The Arlington baseball lineup gave pitcher Tyler Ott plenty of run support Thursday against Fort Calhoun at the Washington County Fairgrounds.
A five-run second inning, capped by Logan Kaup's two-run single, propelled the Eagles (4-5 overall) to a 10-5 Nebraska Capitol Conference win against their county rivals.
“It's a big difference,” Ott said of pitching with a lead. “You can go up there with confidence and let it fly. You know that, hey, you can give up a few runs, but you're still up. You're still good. You just relax.”
Ahead by five runs, AHS continued its success at the plate during the third frame. Isaac Foust, who finished with a pair of hits, singled before Kaden Pittman drove him in for a run with an infield hit.
“They were helping me out,” Ott said. “Today, their defense was good, too.”
Fort Calhoun (1-6) finally cut into the Eagles' 6-0 advantage during the fifth inning, though. Sam Halford, Chase Premer and Carter Christensen loaded the bases before Austin Welchert and Zach Faucher knocked in a run apiece for a four-run deficit.
Arlington had an immediate response during the bottom half, however. The Eagles' Braden Monke, Nick Smith, Trevor Denker and Kaup all made run-scoring contact as the Arlington lead reached its margin — 10-2.
FCHS scored three runs during the seventh inning when Zach Faucher hit into an error, Fuhrman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Halford tallied a sacrifice, but it was too little, too late.
“We just played an all-around good game,” Ott said after 6 innings on the mound. “I could just go out there, relax and pitch.”
The Arlington right-hander struck out one Pioneer, while Calhoun's Kenny Wellwood struck five Eagles. Kaup finished with a game-best three RBIs.
Both Arlington and Fort Calhoun are scheduled to play today, too. The Eagles play at Douglas County West at 4:30 p.m., while the Pioneers host Malcolm at the same time.
