The First State Bank Seniors closed out regular season play over the weekend by going 1-2 on a three-game road trip at Bellevue East and Millard West.
While the win-loss record may not have indicated it, First State coach Tim Champ saw several positives from the way his team played as it now prepares for the postseason.
“We went 1-2, but I thought we played very, very well,” Champ said. “It was a good weekend for us.”
First State got off to solid starts throughout the weekend as it led heading into the bottom of the fourth inning in all three games. Bellevue East defeated FSB 10-5 Friday night. First State recorded a 7-1 first-game victory and a 9-1 game-two loss against Millard West on Saturday.
Dom Savio connected for a three-RBI double and Warren Drucker drove him in with a single to left field as First State took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth against Bellevue East. The Chieftains’ American Legion team responded with six runs off reliever Derek Ruiz in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good.
FSB starter Gates Cook allowed two runs in four innings of work as he earned a no-decision. Bellevue’s Cory Buckly pitched a complete game five-hitter.
“In the game against Bellevue East, Derek (Ruiz) had an arm injury that was really hampering him,” Champ said. “Had we known that he was hurting, we probably would have gone a different route there. That’s just kind of the way it is. We had the lead when we stuck him in and things kind of got away from us.”
A standout outing by Josh Ostrom, backed up by solid defense guided First State to its game-one victory over Millard West. Ostrom allowed one run on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts in seven innings of work.
“The first game against Millard West was by far the best game we’ve played all year defensively,” Champ said of his team’s error-free performance.
Offensively, Drucker went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Taylor Patrick finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
The FSB Seniors continued their stingy defense through the first three innings of game two, before Millard West took the lead for good with a five-run fourth inning.
“Through three innings we played very well,” Champ said. “Warren (Drucker) threw well on the mound and offensively we weren’t hitting the ball real hard, but we were finding ways to get guys on and try to get them in. We just couldn’t get the big hit.”
First State’s lone run came in the top of the first inning. With runners on second and third, Justin Beranek pretended to fall over on his way back to second base and Ty Arnold scored from third on the designed trick play.
Millard West’s Steve Jensen pitched a complete game two-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Drucker suffered the loss.
First State finishes regular-season play with a 25-17 record.
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