The Pioneers assessed the strike zone early.
Then, they swung.
After two scoreless innings in Arlington on Tuesday, Fort Calhoun — the fifth-ranked baseball team in Class C — strung together three run-scoring hits during the third inning and went onto win, 11-0. Coach Roy Prauner's Pioneers are 11-4 overall, while coach Justin Meyer's Eagles dropped to 5-9 in defeat.
“We weren't very aggressive at the beginning, but, once we realized we had a big zone, we knew we had to attack,” FCHS' Chase Bierman said.
The Pioneers didn't think the home plate umpire was going to dole out too many walks Tuesday at the Washington County Fairgrounds, so they decided to take their hacks instead.
“We knew we weren't going to get anything, so we just had to take what we got,” Bierman explained.
As a result, Calhoun outhit the host Eagles, 9-4.
“I think the major takeaway is they hit the ball and we couldn't find ways to push runs across,” Arlington infielder Luke Sharp said. “Defensively, it was solid. Not our best defensive game, but not bad.”
The Pioneers were just too good at the plate. With two runners on base during the third frame, Bierman hit a two-run double to the left field fence.
“I've just been trying to calm down and not stress when I'm up there,” he said. “Just take it slow. One pitch at a time.”
Senior Chase Premer doubled next, too, scoring one more run before Alex Christensen's RBI single pushed FCHS' lead to 4-0.
“I think that hitting is just really contagious,” Christensen said.
Calhoun's Charlie Boumstein, Premer and he all finished with two RBIs, while Bierman had a team-best four. Eli Tinkham plated a late run, too.
Confidence, Christensen said, has allowed the Pioneers to deliver at the plate all season long.
“We'd been working all winter, so we've been ready at the plate,” the senior said. “It doesn't matter how many strikes we have, we're ready to go after a pitch.”
Sharp, meanwhile, said Arlington could use a little more confidence of its own at the plate. Peyton Marfisi, Tim Halley, Tanner Kyllo and Liam Shearer had hits against Fort Calhoun, but the Eagles finished seven innings with just a .174 batting average for the day.
“You've got to have a mentality change, really,” Sharp said. “Just tell yourself that, 'I can hit it.'”
The Pioneers' Kenny Wellwood earned the complete game pitching victory against AHS, striking out four batters. Jackson Stosich, meanwhile, took the loss for the Eagles despite four of his own strikeouts across five innings. Wes Monke struck out two Pioneers in relief, too, but allowed the last five FCHS runs.
Calhoun's road win followed last Saturday's Nebraska Capitol Conference Tournament finals loss to Douglas County West.
“We were really disappointed for missing out on our chance to get the first conference win in our school's history,” Bierman said.
So, after getting in tune with how the umpire was going to call balls and strikes at the Washington County Fairgrounds, the Pioneers attacked. They're now 2-0 against the Eagles this season.
HS BASEBALL LINE SCORE
Tuesday
No. 5 Fort Calhoun 11, Arlington 0
FCHS (11-4) 0 0 4 0 2 0 5 — 11 9 3
AHS (5-9) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 0
