WARD GOES THE DISTANCE FOR NO. 19 NORTHEAST IN VICTORY ON SOPHOMORE DAY

NORFOLK, Neb. – The No. 19 Northeast Community College hosted Sophomore Day Saturday at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Baseball Field in Norfolk in a doubleheader with North Iowa Area Community College. The Hawks dropped Game 1 by a final score of 3-0 before capturing a 3-1 victory in Game 2.

Northeast (33-19, 20-9 ICCAC) gave the ball to Aidan Brainard (Littleton, Colo.) in Game 1 and the sophomore went the full distance in the final scheduled start of his career at home. Brainard allowed just six hits, but the Hawks bats only had six knocks of their own and were not able to push any runs across during the showdown.

The bullpen was quiet again in Game 2 for Northeast as Oliver Ward (Mill Creek, Wash.) put together one of the most dominant performances in recent memory on the mound for the Hawks as the starting pitcher in the second matchup. The sophomore tossed 133 pitches, went all nine innings, allowed four hits, gave up zero earned runs and struck out eight Trojans batters. Carter Noakes (Dannebrog, Neb.), Cade Grevengoed (West Des Moines, Iowa) and Grayson Headrick (Littleton, Colo.) all picked up RBIs to send the sophomore class out with a triumph.

STAT SHEET GAME 1:

Cade Grevengoed (West Des Moines, Iowa): 2-2, 2B

Kale Jensen (Central City, Neb.): 1-3, 2B

Aidan Brainard (Littleton, Colo.): 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 8 K

STAT SHEET GAME 2:

Rusty Wortman (Gretna, Neb.): 2-3, 2B, 2 R

Carter Noakes (Dannebrog, Neb.): 1-4, RBI

Oliver Ward (Mill Creek, Wash.): 9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 8 K

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Baseball Coach Marcus Clapp on the outing from Oliver Ward in Game 2:

"He just competed," Clapp said. "That's why I kept giving him the ball. He wanted the ball. He was still locating. A lot of it is just want to. He wanted it. I let him go for it. Unbelievable outing for him. We needed that win. Our bats today weren't really around, but we found a way to scratch free and win it. We'll take it."

Clapp on sending his sophomores out with a victory at home:

"It's nice to play your last home game and get a victory," Clapp said. "We play well at home. The atmosphere is good here. It's home field. We protect it. It's nice to get a win. We're obviously not done, and this is just another game trying to prepare for the next couple of weeks."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will head out on the road for a single contest with Iowa Lakes Community College beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Estherville, Iowa.

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