Tri-Center BB Falls to Beford in Substate Final, 7-4

Tri-Center BB Falls to Beford in Substate Final, 7-4 –

(7-16-24) – It was the start they wanted… just not the finish.

After jumping out to a 4-1 lead after 2 innings, Tri-Center allowed 6 unanswered runs to Bedford as the dropped a 7-4 decision in the Class 1A Substate 8 Championship Game in Atlantic on Tuesday.

“We came out. We were ready to play and did some things really well at the beginning of the game,” said Trojans Coach Max Kozeal. “They're a good team. We knew it coming in. They could hit and they could hit the ball and all the way through 1 through 9, they got hitters. We were hoping that we could match that. We had some good bats, we did. They came through a couple times in a couple of time when they needed to and we didn’t.”

After retiring Bedford in order in the top of the 1st, Tri-Center then saw the first 5 batters reach base on 4 hits and a hit by pitch to take a quick 3-0 lead on Bulldogs starter Klemit Onley before he settled down to strike out the side.

Then Brody King and Isaak Dukes got the bats going for Bedford and the score a run in the 2nd on a fielder’s choice by Peyton Kreps. It was only the beginning of the night for King and Dukes. The pair would combine to go 6 for 6 on the game with 6 RBI.

The Bulldogs tied the game in 3rd at 4-4 with King and Dukes doing all the damage on a pair of run scoring singles. The game would stay that way until 1 out in the 5th when Tim Rogers would break the tie with a solo home run to right. Two more runs in the 7th would cap the scoring.

It didn’t mean that his team didn’t fight hard all season to Kozeal.

“I was super happy with our guys coming back, you know, they got knocked down a couple different times, kept competing and competing and didn't give up. We fought all the way to the last bat.”

In the bottom of the 5th, Carter Kunze led off the inning with a double and sacrificed to 3rd by Lincoln Thomas. Kozeal called for a safety squeeze by AJ Harder but it was bunted right back to Olney and Kunze was thrown out at the plate. It was play Kozeal said they tried to run earlier in the game.

“We actually ran that twice in the 1st inning and didn't get it done. So you look at those three times where we bunted. we're trying to bunt a safety squeeze and we didn't get it done and that's, you know, that's the difference in the game there.”

The Trojans came together under the label of "Lumberjacks," even getting T-shirts for their warmup jerseys. Kozeal explained the meaning of the "Lumberjacks" mantra.

“The kids, you know, when we talk about our lumberjacks and say, you know, when you talk about guys cutting down trees and the lumberjacks, they all work together and everybody's got to do a job and their jobs are different. Not everybody can run the crane. Everybody can run the saw. Not everybody can run the line, but everybody's got to do their own thing and they're all counting on each other. That's the main thing.”

Kozeal hopes that the memories and lessons learned by his players this season will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

“You take that to life with you. You're going to have, you're going to have some tough situations. Don't put your head down. Keep competing, get after it and enjoy the moment whatever you're in.”

Tri-Center finishes their season 19-9.

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