Hartington Juniors drop first game

HARTINGTON — Although dropping its first game of the 2023 season, the Hartington Post 4 Junior American Legion baseball team completed a busy and successful week, winning four of five games.

Post 4 split games with Wakefield over the past week, beating them 8-4 on June 14 before dropping a 3-1 decision to them on Saturday, June 17.

Hartington also blasted Pierce 23-6 on June 13; defeated Tekamah-Herman 13-2 on June 16; 10-runned Millard United Varsity Black 19-9 on June 19; and beat West Point 4-2 on June 19 in league action.

Against West Point, West Point scored first in the top of the first frame, but Hartington answered with a run by Breiton Whitmire, who stole home after walking earlier in the inning.

Post 4 added a run in the second frame to take its first lead of the contest, 2-1, when Cole Rosener sacrificed home Sam Wiebelhaus after Wiebelhaus had singled to center field, advanced on an out at first and stole third.

Hartington added a pair of runs in the fifth frame, but Whitmire was in command on the hill as he completed the game, going the entire seven innings, allowing a single hit while striking out five batters.

Against Millard United, the Hartington offense carried the game, pounding out 11 hits and taking advantage of five walks and three errors on the way to the win in a six-inning game shortened by the 10-run rule.

Post 4 utilized an aggressive offense during the contest as it manufactured 28 stolen bases, led by Jared Rutar, who swiped five.

Whitmire, Koby Detlefsen and Brayden Reifenrath each had two hits on the day; Dylan Taylor scored three runs; Brady Hochstein, Jared Rutar Wiebelhaus and Reifenrath each scored twice; and Whitmire drove in five runs.

In the loss to Wakefield, Wakefield grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning and then added a run in the fifth and sixth frames before Hartington responded in the bottom of the sixth with its first and only run of the game.

Rutar took the mound for Post 4 and gave his team five quality innings, but the Hartington offense was asleep at the wheel.

Both teams were limited to only four hits each and Post 4 committed a couple of errors.

In the win over Wakefield in Hartington, single runs in the first and second innings put Post 4 in front 2-0, but Wakefield plated four runs in the top of the third to take a 4-2 lead heading into the home-half of the frame.

The Post 4 Juniors tied the game in the third when Detlefsen stole home after singling earlier in the frame and Whitmire scored on Detlefsen’s single after getting a hit to open the inning.

Hartington added two runs in the fourth to take a 6-4 lead and then plated a couple of insurance runs in the sixth to close out the game.

Detlefsen came on in relief and held Wakefield scoreless the final four innings to earn the win on the mound while allowing just one hit, striking out six and walking no batters.

Whitmire went 3-for-3 in the game and scored three times. Hochstein was 2-for-3, drove in a couple of runs and scored once.

Sandwiched between the two games with Wakefield, Hartington wasted little time in taking control of Tekamah-Herman in Tekamah to post the 13-2 win in a five-inning contest shortened by the 10-run rule.

In fact, Post 4 scored 10 runs in the first two innings with four in the first and six in the second to go up 10-0.

Detlefsen pounded out a couple of doubles in the game in his three at-bats and scored twice.

Taylor and Hochstein each had a couple of hits and scored twice while Whitmire crossed the plate three times.

Hochstein got the win on the hill, allowing only a run on three hits in three innings of work.

The Hartington Juniors opened the busy week with a 23-6 thrashing over Pierce, which included 10run and nine-run innings for Post 4.

Hartington scored three in the first, one in the second and then exploded for 10 in the third and nine in the fourth as it gave the grounds crew in Pierce plenty to do between the Junior and Senior games.

Whitmire had three hits; Taylor, Detlefsen, Cattau, Quinn Hochstein and Keyton Arens each had a couple of hits. Brady Hochstein got the win on the mound.

The Post 4 Juniors are set to be back in action June 21 at home with Pender before hosting Pierce June

24 in an afternoon game with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

WP 100 000 1 - 2 1 0

H 110 020 X - 4 6 2 WP: Breiton Whitmire LP: Reeson.

2B: Keyton Arens.

H 233 236 X - 19 11 0 MU 004 032 X - 9 8 3 WP: Jaymison Cattau LP: McIhon.

2B: Dylan Taylor, Koby Detlefson (H); Partidge (MU). 3B: Davis (MU).

W 001 011 0 - 3 4 1

H 000 001 0 - 1 4 2 WP: Jesse Lundahl LP: Jared Rutar.

H 460 30X X - 13 13 1 T-H 001 01X X - 2 5 1 WP: Brady Hochstein LP: Belfrage.

2B: Koby Detlefson (2), Breiton Whitmire, Hochstein (H); Pagels (T-H)

W 004 000 0 - 4 5 1

H 112 202 X - 8 10 2 WP: Koby Detlefson LP: Jonathon Birkley.

2B: Brady Hochstein (H).