Baseball, softball and rodeo!
Broken Bow- Broken Bow- Excitement and enthusiasm filled the air June 20 at Paul Brown Field in Broken Bow as the Legion played their first home games of the season against Alma. The men in red didn’t disappoint the home crowd who have been itching for sports, with a 12-2 win for the seniors and a 13-6 win for the Juniors against Alma.
The Seniors took the field first and did not waste any time in scoring their first runs of the game.
Sawyer Bumgarner doubled on a line drive to left field scoring Clay Brandon and moving Blake Denson up to third base. On the next play, Caden Holm grounded out in the infield, giving Denson enough time to cross home.
In the second, Caden Johnson singled on a line drive to right field scoring Kaden McKean.
Alma Seniors did not go away lightly and were on the comeback trail in the top of the third. They scored four runs to take the lead on three singles and a double.
As quickly as they grabbed the lead, Broken Bow was ready to take it right back from them.
Caden Holm started the bottom of the third off with a single to left field. After Alma walked Conner Wells and hit Sam Loy with a pitch the bases were loaded for Caden Johnson.
He wasn’t able to get on base, but his ground out to first base was enough for Holm to score and tie the game back up at four apiece.
With two outs Alma had a pitch that got away from the catcher, and Wells slid into home safely.
The game stayed close up until the bottom of the fifth inning when Alma’s pitching let them down. Two walks and a hit by pitch allowed four runners to get on base safely. A Clay Brandon and Holm single helped Broken Bow score the other two runs.
Broken Bow continued to take control of a tired Alma pitching staff, scoring five more runs in the bottom half of the sixth. A key contributor was Holm in the inning who led things off with a double.
On the mound, Brandon went seven innings with six strikeouts and six earned runs.
“I think the Seniors did a good job of attacking at the plate,” Dallas Amond said. “We had a great pitching outing from Clay Brandon, complete game, I couldn’t have asked for more. Just an all-around great team win from the seniors today.”
The Juniors did not find themselves in as close of a matchup as the seniors in the second game.
They built an early lead on a passed ball by Alma that scored Caden Johnson from third, and then Holm as well after the catchers throw down to the third baseman was off the mark.
In the second, Brody Ridder hit a fly ball to center field deep enough for Austin Harvey to tag up and score the third run of the game. A wild pitch by Alma resulted in another runner scoring for Broken Bow. This time it was Kaden McKean sliding into home.
Harvey was absolutely locked in pitching for
the Juniors. He fooled Alma batters all night, going seven innings with five strikeouts and no earned runs.
“Austin has been solid for us for the last several years, he is a great pitcher,” Amond said.
The Juniors currently sit at 3-0 and the Seniors are 2-1 after the first week of the season.