July 26, 2025
It was a topsy-turvy affair that saw multiple lead changes, but the Zap prevailed 12-11 in ten innings. The final Fiesta Friday fell upon a cloudy Moller Field. The Moo played spoiler the night prior against the Oahe Zap. Oahe was in desperate need of a victory as they entered tied for first in the second half with the Spearfish Sasquatch. It was a monumental clash with massive playoff implications. Broc Songster (Doane) got the nod against the Zap, the first time this season Songster would face them. After a twelve-day layoff, Songster would struggle in the first inning, walking the first two and hitting the third batter to load the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Ty Farwell would be deep enough to bring home a run. The Zap would load the bases once again, but with two outs. Alex Jackson would win the battle against Songster, lining a two-RBI single into left center to give them a three-to-nothing lead. Songster would work out of the inning, but the Moo were down 3-0. All the Zap action happened before the Moo stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first. Carter Sintek (Houston) would reach on an infield hit and steal second base. It set up Tyman Long (North Dakota State) with a prime opportunity for an RBI, and he would not miss it, slashing a double into the right-center gap to get the Moo on the board. The first would come to a close, and the Moo would trail 3-1. Songster would pitch a clean second inning, stranding two Zap runners in scoring position. Brayden Jones (Doane) would begin the Moo second. Seve Aguirre (SE Oklahoma State) would reach with a single, moving Jones over to third. Grant Ryan (Northeast CC) would rope a single into left to drive in Jones to pull the deficit down to one. The designated hitter was also the Moo pitcher Broc Songster, as he would help his own cause. A balk would move Aguirre and Ryan into scoring position for Songster, and he would roll over to the left side to bring home Aguirre, tying the game at three. The Moo would strand Ryan at third as the second came to a close. The third would see Songster load the bases again on two walks and hitting a batter. He would walk home a run, giving the Zap a 4-3 lead. Songster would strike out three batters in the frame as he had accumulated seven strikeouts and seven walks in three innings of work up to that point. The Moo bats would go quietly in the third, sending Songster back out to the hill for the fourth. The Moo and the Zap would go scoreless in both the fourth and fifth before heading to an exciting sixth inning. The Zap would push across two runs against Joe Hauser (Creighton), making it 6-3 Zap. The Moo bats would strike back in the bottom half of the inning. An RBI ground-rule double from Henry Hayman (Akron) would pull it within two runs. Cooper Fuchino (Creighton) would bring home a run on a fielder's choice. The Moo would strand two runners as the sixth came to an end with Fremont trailing, 6-5. After a scoreless seventh from Hauser, the Moo would look to rally in the bottom of the inning. The first two batters would be retired, but that's when the Comeback Cows would emerge. Back-to-back walks would warrant Brady Glenn to enter the game. Glenn had faced the Moo twice and hadn’t given up a run in six and two-thirds innings. The second pitch Henry Hayman would see would be skied in the air to shallow right. What was seemingly going to be the final out of the inning fell for a hit as Gavin Fraser couldn’t catch it. Grant Ryan would score to tie the game at six. The next batter was Carter Sintek. Sintek would lace a ball over the centerfielders had to bring home two more runs. As Sintek slid into third with a triple, the scoreboard read 8-6 with the Moo in front. The inning ended with the Moo with their first lead of the game. Hauser would give way to Lucas Hamzeh (Midland) for the eighth. An error, a walk, and a single would load the bases for Mason Lang. Lang would hit a long fly ball into center to clear the bases, retaking the lead for the Zap 9-8. With Lang on second, Tyman Long would make an incredible diving catch in right. Lang would take off for third, assuming the ball was dropped. Long fired the ball into Carter Sintek, who would touch second for a double play. Mazeh would get the final out, sending the Moo bats back to the plate behind once again. After a lead-off pop out in foul grounds, Luke Saxton (Missouri-St. Louis) would double down the right field line, placing him at second. After a passed ball and a walk, the Moo would have runners on the corners with only one away. Seve Aguirre would work a full count and bloop a single into right to tie the ballgame again. The Moo would not be able to score anyone else, meaning the game would head to the ninth tied 9-9. Hamzeh would start the ninth, but after a hit batter and a four-pitch walk, Hamzeh would strike out Nick Golden. Golden, visibility upset with the strike call, would be ejected. With one gone, Hamzeh would strike out Aiden Johnson for the second out. Ty Farwell would hit a rocket at Brayden Jones. Jones would knock it down and flip it on to Hamzeh, covering first to keep the game tied at nine, going to the bottom half of the ninth. The bottom of the ninth began with Henry Hayman reaching on an error, but it would be negated as Carter Sintek would ground into a double play. Fuchino would strike out to send it to the tenth inning. Brandt Phillips (Hutchinson CC) would enter for the tenth with Ty Farwell being the runner on second to begin the inning. Farwell would score on a Mason Lang single to give them the lead. The Zap would add to it, scoring two runs on a passed ball, giving the Zap a 12-9 lead. But the Moo got to bat in the bottom of the inning, however. Cooper Fuchino would be the runner to begin on second and score easily as Tyman Long laces a double over the centerfielder's head. Still work to be done as Luke Saxton would follow Long’s example with a double of his own, scoring Long from second to pull it within one. The Zap would get the first and second out of the inning via the strikeout. Grant Ryan was the last hope for Fremont, and he would go down looking to end this incredible contest, 12-11 Quinn Ludvigson would collect the win while Brandt Phillips gets handed the loss. The Moo scored eleven (11) runs on thirteen (13) hits, while committing three (3) errors. The Zap scored twelve (12) runs on seven (7) hits and committed second (2) errors. Fremont moves to a 22-25 record overall and a 12-12 second-half record. The Zap moves to a 25-23 overall record and a 15-7 second-half record after the result The Moo are back at home tomorrow night, against the Nebraska Prospects beginning at 7:05 at Moller Field, as the final homestand of the season continues.