2016 Northeast Kansas League Legion Baseball Standings - click here

2016 McDonald's "Players of the Game" on KNZA - click here

2016 Zone Tournament Assignments - click here

2016 AA Zone Tournament Bracket (at Sabetha) - click here
    (Doniphan County, Seneca, Sabetha, Silver Lake, Corning, Marysville, Linn)

2016 AAA Zone Tournament Bracket (at Ottawa) - click here 
     (Atchison, Leavenworth, Oskaloosa)

2016 A State Tournament Bracket (at Great Bend) - click here (Doniphan County) 

Zone Tournament play rolled along on Tuesday night at the AA and AAA level for Northeast Kansas League teams and seven of the eight League teams remain alive in the postseason. 

In Sabetha the AA Zone Tournament continued with Semifinal action of Marysville and Seneca to start the night and Marysville snagged the 9-6 win, while Corning played Linn in the first consolation bracket game and eliminated Linn with an 8-2 victory. 

At the AAA level one State spot was decided on Tuesday in Ottawa as the host Ottawa took down Oskaloosa 7-0 in the Zone Championship game. While in consolation bracket play Atchison and Leavenworth fought to stay alive and Atchison claimed the 10-7 win to continue their season. 

Six NEKL teams continue their season tonight in Zone play but three will see their season come to an end as the teams are pitted against each other in Zone tournament play. In Sabetha for the AA action it’s a pair of consolation/elimination games tonight as Silver Lake takes on Corning at 6:00pm and Sabetha faces Seneca at 8:00pm. While in Ottawa a spot at the AAA State tournament is up for grabs between Atchison and Oskaloosa tonight at 6:30pm in the consolation championship game. 

Marysville Tops Seneca in Semi's and Corning Stays Alive in AA Zone Play at Sabetha

The action in Sabetha continued on Tuesday night for the AA Zone Tournament with Semifinal action and the first consolation bracket game. The night started with Marysville claiming a 9-6 win over Seneca and Corning topped Linn 8-2 in consolation play. 

Marysville jumped on the lead early against Seneca using three hits in the top of the first to score a pair of runs and got to Seneca starter Cody Rottinghaus. The lead doubled in the third with two more runs for Marysville going up 4-0 but Seneca broke through offensively with four hits in the bottom of the third to score three runs and trail by only one after three innings of play. It wasn't long before Marysville answered to extend their lead back plating four runs in the top of the fourth on four hits, a walk and an error. A leadoff triple by Neil Sudbeck with two walks and an error got Seneca a run in the fifth, but Marysville matched it with a run in the sixth to lead 9-5. Down to the their final three outs Seneca started the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run from Cody Rottinghaus, but went down in order after that to give Marysville the 9-6 win. 

Jacob Stryker was solid on the mound for Marysville going all seven innings for the win giving up five runs on seven hits and six walks with five strikeouts and went 1-2 at the plate with a double, two walks and a run scored to earn McDonald's "Player of the Game" on KNZA. Brennan Wetter added a 3-4 night, while both Jayton Haggard and Jacob Latta had two hits as Marysville beat Seneca for the third time this year. Seneca in the loss had a 2-4 game with a home run, two RBI's and run scored from Rottinghaus and Dalton Hiltibrand went 2-3. 

In the nightcap it was a must win game for Corning and Linn to continue their season as they started the consolation bracket play after first round losses. Taking advantage of late opportunities Corning picked up the 8-2 win to stay alive in the postseason. Both teams scratched a run across in the first inning and the game remained tied at 1-1 until Corning got an RBI single from Dalton Boeckman in the top of the fifth to shift the game in their favor 2-1. Corning then added three runs in the sixth on three walks and three hit batters and scored three more runs in the seventh, while Linn managed only one run in the sixth the rest of the game after their early run. 

Colton Buessing tossed all seven innings for Corning giving up just two runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter, while striking out 11 to earn the win. While the Corning offense manage only three hits (Boeckman, Noah Klingler and Brice Koch) they took advantage of eight walks and three hit batters in the contest to earn the win. 

AA Zone Tournament play continues in Sabetha on Wednesday with a pair of consolation bracket games as Silver Lake takes on Corning at 6:00pm and Sabetha plays Seneca at 8:00pm. Winners move on to play each other on Thursday, while Marysville and Doniphan County will play for the Zone Championship also on Thursday night. 

Atchison Stays Alive, While Oskaloosa Falls in Championship Game of AAA Zone

The Championship and elimination game took place on Tuesday night in Ottawa to continue the AAA Zone action. To start the night Atchison stay alive in the postseason beating Leavenworth 10-7, while Ottawa won the Zone title by beating Oskaloosa 7-0. 

Atchison worked to the early lead against Leavenworth in consolation bracket play scoring two runs in the second on two hits, a hit batter and wild pitch. That lead was pushed to 6-0 in the third as Atchison capitalized upon two walks, a single, hit batter and error to score four runs. The scoring continued in the fourth as Atchison made it 9-0 plating three runs on three more walks, a single and wild pitch. Leavenworth finally broke through on the board in the fifth with a pair of runs, but Atchison got one back in the top of the seventh to lead 10-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. Leavenworth didn't go quietly in the seventh starting the inning with a walk, error and three hits to score four runs and then added another to score five in the inning but the comeback came up short as Atchison held on for the 10-7 win. James Boatwright led Atchison earning the win by tossing five innings and striking out 11. 

In the Championship contest it was all Ottawa on the scoreboard as they made the best of their four hits to snag the 7-0 win over Oskaloosa. Ottawa scored a run in the second to take the initial lead and added four in the third and two in the sixth to grab the win as they held Oskaloosa to one-hit. Ethan Burghart took the loss for Oskaloosa going all six innings, while Dalton VanHoutan notched the lone Oskaloosa hit. 

Atchison and Oskaloosa will meet up again in Zone play Wednesday at 6:30pm, this time for the runner-up spot in the Zone and bid to the AAA Zone Tournament.