The Blair Senior Legion baseball team opened the Dave Van Metre Tournament on Friday at Brown Park in Omaha with a 1-1 split.
The Post 154 Bears started slow against Omaha Northwest in a winning effort before Gretna East, who eliminated Blair High School at the NSAA State Championships in May, bested coach James Bilslend's team, 3-0. The loss dropped Blair to 17-3 this summer.
Just Nate Wachter and Dylan Swanson managed hits against the Griffins, who notched four of their own and scored all three of their runs during the sixth inning. Post 154's Lee Chavez-Lara and Lee Chavez-Lara drew walks, too, but their team was unable to produce a run.
Defensively, Chavez-Lara threw 5 1/3 innings, striking out three Gretna East batters. He allowed two of the Griffins' runs, while J'Shawn Unger allowed one in relief. The substitute pitcher also struck out two batters, too.
Against Northwest, Bilslend rested several Senior players, giving younger Blair talents an opportunity to play a tournament game in Omaha. The Bears ultimately trailed 3-1 before a six-run fourth inning led to a 14-3 victory — Post 154's second against Northwest this summer.
“It took overcoming me not pitching the best,” starter Colton Flynn said. “But, that cleaned up itself, obviously.”
Catcher Jakob Gaskill recognized Blair's slow start to the game as well.
“We were dead at first and it was hot out,” he said. “But, then, we started to realize they had the same things going on for them. Came alive and came back, I guess.”
Gaskill produced the go-ahead, two-RBI hit during the fourth inning before the Bears' offensive prowess took over. Like him, Carter Saylor, Unger, Nelson Kosch and Flynn all finished with two RBIs during the 11-run win.
Blair's Owen Mann, notably, had a team-best three hits and an RBI, while Greyson Kay plate a run, too.
Flynn, meanwhile, wound up throwing all five innings of Post 154's run-rule victory. He allowed just three total hits and struck out five batters in the afternoon heat.
“I drank a lot of water,” he said when asked how he tried to keep cool. “A little bit of Gatorade here and there, but that's about it.”
Blair's tournament run was scheduled to continue Sunday at Brown Park. Full results will appear in Friday's Washington County Enterprise edition.
Blair beats Knights
The Blair Seniors drew eight walks and took advantage of three ETC Knights Black errors June 19 during a 7-1 road win.
Swanson walked three times during the game, while Chavez-Lara drew two. Tanner Jacobson and Wachter, meanwhile, led Post 154 with two hits apiece.
The Bears' Jacobson, Kay, Wachter, Chavez-Lara, Swanson and Kosch finished the night at Elkhorn Mount Michael with RBIs as well.
Swanson earned the pitching win with six strikeouts, too, while Blaine Rosenbaum struck out three batters during his one inning of work.
POST 154 SENIOR LINE SCORES
Friday
Gretna East 3, Blair 0
BLAIR (17-3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 0
GE 0 0 0 0 0 3 X — 3 4 0
Blair 14, Omaha Northwest 3, 5 inn.
BLAIR (17-2) 1 0 0 6 7 — 14 13 1
ONW 2 0 1 0 0 — 3 3 6
June 19
Blair 7, ETC Knights Black 1
BLAIR (16-2) 2 2 0 0 0 0 3 — 7 7 2
ETC Black 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 — 1 5 3
