Mace Magnaye drilled a 1-2 pitch over the right field wall, tying the game at four.
Still in the sixth, the next five batters after Mace Magnaye reached via singles, as senior Spencer Searcey got on and senior Chris Faherty blooped a single into shallow left field. Senior Jace Valdez gave them a 5-4 lead with a single through the left side, and after a Delgado infield hit loaded the bases, Morrison got his second hit of the inning, knocking in two runs on a hard-hit single to go up 7-4.
In the bottom of the eighth, Doane began with a single and a walk, then made it a 7-5 game on an RBI-single. Junior Ryder Derouin clamped down the Doane offense from there, getting a strikeout for the first out. With the infield playing in, Valdez fielded a chopper and threw home, eventually catching the runner at third in a rundown for the second out. A flyout in the next at-bat would end the inning and maintain the two-run lead.
Derouin came out for the ninth inning as well to lock down the six-out save. He got a strikeout and flyout to start the inning, but Doane kept the pressure on, loading the bases with three straight walks. On a 2-1 pitch, the Tigers popped out to Valdez, ending the game in a 7-5 Bronco victory.
Morrison went 3-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Vargas was 3-5 with a double and Faherty was 3-4 with a double and a run scored.
After allowing four runs in the first three innings, freshman pitcher Cameron Dahlgren allowed only three hits and zero runs in his final four innings. Dahlgren pitched seven innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and striking out two to get the win. Derouin got the save, pitching the final two innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out two.
Up next, Hastings will face #4-seed Briar Cliff tomorrow at 9am in Crete, NE for a chance to go to the Doane Bracket championship game.
