The Blair Senior Legion baseball team has only three losses this summer, but one of them came to Omaha North.
On Friday, the Post 154 Bears hosted the rematch at Vets Field.
“We knew that we needed to focus-up today, especially with a team that's already beat us,” outfielder Brady Brown said. “We came out knowing we needed to play to our best ability and that's what we did.”
Blair earned the run-rule victory, 9-1, in six innings. It improved to 20-3 overall this season with the win.
Post 154 scored its first run against North during the first inning. With two outs, Brown doubled to set up Nate Wachter, who delivered the 1-0 start with a run-scoring single.
The Bears then pushed their lead to three runs during the second frame. Dylan Swanson reached base on an error before Carter Saylor's single.
Lucas Matejka added to his RBI count next, singling to score both teammates for the 3-0 score.
Outfielder Nelson Kosch helped preserve Blair's lead during the top of the second inning, too, making a diving catch in right field. It was the home squad's second diving catch of the game after Brown gloved one earlier.
“Nelly's was probably a bit more impressive to the side,” Brown conceded. “I'll give him that. It was a good snag.”
North, however, would pull within 3-1 in the fourth inning when Post 154 committed an error. The two-run deficit would be short-lived, however.
Kosch pushed across the first of four Blair runs during the fifth frame with a squeeze bunt. J'Shawn Unger scored next on a passed ball before Swanson's deep sacrifice fly to the warning track. It scored both Kosch and Lee Chavez-Lara, who sprinted all the way from second base, beating the North throw to home plate with face-first slide.
“I was tagging up to go to third and I just saw Coach James (Bilslend) sending me,” Chavez-Lara said. “He wanted me to go home and I was like, 'Alright. Let's go. Let's do this.'”
The infielder added an RBI swing of his own during the sixth, ending the game by run-rule. Wachter set his teammate up for the glory, plating Brown for the second time at 8-1.
Swanson, meanwhile, earned the complete-game pitching win.
“If we keep playing like this, we'll be good for districts,” Chavez-Lara said.
While Saturday's game with Omaha Concordia was called off, the Blair Seniors were scheduled to play Sunday and Monday before their next contest Wednesday at Vets Field. The 8 p.m. outing is against Omaha Central on Military Appreciation Night.
Blair wins in Schuyler
The Post 154 Seniors earned a 10-1, run-rule victory on June 26 in Schuyler, too. Coach Bilslend's squad drew eight free bases and notched six hits, while the Platte River Rivals totaled three and one, respectively.
Greyson Kay, Chavez-Lara and Wachter led Blair with two RBIs apiece during the five-inning game. Brown and Jakob Gaskill, meanwhile, had one each.
Defensively, Post 154's Lucas Matejka threw all five innings, striking out nine batters. He earned the win with 79 pitches.
POST 154 SENIOR LINE SCORES
Friday
Blair 9, Omaha North 1, 6 inn.
NORTH 0 0 0 1 0 0 — 1 4 5
BLAIR (20-3) 1 2 0 0 4 2 — 9 13 3
June 26
Blair 10, Platte River Rivals 1, 5 inn.
BLAIR (19-3) 1 0 3 2 4 — 10 6 1
PRR 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 1 4
