Sidney seniors take 2nd in tourney

While it was Buckley that left Legion Field as the winner of the Sidney Seniors Tournament over the weekend in the round-robin affair, Sidney Post #17 fans had plenty to get excited about.

With only an 8-6 loss to Buckley in the tournament opener on Saturday morning to mar their otherwise perfect weekend, the seniors rebounded with three straight wins to finish as the runner-up. Sidney recovered from its tough first game to defeat Gordon 15-0 in three innings on Saturday night. On Sunday, Sidney toppled league rivals Gering, 4-3, and Hershland, 7-4.

The Sidney nine were aided by the presence of senior Lane Harvey. Though he has committed to playing a full slate of games in Denver this summer, a break in his schedule allowed him to join Post #17 for the tournament.

"We wanted to beat Buckley, but that turned out to be a pretty tough loss," Harvey said. "It was nice to see how well we bounced back to play three solid games afterward. Now we're back at .500 and that's a pretty nice accomplishment."

After going 3-1 over the weekend, Sidney's record now stands at 11-11 on the season.

Harvey ended up the tournament by winning the "Defensive MVP Award" that he earned by playing errorless ball for four games. He also had two back-pick assists from shortstop and was involved in three double plays. Harvey earned a win on the mound with a complete game against Gering in which he surrendered just one earned run.

Harvey gave up just six scattered hits and struck out 15 while walking just one. Though presented with an Easton bat, Harvey donated it back to the program. He also contributed offensively by banging out seven hits in 13 at bats with two doubles and seven RBIs.

"I'm finally starting to swing the bat well again," Harvey said.

The Buckley Bombers, which completed the tournament 4-0, were led by an outstanding offensive effort by right fielder Trey Walter, who earned the "Offensive MVP Award."

He went 12 for 17, walked once, scored seven runs, stole seven bases and drove home three from the leadoff spot. He was perfect at the plate on Saturday as he picked up eight hits in as many at bats. Against Sidney on Saturday morning, he had four hits and scored twice.

Hershland catcher Justin Weir received the sportsmanship award for the weekend.

Against Buckley, Ben Goble pounded the catcher's mitt from the mound for four innings as he gave up six scattered hits and no walks and just a single run. As Goble found the strike zone with 40 of his 53 pitches, he fanned six of the 13 hitters he faced. Zack Means came on in the fifth and took the loss, while Connor Langrell retired the final two Buckley hitters.

Post #17 trailed Buckley 4-0 when it came to bat in the sixth inning. Consecutive run scoring hits by Harvey, Zack Means, Langrell and Brett Jaggers tied the contest. Arik Doty's two-RBI hit later in the inning gave Sidney a short-lived 6-4 lead.

"It was a solid effort from all the guys but we couldn't quite pull it out in the end," said head coach Ray Witt. "We had a couple of late errors there that hurt us. But it was mostly a well-played game against a very good team."

In the final game played on Saturday, Sidney had little trouble dispensing with Gordon in three innings. Three runs crossed the plate for the locals in the first inning and 12 more came home in the second. Means, Kyle Burton and Jason Hagerman all had three hits to lead the offensive attack. Means, Burton and Keaton Wakefield each had three RBIs. Bradey Holtz stymied the Regulators on the hill with three scoreless innings.

Two important games against district opponents were on tap for Sidney on Sunday. First up was Gering, which had blanked Post #17 6-0 in their only previous meeting this season. Sunday turned out to be a different story as Harvey took to the hill to get the complete-game win. Harvey helped his own cause at the bat with a two-RBI double in a four-run second.

Doty also doubled in the fourth and was driven home by Mitch Rolls, who collected a pair of hits in the game. Holtz added another run-scoring base hit in the fourth. Rolls finished up the tournament with three hits on Sunday.

"It's a confidence thing," Rolls said. "At the beginning of the year, I had no confidence and I was scared to swing the bat. Now, I'm just swinging the bat and hitting the ball."

Burton was the winning pitcher over Hershey with four innings pitched in which he gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. Wakefield came on in the fifth and gave up a pair of runs while Jake Heeren pitched a scoreless seventh. Harvey and Burton each hit their second doubles of the tournament against Hershey.

"There's no doubt that we've got the talent to beat anybody if we show up and play, even the Class A teams," Witt said.

SENIOR LEGION BOXES

Sidney Tournament @ Legion Park

Buckley 8, Sidney 6

Sidney 000 006 0 – 6 7 3

Buckley 100 034 x – 8 13 3

Sidney: Ben Goble, Zack Means (5), Connor Langrell (6) and Bradey Holtz. Buckley: Caleb Anderson and Ryan Nolin.

2B: Cole McKinley 2 (B), Gunner Kroeger 2 (B), Zack Means (S).

Sidney 15, Gordon 0

Gordon 000 – 0 3 1

Sidney 3(12)x – 15 10 1

Gordon: Morgan Hurlburt, Brady Bohlender (2) and Broc Black Calf. Sidney: Bradey Holtz and Arik Doty.

2B: Zack Means (S), Kyle Burton (S).

Sidney 4, Gering 3

Sidney 040 000 0 – 4 9 5

Gering 002 000 1 – 3 6 1

Sidney: Lane Harvey and Bradey Holtz. Gering: Trace Fulk and Austin Reynolds.

2B: Lane Harvey (S), Arik Doty (S), Esai Hernandez 2 (G).

Sidney 7, Hershland 4

Hershland 000 211 0 – 4 9 2

Sidney 202 012 x – 7 7 0

Hershland: Landan Maasen and Justin Weir. Sidney: Kyle Burton, Keaton Wakefield (5), Jake Heeren (7) and Arik Doty.

2B: Justin Weir (H), Landan Maasen (H), Lane Harvey (S), Kyle Burton (S).