Game Recap: Creighton Prep vs. Lincoln Southeast

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Down 5-2 heading into the seventh frame, Creighton Prep rallied behind a six-run inning to remain unbeaten and defeat Lincoln Southeast 8-5 in state.

Both starting pitchers encountered trouble in the first inning, with Connor Pfundt giving the Jr. Jays a 1-0 lead after an RBI hit-by-pitch. The Knights responded, scoring three off Will Volenec with back-to-back RBI hits from Connor Wilken and Ethan Steer to go up 3-1.

Lincoln Southeast turned to its bullpen early in the game as Jack Swanson entered in the second in relief. He held Prep scoreless through his four frames of work while getting ahead of 10 of the 16 batters he faced and punching out three.

Volenec matched Swanson’s impressive effort with one of his own as he kept the Jr. Jays in the game with a struggling offense. He went 6 2/3 innings, taken out because of his pitch count, striking out six batters and battling on a day where he wasn’t his best.

In the sixth inning, Prep cut the lead to one after a Parker Mooney single led off the inning, with a wild pitch scoring him later. Lincoln Southeast got some insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning, as an RBI pinch-hit triple from Jacob Anderson and an RBI single from Hunter Dragoo made it 5-2 LSE.

The Jays were not done in the seventh inning as after a groundout began things, they loaded the bases with just one out. An RBI single from Brok Laney and an RBI fielder’s choice by Jack Thiele narrowed the lead to 5-4, with just one out.

Sam Ryberg delivered the biggest hit of the game for Prep, scoring two and giving his team the lead 6-5. A beautiful bunt by Coby Hatcher led to some miscues by the Knights’ defense, allowing two more runs to come across with Prep adding to their now 8-5 lead.

In the seventh, Volenec was pulled after striking out the first two batters due to pitch count, giving the ball to Thiele for one final out. After a walk and hit-by-pitch, Thiele forced a flyout to left field to complete the improbable comeback for Prep.

Creighton Prep remain in the winner’s bracket and will take on Gretna at 7:00 p.m., with LSE playing Bellevue West in an elimination game at 1:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Notable Performances:

+ Will Volenec (Prep) 6.2IP, 8H, 3ER, 6K’s, 2 BB

+ Jack Swanson (LSE) 4.0IP, 4H, 0ER, 3K’s, 1 BB

+ Parker Mooney (Prep) 3-3, BB, R

+ Sam Ryberg (Prep) 2-4, 2 RBI, R

+ Hunter Dragoo (LSE) 2-3, RBI