CENTRAL PLAINS REGIONAL: Omaha PI Midwest starts tourney with 1-hit shutout win over Roughriders
Omaha (Neb.) PI Midwest brought its hot bats more than 700 miles to the Central Plains Regional American Legion baseball tournament.By: Royal McGregor, The Dickinson Press
- Aaron Berg
- Mason Raburn
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Omaha (Neb.) PI Midwest brought its hot bats more than 700 miles to the Central Plains Regional American Legion baseball tournament.
The Blue Jays scored nine runs in the first four innings en route to a 10-0 win in seven innings against the host Dickinson Roughriders on Thursday night in the final game of the opening round on Astoria Field at Southside Ballpark.
“We got nice counts to hit in,” Omaha head coach Pat Mooney said. “We were real aggressive when they were in the zone and I was pleased with our approach at the plate.”
Omaha took its lead from the No. 6 batter in its order, T.J. Wood. He went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Wood also pitched a perfect seventh inning.
“Overall it was a good game,” Wood said. “We came ready to play. I think being able to play at 7 o’clock, we were able to get ready and prepared.”
Omaha (45-7) plays Eden Prairie, Minn., at approximately 8 p.m. today in the second round. Dickinson plays West Des Moines, Iowa, in an elimination game at approximately 1 p.m.
The Blue Jays used three pitchers on the opening day of the tournament with hopes to not overuse a single pitcher.
Mason Raburn grabbed the win for Omaha, throwing four innings, allowing one hit and striking out six. Nick Ramsey relieved Raburn and tossed two perfect innings.
“We were hoping that we’d score some runs early, so we could get some other guys in,” Mooney said. “It worked out well, we got runs early.”
Dickinson had trouble getting the bats going. Brett Braunagel had the lone hit.
The Roughriders (15-28), at times, were able to stay patient at the plate, drawing three walks from Raburn.
“Hopefully we come back (today) and hit the ball a little bit better,” Dickinson head coach Cory Hansen said. “You can’t win on hit. We’re going to try to put together something and hopefully we can be competitive.”
Nine of the 11 players to take plate appearances for the Blue Jays got hits, including Taylor Elman who had a double, a triple and two RBIs.
Omaha batters combined for 19 hits.
“Confidence is contagious,” Wood said. “If guys are hitting the ball well and scoring runs, everyone is going to do it.”
Mason Schiff took the loss for Dickinson, throwing three innings, allowing nine runs on 12 hits and walking one. Aaron Berg saw a little bit of time at the mound against the powerful lineup that bolsters 10 players committed to play for college baseball teams.
“We had some one-two-three innings,” Hansen said. “We had some nice throws to second and threw some guys out.”
Other sluggers for the Blue Jays included Evan Ryan. He went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and scoring two runs.
Notre Dame recruit Kevin Connolly had three hits with a RBI and a run scored. Cale Dineen added two hits, a RBI and a run scored. Scott Huber and Adam Wilson each had a hit and a RBI.
“We’ve got some good coaches that know what they are talking about,” Wood said. “They try to get everyone a feel for this tournament.”
Dickinson 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
Omaha 212 400 1 — 10 19 0
Mason Schiff, Aaron Berg (4) and Mark Erickson. Mason Raburn, Nick Ramsey (5), TJ Wood (7) and Billy Lipari and Mike Emodi.
W–Raburn. L–Schiff. HR–None.
Highlights: D, Brett Braunagel 1-for-3. O, Jon Hechtner 2-for-3, 3 runs, 2 SBs; Wood 4-for-4, 2 RBI; Taylor Elman 2-for-3, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Evan Ryan 3-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Kevin Connolly 3-for-4, RBI, run; Cale Dineen 2-for-4, RBI, run; Scott Huber 1-for-2, RBI; Adam Wilson 1-for-4, RBI.
Records: Omaha 45-7, Dickinson 15-28.
Tags: central plains regional, dickinson roughriders, legion baseball, sports, baseball, updates
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