Sidney Edges Ogallala in Extra Innings

SIDNEY – The Sidney American Legion Post 17 Juniors scored two runs in the bottom of the 8^th inning in the opening round of the American Legion B7 Area Junior Tournament Friday on their home field. With the 5-4 come from behind win over Ogallala Junior Legion AIA 16U, fourth seeded Sidney advances to face top-seeded Alliance in a winner’s bracket game Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

Neither team seemed to settle in at the plate as the early part of the game feature multiple pop-ups on the infield. Sidney got on the board first when Anderson Smelley led off the third inning with a single to left field and later scored on a two-out single by Reid Fiscus.

Ogallala answered in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs on a Sidney error. Sidney pitcher Rhyder Bayne walked two and hit one batter with a pitch to load the bases with one out. Ogallala’s Michael Skinner hit a ground ball to third baseman Kyle Jaggers, who threw home for the second out of the inning. But Sidney catcher Connor Hurt overthrew first base attempting to pull off a double play, scoring two runs for an 2-1 Ogallala lead.

Sidney answered in the bottom half of the fourth as Connor Hurt doubled to left field to lead off the inning. Hurt advanced to second base when Zech Roggasch reached base on an error by Ogallala second baseman Braydn Heilman. However, Sidney’s potential big inning was thwarted when Hurt was doubled off second on a line drive double play to short stop by Patrick McCartney. Sidney stilled tied the game when Anderson Smelley doubled to left scoring Roggasch from first.

Sidney took a 3-2 lead in the 6^th inning when Connor Hurt drilled a one-out triple to center field and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Anderson Smelley. Ogallala tied the game in the top of the 7^th with a bases loaded single by Blake Robb.  Sidney loaded the bases with one out in the home half of the inning, but couldn’t score to send the game to extra innings.

Joshua Christensen led off the Ogallala 8^th inning with a double to left field. Christensen advanced to third on a wild pitch and then put Ogallala on top 4-3 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Kaode Adams-Brewer.

Patrick McCartney reached base on an error by third baseman Bradyn Heilman to lead off the Sidney 8th inning, but was thrown out at second on Anderson Smelley's ground ball to short stop. After Zac McGuire's pop-up to second base for the second out of the inning, Kyle Jaggers was hit by a pitch to put the winning run on base for Sidney. Smelley and Jaggers advance to second and third on a wild pitch by Ogallala pitcher Blake Robb, and both scored when Ogallala first baseman Charlie Nielsen mis-played a Landon Riddle grounder to allow Sidney to escape with a 5-4 win.

Rhyder Baine went the distance for Sidney to pick up the win while Blake Robb suffered the loss in just one inning of work for Ogallala.

Ogallala will now meet Gering at 2:00 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game. Chadron sent Gering to the elimination game by scoring seven runs in the first three innings on Friday for a 9-1 win in five innings. Chadron gets the day off and will meet the winner of Saturday’s the Sidney/Alliance game on Sunday.