Doniphan County Dylan Gabriel

Sabetha's Kyle Stallbaumer

Somerset Park Sabetha

Seneca's Alex Hermesch

After two days of delays, the NEK American Legion League baseball tournament began on Saturday with four first-round games all ended by run rule. Two-time defending champ Seneca started the day with a 10-1 win against Royal Valley in five innings before Holton blanked Atchison 13-0 in four frames. In the evening contests, Doniphan County took care of Frankfort 10-2 and Sabetha was victorious against Hiawatha 13-1 in a pair of six inning affairs.

Game 1 – Seneca 10, Royal Valley 1

Seneca scored two runs in the first inning and then broke for six runs on six hits in the second to take a commanding 8-0 lead. After Royal Valley got an RBI hit by Dylan Conley in the bottom of the third, Seneca answered with two tallies in the fourth to put the game away. Alex Hermesch was the McDonalds Player of the Game as he tossed a three-hitter with an unearned run and struck out four. Hermesch was also 2-4 offensively with two runs while Michael Rottinghaus added two hits and runs and swiped a trio of bases. Dustin Rottinghaus, Matt Haverkamp and Devin Henry each added two hits as Seneca totaled a dozen hits in their first game of the year. Noah Hart allowed just two runs on four hits for Royal Valley pitching four innings in relief of starter Josh Tessendorf. Royal Valley is 0-3 now on the season while Seneca won their debut with new legion Coach Derek Rottinghaus.

Game 2 – Holton 13, Atchison 0

Holton earned their first win of the season (1-2) in style sending 18 batters to the plate in the first inning. They scored 13 runs on 8 hits and 4 Atchison errors plus 5 free passes in their initial frame. RBI Doubles by Jason Yingst and Kolton Oliverus highlighted the onslaught while Garrett Misenhelter added an RBI single. Atchison starter Mark McDermed recorded just one out before Jonny Kane came on in relief. Brandon Schumann pitched all four innings for Holton, yielding only two hits and striking out six while walking none. Yingst had a pair of hits and runs and earned McDonalds Player of the Game honors, while Misenhelter and Eric McKinsey also had two hits each.

Holton will play Seneca at 5:15 Sunday in the first semifinal and both teams will play again on Monday evening. Atchison and Royal Valley will wrap up their league tourney with a 1PM game on Sunday in Sabetha.

Game 3 – Doniphan County 10, Frankfort 2

McDonalds Player of the Game, Dylan Gabriel, tossed a one-hitter over six innings with 10 strikeouts as Doniphan County built an early lead and controlled the victory. DC opened the scoring with five runs on just one hit in the second and added four runs on five hits in the third. Nathan Gaarder cleared the bases with his second triple of the game in the second inning and Caleb Winkel had a two-run single in the third following an RBI double by Quenton Munger to make it 9-0. Winkel finished with a trio of RBI and Colton Masters joined Munger with a multi-hit game as Doniphan evened their record at 1-1 and moved into the winners bracket for the sixth straight year at the league tourney. Frankfort starter, Alex Surdez allowed nine runs on seven hits in the first three innings before Lucas Adams yielded just one run on three hits in the last three frames. Sam Steinloge had the only hit which was a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the third before Frankfort fell to 1-2 on the season.

Game 4 – Sabetha 13, Hiawatha 1

Sabetha carried a 1-0 lead in to the third before adding two more tallies but loaded the bases with no-outs and couldn’t get anymore. Then, in the fifth, they broke the game open with five runs on five hits and then chipped in five more runs in the sixth. Hiawatha managed only three singles against Sabetha starter Kyle Stallbaumer who struck out 7 batters in his five innings of work with no walks. Hiawatha kept the game alive with a two-out RBI hit by Dalton Lehmkuhl in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-1, but after starting pitcher Dakota Bayless was chased in the fifth, Hiawatha would use four total throwers in the game and surrender 12 free passes before falling to 2-1. Tyler Edelman led the Sabetha offense with a 2-3 game and three RBI while Graham Droge and Taylor Bauman each had a hit and scored three times. Nolan Keim was 1-1 with two runs scored and batted in and Thaine Allen scored twice as Sabetha improved to 5-1. Stallbaumer, who also had a hit and run scored was the McDonalds Player of the Game.

Doniphan County will play Sabetha in the 7:15 semifinal while Hiawatha and Frankfort play their final tourney game at 3:00 on Sunday at Somerset Park in Sabetha.