Baseball Gets Comeback Win in Conference Opener over Waldorf

(Hastings, NE) – In the first conference games of the season, Hastings won the first game, 9-8, then lost 9-1 in game two against the Waldorf Warriors on Saturday.

Waldorf came out with two singles, then after two outs were recorded, but the next seven batters reached, resulting in seven runs to go up 7-0 before Hastings could step to the plate.

The Broncos got on the board in the bottom of the third, beginning with a walk from senior Mason Masur, then senior Alliskair Descartes advanced him to third with a single up the middle. Junior Jaden Stone flew out to left, allowing Masur to score on the play, making it 7-1.

The fourth inning brought more offense for Hastings, as junior Jace Valdez singled, then freshman Eddie Henchek and sophomore Jared Delgado drew walks to load the bases. With one out, junior Tristan Martinez drove in two on a base hit to center. Descartes later drilled a two-run RBI triple to right center with two outs to trim the lead to two at 7-5.

Delgado led off the sixth with a walk and with one out, Martinez reached first on an error. Masur was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Descartes drove in two more with a single to left. Stone walked and with two outs, Valdez drove in two runs to take a two-run lead on a hit up the middle to take a 9-7 lead through six.

Senior Alex Fichter, who came in to pitch the sixth inning, allowed a run in the seventh but got a strikeout to end the game to earn the win at 9-8. Descartes led the Hastings offense going 3-3 with four RBIs and a run scored. Valdez was 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Martinez was 1-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

In the second game, neither team scored until the top of the third when the Warriors scratched across two runs on three hits, scoring on an RBI single and a passed ball to go up 2-0, but Hastings got out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam without more damage. 

The Warriors to the bases loaded again in the fourth with one out. A single brought in a run, but Masur's throw to Delgado was on the money for the second out and a groundout on the next play kept it at 3-0. Waldorf continued their scoring in the fifth inning with a three-run home run to go up 6-0. Hastings scored in the fifth by having Masur double, Descartes walk, and Stone single to open the bottom of the inning, scoring Masur to make it 6-1.

In the seventh inning the Warriors added a run on an RBI single and tacked on two runs in the ninth to take a 9-1 lead. Martinez led off the bottom of the ninth with a single but Waldorf retired the next three batters to preserve the 9-1 win.

Up next, Hastings will host Waldorf tomorrow for a double-header beginning at 12pm on Duncan Field.