Sodbusters- 10, Moo- 8

Hastings-(R-H-E): 10-7-2; Fremont- (R-H-E): 8-12-1

Win: Niko Riera (1-2); Loss: Jacob Ortiz (0-1); Save: Alec Fichter (1)

HR: Hastings: None; HR: Fremont: None

Hastings, Nebraska- The Hastings Sodbusters defeated the Fremont Moo 10-8, Sunday night at Duncan Field. Hastings claimed the final game of the regular season as Fremont will now prepare for the Independence League Baseball Association best-of-five championship series.

Fremont took the lead in the top of the second inning. With one out, Easton Steck singled, then advanced to second on a ground ball by Tyler Hummel that was thrown errantly to second by Sodbuster second baseman Taylor Gill. Then, Jason Clark hit a ground ball to third, that Anthony Chavez misplayed, bringing in Steck to make it 1-0. The next batter, Blake Tablazon singled, driving in Hummel to make it 2-0. Hunter Palmer walked and Carter Sintek hit into a fielder's choice. On a pick off attempt to second, Palmer got under the tag and Tablazon broke for home. The throw home was late, as Tablazon scored, to put Fremont up 3-0.

Hastings got on the board in the bottom of the second. Anthony Chavez was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Then, Josh Prinner doubled to put runners at second and third. Jacob Nesvara drew a walk to load the bases. Two batters later, Taylor Gill singled, driving home Chavez and Prinner to make it a 3-2 game.

Fremont doubled the lead in the top of the third. Tyman Long walked and Connor Petersen singled, to put runners at first and second. Then, Neil Jansen singled, driving in Long, to make it 4-2.

The Sodbusters put together their largest inning in the third, sending ten batters to the plate. With two outs, Nick Jones doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Anthony Chavez walked and Josh Prinner was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Fremont starter Brandon Lundquist then walked Jacob Nesvara, Kyle Hiltbrand and Taylor Gill, bringing home three runs. The Moo went to the bullpen and brought in Jacob Ortiz, who walked Jaden Stone, bringing in another run. Then, a wild pitch scored Hiltbrand to put Hastings up 7-4, after three innings.

The Moo recovered to tie the game midway through the fourth. Blake Tablazon led off with a walk and Hunter Palmer was hit by a pitch. Carter Sintek walked to load the bases before Tyman Long hit a two-RBI double to left, scoring Tablazon and Palmer, to make it 7-6. Then, Connor Petersen hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Sintek, to tie the game at 7-7.

Fremont recaptured the lead in the top of the fifth. With one out, Jason Clark singled and Blake Tablazon was hit with a pitch. Then, Hunter Palmer singled to load the bases. Hastings went to its third pitcher of the game, Niko Riera, who induced a sacrifice fly to left by Carter Sintek, scoring Clark, to put Fremont ahead, 8-7. 

Hastings tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Jaden Stone drew a walk and a ground out by Kale Jensen to second, advanced Stone to second base. Then, Markos Cabranes hit an RBI single, scoring Stone, to tie the game at 8-8.

In the bottom of the eighth, The Sodbusters plated two runs to take the lead. Taylor Gill hit a fly ball to right center that Tyler Hummel had popped out of his glove, putting a runner at second. Jaden Stone singled to put runners at first and third. Kale Jensen singled, scoring Gill, to make it 9-8. Markos Cabranes hit a fly ball to left that Hunter Palmer dropped, but recovered to force out Stone at third. On the play, Henry Hayman threw to second and Blake Tablazon tagged out Kale Jensen for a double play. Cabranes stole second, then advanced to third on a Jacob Ortiz balk. Nick Jones, then, singled up the middle, scoring Cabranes to make it 10-8, Hastings.

In the ninth, The Sodbusters brought in Alec Fichter to close out the game. He got Tyler Hummel to line out to second for the first out.  Jason Clark walked and gave way to Darius Blasingane to pinch run. Blake Tablazon popped up to second for the second out. Then, Fichter got Hunter Palmer to swing and miss at a 3-2 pitch, to end the game.

Hastings starter Jacob Sjuts pitched 2.0 innings, giving up five hits, one earned run and walked three. Luke Wenzel pitched 2.1 innings, giving up three hits, four runs, walked three, struck out two and hit one batter. Niko Riera (1-2) earned the win. He pitched 3.2 innings, giving up four hits and struck out four. Alec Fichter (1) earned the save. He pitched 1.0 inning and walked one.

Fremont starter Brandon Lundquist pitched 2.2 innings. The Omaha native from the University of Nebraska gave up three hits, seven runs, walked seven, struck out two, had one wild pitch and hit two batters. Jacob Ortiz (0-1) took the loss. The Tucson, Arizona native from Cerro Coso Community College pitched 5.0 innings, giving up four hits, one earned run, walked four, struck out five and committed one balk. Darius Blasingane pitched 0.1 innings. The St. Petersburg, Florida native at Edward Waters University threw one pitch in the eighth, getting a flyout.

Offensively, Hastings' Taylor Gill was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Jaden Stone was 1-for-3 with a run batted in, as was Kale Jensen. Markos Cabranes was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Nick Jones was 2-for-5 with a run batted in. Jacob Nesvara was 0-for-2 but drew a bases-loaded walk. Kyle Hiltbrand was 0-for-3 and also drew a bases-loaded walk.

For Fremont, Carter Sintek was 1-for-4. The Fremont native at South Dakota State drove in one run. Tyman Long was 2-for-2. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native at College of Southern Nevada had two RBI's. Connor Petersen was 3-for-5. The Tucson, Arizona native at Midland University had one RBI. Neil Jansen was 1-for-4. The Cypress, California native at San Jose State drove in one run. Jason Clark also went 1-for-4. The Victoria, Illinois native at Knox College had one RBI, and Blake Tablazon was 1-for-3. The Lynewoon, Washington native at Cerro Coso Community College drove in one.

More Information: With the Hastings win, Fremont took the season series over the Sodbusters, 10-1. Fremont's Henry Hayman had his ten-game hitting streak come to an end. The Sodbusters ended the season 17-35 and 11-16 in the ILB second half. Fremont ended the regular season with the best winning percentage of postseason eligible teams at .596.

Up Next: Fremont (31-21) will play the Casper Spuds (32-22) in the Independence League Baseball Association's best-of-five championship series. Games one and two will be Tuesday and Wednesday, August 1st and 2nd at Mike Lansing Field, in Casper, Wyoming. First pitch, both nights, is 7:30pm (CT) / 6:30pm (MT). Game three and games four and five, if necessary, will be at Historic Moller Field, in Fremont. Game three is Friday, August 4th at 7:05pm. Game four would be Saturday, August 5th at 7:05pm and Game five would be Sunday, August 6th at 5:05pm, if necessary. For tickets to the Moo home games in the championship series, go to: www.fremontmoo.com/mixlr or call (402)-660-1217.

On The Air: All Moo home and road games are broadcast on radio on Big Dog Country, 98.9 FM and 1340 AM, KHUB. Games can also be heard on smartphones, iPads, and other mobile devices by going to: www.fremontmoo.com/mixlr. All Moo home games have video streaming live at: www.fremontmoo.com and on YouTube at: BSDN Live.