Melons nip Pinnacle Bank Seniors to extend winless streak

LEXINGTON – The first win for the Lexington Pinnacle Bank Seniors came an inning away from reality Wednesday night at the Optimist Sports Complex.
At the end of the five-game road stand, Lexington came close to their first victory of the season, only to fall short against Ogallala and Gothenburg.
On Tuesday night, Ogallala came to town and made it look easy against Lexington, scoring seven runs in the first inning to breeze past Pinnacle Bank, 12-0.
Three Lexington errors led to seven runs in the first inning, then allowed four more in the second inning to fall behind, 11-0.
Pinnacle Bank had a hard time getting the bats to come alive, as runners were left on base in the first and second inning, then they went silent in the third and fourth innings to end the game due to the 10-run rule.
Rico Sanchez took the loss for Lexington, while Trevor Neill earned the victory for Ogallala, allowing only three hits and striking out four.
The Pinnacle Bank Seniors may have turned the corner Wednesday night with a battle with the rival Gothenburg Melons.
The game went back and forth, until Gothenburg broke away in the seventh inning to get past Lexington, 6-4, in Pinnacle Bank’s closest game of the season.
“The boys played really well,” Pinnacle Bank coach Leo Gonzalez said. “They fought hard. They are getting better, it’s just a matter of time.”
Lexington took an early 1-0 advantage when Morgan Ansbach scored on a Tyson Block single. Block, who will be a freshman at Lexington High School this year, led by going 1 for 4 with and RBI and a walk.
The Melons jumped on top, 3-1, when Tannor Mroczek, Trent Good and Brandon Wlasiuk scored. Good recorded the only RBI of that inning, bringing in Mroczek on an error, allowing Good to reach base and bring in Mroczek from second.
After shutting down Lexington in the second inning, Gothenburg took a 4-1 lead with a triple by Mroczek, who then scored on an error.
Lexington began to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a run by Block to make the score 4-2.
Gothenburg scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 6-2, however Lexington gave the Melons a scare in the bottom half of the inning by scoring two more runs to make the score 6-4.
Gothenburg managed to get two outs back-to-back to end the game and keep the Pinnacle Bank Seniors winless.
Tim Sikes picked up the loss for Lexington, while Cody Ostergard earned the win and Tre Ostergard picked up the save.
Pinnacle Bank took on St. Paul on the road Friday, and then will travel to Gothenburg in a rematch on Wednesday. Friday’s results will be in the July 6 edition of the Clipper-Herald.

Lexington baseball winless in weekend home stand

LEXINGTON – With a young team, there are bound to be rough edges.
The Lexington Pinnacle Bank Seniors are experiencing the roughest of edges after going 0-3 in their weekend home stand at the Optimist Baseball Complex to remain winless on the season.
The three-game home stand began on Friday with the Pinnacle Bank Seniors taking on St. Paul.
With starting pitcher Rico Sanchez on the mound, Lexington held St. Paul to just one run in the first and second innings.
With Lexington clinging to a 2-1 lead entering the third inning, St. Paul broke through for a 10-run top of the third to open the flood gates and take an 11-2 lead.
Lexington could never recover from the big hole they were put in as the Seniors went scoreless the rest of the way to fall to a 10-run rule.
Sanchez was handed the loss, while pitchers Trent Ihde, Logan Farrell and Tim Sikes all got their repetitions during the contest.
Sanchez led the team in batting Friday night, going 3 for 3 with a triple and a stolen base. Tim Harris’ scored the only two runs of the game with his two-RBI double to right. Harris finished 1 for 2.
Lexington looked to get back on track on Saturday with another match-up with Aurora, who pounded the seniors 9-0 earlier in the season.
It was a rough outing for Pinnacle Bank, as the Seniors managed only one hit throughout the contest en route to a 12-0 shutout at the Lexington Optimist Baseball Complex.
Aurora pitcher Kaleb Shively pitched a gem, striking out 10 Lexington batters, including six straight strikeouts in the third and fourth innings.
Lexington’s spark of life came in the final inning, when Ihde reached first on a walk. Ihde reached third after a Morgan Ansbach and Tyson Block ground out, but Francisco Rodriguez struck out to end the game, leaving Ihde on third base.
The final game of the weekend came on Sunday afternoon with a game against Chadron.
Chadron lit up the Pinnacle Bank Seniors for 19 runs, and forcing the game into another 10-run rule as Chadron took care of Lexington 19-5.
Chadron broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the second inning by scoring four runs, while allowing Lexington to score only one run to take a 7-4 lead after two innings.
Chadron never looked back after that, scoring four runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, while allowing Pinnacle Bank to score just one run in the final three innings.
Ansbach was credited with the loss, while Austin Brown was awarded the victory for Chadron.
The Lexington Pinnacle Bank Seniors remained at home on Tuesday with a home game against Ogallala. Results of the game will be in the Saturday issue of the Lexington Clipper-Herald.

Rowan’s Extra Point: Time for a break

Josh Rowan
C-H sports editor
It’s finally that time of the year where I can put my pad of paper and camera away and run away from everyday life.
That’s right, it’s time for vacation!
I have had a lot of people questioning where I planned to go for vacation this summer, after last year, I decided that Kearney would suit me just fine. It did, but this year, it was time for me to leave Nebraska.
I decided that Tulsa, Okla., was going to work a lot better this summer.
Why?
It’s an eight hour drive away, which means I’m no where close to any newspaper out except the Tulsa World, which I didn’t even read when I lived in Tulsa 19 months ago.
Members of my family that are extremely close to my heart are there, and when I don’t get to see them but maybe once a year, I felt it was time for me to go down there and visit them.
Even though I was only in Oklahoma for about three months, there were a few friends that I became really close with that I know I would love to visit and there are places I never got to see when I lived there that I would like to experience.
The great part about the vacation, is that it starts with my sister’s annual Fun Run. Normally, it’s the first week in September, but my family made the decision to move it to the summer to accommodate more people because of school activities and Nebraska football games.
So far from what I’ve heard, it’s been a big success and I hope to see a record crowd there Saturday morning.
From there, I still have to remain in town one more night before I officially take off for Oklahoma, so chances are, I won’t sleep the night before. Usually before anything exciting, I get a wild case of insomnia and I decide to play Nintendo Wii all night.
For the last two months since making the decision to go to the Sooner State, I have wondered about what I am going to buy. I have saved up nearly $1000 to spend while I am down there, and I can’t decide what I am going to do with it.
I do know I will enjoy some baseball and definitely some family time while I am down there, because I do know that a break is needed.
For nine months out of the year, it is a jumbled mess of different events, and putting countless miles on a car that I hope will survive three more years, so I would say a week’s worth of vacation is definitely well needed.
Am I going to turn my phone off? Maybe. If I was near an ocean instead of waving wheat, the phone would pry find itself in the bottom of a large mass of water.
All in all, when I get back, I will be refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the summer, then moving onto another exciting year of high school sports – and the countdown begins once again.
The Extra Point is simple this week, it’s Alumni Weekend for the Lexington High School classes of 1’s (i.e. 1961, 1971, 2001). It’s hard to imagine that next year, I will be out of high school for a decade. Where has the time gone?

Pinnacle Bank Seniors still winless after home stand

LEXINGTON – All it takes is a little time.
The Lexington Pinnacle Bank Seniors baseball team is starting to get into a groove as they start moving into the middle portion of the season after severe weather halted play for several games.
However, that first win of the season still eludes the boys of summer.
Kearney Little Caesars came to Lexington on Tuesday evening to make up one of those games, turning a single evening game into a doubleheader.
For a team with only two wins total heading into this game, Kearney sure put on an impressive offensive performance, tallying almost 30 runs in two games to sweep the doubleheader 11-1 and 17-2.
In game 1, Kearney took an early 1-0 lead after Jake McGowan stole two bases to get Little Caesars on the board.
Pinnacle Bank struggled hitting off of pitcher Jake Redman, who struck out four batters in four and one-haf innings.
Dylan Case scored the lone run for Lexington in the top of the fifth inning after reaching base on balls, then a Logan Farrell RBI-single got Lexington on the board, but no other offense could be generated as Kearney took the first game via ten-run rule.
Redman was credited with the win, allowing just six hits and one earned run.
Rico Sanchez took the loss for Lexington, pitching three and one-third innings and giving up eight runs, while striking out four and walking three.
Game 2 was a nightmare for the Pinnacle Bank Seniors, as Little Caesars sent numerous balls out of the park, including one grand slam, to rout Lexington in the second game of the doubleheader 17-2.
Casey Hollis busted the game wide open in the first inning, clearing the bases with a grand slam shot over the left field wall, putting Little Caesars ahead 5-0, after Alex Regends reached home after two passed balls.
Kearney exploded in the second inning, putting Pinnacle Bank in a huge hole after reeling off 12 runs to take a 17-0 lead after one and a half innings.
The Lexington bats finally came to life in the fourth inning with runs by Farrell and Nery Cabrera, but Pinnacle Bank couldn’t stop the 15-run rule from taking affect, as two runners were left on base to end the ball game.
Wednesday was a better night for the Seniors, facing off with Shelton-Gibbon in a rematch from Sunday, when Shelton-Gibbon won 17-9.
Both teams went at it for seven innings before Shelton-Gibbon finally pulled away at the end to thwart Lexington’s chance of their first win of the summer, taking the rematch 11-7.
After a 1-1 tie in the first inning, Shelton-Gibbon started to creep away from Lexington, leading 2-1 after the second and 6-1 heading into the bottom of the third.
In the bottom half of the third, Lexington scored five runs, led by a two-RBI double from Tim Sikes and another two-RBI double from Cabrera.
Shelton-Gibbon was able to lock down on defense the rest of the way through, allowing just one run in the final three innings, while scoring another five runs to hold on for the win.
Lexington had one more game before the end of the week, taking the Reds from Cozad.
Rains cancelled the game Thursday night, as mud and more mud created hazards for players.
The Pinnacle Bank Seniors take on long time rival Holdrege this Sunday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Lexington Tennis League results for Week 2

Kids League
Deuces def. Slams, 29-23
Vollies def. Spinners, 35-24

Standings
Deuces 4
Slams 2
Vollies 2
Spinners 0

Wednesday A.M. Women
Rallies def. Racquettes, 29-21
Smashers def. Aces, 34-25

Standings
Smashers 4
Racquettes 2
Rallies 2
Aces 0

Wednesday Evening Mixed
Wilsons def. Reebok, 39-34
Penns def. Nike, 45-33

Standings
Penns 4
Reebok 2
Wilsons 2
Nike 0

Pinnacle Bank Seniors lose pair over weekend

LEXINGTON – It was a rough weekend for the Lexington Pinnacle Bank Seniors baseball team as the first inning played critical in a pair of road losses on Friday and Saturday.
Friday night, the seniors took the trip to Aurora, where a three-run first inning was enough for the Aurora Seniors as they trounced Lexington, 9-1.
After a Conor Strong single, Aurora scored the next two runs off of balks, giving Aurora the 3-0 edge.
Lexington’s bats were stagnant throughout the first two innings, until Tim Harris scored the lone run for the Pinnacle Bank Seniors after reaching base when he was hit by a pitch.
Aurora led 6-1 after the third inning, before scoring three more runs between the fourth and fifth innings, while Lexington four out of their next seven at-bats to end the game.
Jordan Hohwielder earned the win for Aurora, while Harris received the loss for Lexington.
The Pinnacle Bank Seniors got a chance to earn their first win of the season on Saturday, with an evening game against Shelton-Gibbon.
It took a little longer for Shelton-Gibbon to put away Lexington, however the game ended with a run rule, as Lexington fell again 15-6.
Lexington nearly struck first, leaving runners stranded on second base, Shelton-Gibbon opened up the first inning with four runs to take a quick 4-0 lead.
Pinnacle Bank answered back in the second with a little offense of their own, with runs by Trent Ihde, Harris, Ted Berke and Francisco Rodriguez, to tie it up at 4-4.
Shelton-Gibbon took back the lead in the bottom of the second with four more runs, to grab an 8-4 lead, and they never looked back.
Lexington scored only two runs the rest of the contest, led by a 3 for 3 hitting performance from Ihde.
Shelton-Gibbon scored seven runs in the final three innings to put the run-rule into effect.
Morgan Ansbach took the loss for Lexington, as he led the pitching with six strikeouts.
Lexington hosted its first home game of the season after rain delays cancelled last week’s games, as the Seniors took on Kearney Little Caesars.
Results will be in the Saturday issue of the Lexington Clipper-Herald.

Dawson County Raceway results for June 12

Darin Racek
Special to the Clipper-Herald
LEXINGTON – Despite the slight delay at the beginning of the night for the skydivers, things for the most part went well at Dawson County Raceway, as the night was completed in two hours, 40 minutes. The track also had multiple good grooves, and that kept things exciting for the fans. David Murray, Jr. of Oberlin, Kan., Casey Werkmeister of Maywood, Jason Wilkinson of Neligh, and Tyler Frye of Belleville, Kan., found the right grooves and drove away with the feature wins.
The IMCA Modified A Feature was slowed by only caution, and that after lap two. Charles Stryker of Eddyville held the lead from the start until on lap four, Dylan Smith of Osceola used the low line to take the lead. Heat race winner David Murray, Jr. followed, then tried to pass, but at that time of the race, the low groove was the best. With five laps to go, Murray finally decided to drive the high line around the entire track. That helped him catch, then pass Smith with three laps to go. Smith would hang in it close on the bottom, but could not deny Murray the win. Stryker held onto third place at the finish, while Jay Steffens of North Platte finished in fourth. Heat race winner Ethan Johnson of Broken Bow finished in fifth place.
Mike Nichols of Harlan, Iowa wasted no time in taking the IMCA Stock Car A Feature. The race went the entire way without a caution period, and he opened up a big lead over the freight train of Colton Osborn of Cozad, Casey Woken of Ogallala, and Brendan Eilts of Grand Island. Casey Werkmeister eventually became the caboose, and the four watched Nichols pull away. On lap 14, it became evident that Nichols began to have engine problems, and two laps later was overcome by the entire field. With one lap to go, he began to pull along the side of Osborn’s car, and on the backstretch of the final lap, gained an advantage that he was able to keep through the last two corners and to the finish line. Heat race winners Osborn and Woken finished in second and third places. Eilts maintained fourth place, and Dan Walker of Eddyville took fifth place.
The IMCA Northern SportMod main event was a slow process, slowed by many cautions. Craig Howard of Lexington took the lead at the start, but to his dismay, became the second caution of the race after he spun in front of the field. Fortunately, no contact was made, but he had to go to the back. Colton Osborn inherited the lead with his SportMod and had hopes of at least taking this feature win. Osborn had to settle for another A feature second place. Shane Stout of North Platte had some difficulty moving through the field, but finished in third, ahead of Bryan Herrick of Curtis, who had to nurse an overheating car to the finish line, and Vince Leibert of Lexington took fifth.
Jason Wilkinson came up with a sweep of the IMCA Hobby Stock class. After winning his heat race and the cash dash, Wilkinson started in row five of the A Feature, went to the bottom of the track, and took the lead from Chuck Ledbetter of Loomis at lap three. The only caution occurred on the first lap and created a complete restart, so at the end of 15 laps, Wilkinson had a huge lead on Rayburn when he came to the finish line. Tiffany Bittner of Norfolk battled Jim Buss of Fullerton to take the third spot. Ledbetter finished in fifth place.
Racing will take place again next Sunday night, June 19, at Dawson County Raceway. The gates will open at 5 p.m., and the racing will start at 6:30 p.m.
June 12 Results
IMCA Modified
Heat 1
13-Ethan Johnson
95-Dylan Smith
18S-Brent Bohmont

Heat 2
97M-David Murray, Jr.
19-Charles Stryker
XII-Jay Steffens

A Feature
97M-David Murray, Jr.
95-Dylan Smith
19-Charles Stryker
XII-Jay Steffens
13-Ethan Johnson
18S-Brent Bohmont
19J-Jim Mlady
31-Dan Carl
21C-Wade Coss
59M-Travis Mack
55Z-Zach Schultz

IMCA Stock Car
Heat 1
35JW-Casey Woken
20B-Brandon Clough
24-Dan Walker

Heat 2
50-Colton Osborn
6C-Cale Osborn
29E-Brendan Eilts

A Feature
24W-Casey Werkmeister
50-Colton Osborn
35JW-Casey Woken
29E-Brendan Eilts
24-Dan Walker
4C-Sal Hernandez
20B-Brandon Clough
6C-Cale Osborn
51B-Brett Gartrell
00-Sara Powers
57X-Scott Stoll
09H-Bob Hoing
63-Mike Nichols (DNF)
11K-Kyle Clough (DNF)

IMCA Hobby Stock
Heat 1
52-Jason Wilkinson
13T-Tyler Andreasen
99-David Easterday

Heat 2
R19-Larry Refior
95B-Tiffany Bittner
5-Chuck Ledbetter, Jr.

Cash Dash
52-Jason Wilkinson

A Feature
52-Jason Wilkinson
80-Jim Rayburn
95B-Tiffany Bittner
12-Jim Buss
5-Chuck Ledbetter, Jr.
9A-Anthony Martin
13T-Tyler Andreasen
72H-Kevin Hagan
53E-Tyler Easterday
R19-Larry Refior
99-David Easterday
30A-Adam Morgan
93M-Christian McCance
66-Tamie McCance
30pk-Ethan Kenney (DNF)
32-Lonnie Greuter (DNF)
3Z-Zach Canas (DNS)

IMCA SportMods
Heat 1
50-Colton Osborn
12J-Kerry Jones
68-Craig Howard

Heat 2
55-Tyler Frye
1X-Denny Egge
15-Jamey Kennicutt

A Feature
55-Tyler Frye
50-Colton Osborn
5S-Shane Stout
0-Bryan Herrick
7R-Vince Leibert
4P-Rick Putnam
12J-Kerry Jones
11-James Libra
1X-Denny Egge
76-Ben Hobbs
3oz-Ozzie Romero
1-Ted Kutsch
15-Jamey Kennicutt (DNF)
25-Natasha Coons (DNF)
68-Craig Howard (DNF)
4DJ-Hunter Cantrall (DNS) 

Doane College coach to hold track camp

LEXINGTON – Doane College Track and Field head coach Ed Fye will hold his annual track and field clinic at Lexington High School on June 21-22.
The purpose of the clinic is to enhance the athletes’ and coaches’ knowledge of track and field events.
Support staff is available to work with the athletes and coaches present on the material presented.
The Ed Fye track and field camp is open to all ages.
Coaches do not need to bring an athlete to attend and athletes may attend without a coach.
Parents may sit in on the clinic. Videotaping of any or all of the clinic is permissible.
A certified athletic trainer will be present at all times.
The time schedule will look as follows:
9 a.m.-12 p.m.- High Jump, Triple Jump and Shot Put
1-4 p.m.- Long Jump, Hurdles, Pole Vault and Discus
4-6 p.m. – Sprint Acceleration and Starts, Cross Country and Middle Distance
For more information, please contact Stacy Strauss at 324-1801.

Lexington Tennis League Week 1 results

Kids League
Slams def. Spinners 38-20
Deuces def. Vollies 35-18
Standings
Slams 2
Deuces 2
Spinners 0
Vollies 0

Wednesday A.M. Women
Racquettes def. Aces 31-27
Smashers def. Rallies 33-29
Standings
Racquettes 2
Smashers 2
Aces 0
Rallies 0

Wednesday Eve. Mixed
Reebok def. Nike 37-37
(5 sets to 4 tiebreaker)
Penns def. Wilsons 44-39
Standings
Reebok 2
Penns 2
Nike 0
Wilsons 0

Rowan’s Extra Point: What happened to baseball?

Baseball has always been an integral part of the Lexington community. For years, I can remember the town having numerous baseball leagues and teams, where there was always a place for someone who wanted to play baseball.
Now, we are lucky to even fill one team.
After speaking with Lexington Seniors head coach Leo Gonzalez last month about the declining numbers of the baseball program, it really is scary to think that once a great established program with unbridled success, is now starting to stare extinction in the face.
I played baseball every year up until I joined the military in 2000, when my job and my summers were taken up by basic training and advanced individual training.
In the years since I left high school, the team continued to thrive, winning district championships and making a few trips to the State baseball tournament.
In the last few years, people have noticed a steady decline in the number of kids who are joining the Lexington baseball program.
Yes, the lifestyle of the average human being is far busier than what it was a decade ago, but if you talk to a lot of residents around the town who have lived here all their lives, they will say that baseball has been a successful program.
So the question that now has circulated, is why has baseball taken such a big step backwards from other programs?
More summer programs are offered to kids, therefore forcing younger kids to make decisions on what they want to do with their summer.
Weight lifting, summer camps and vacations take up a lot of a young teenager’s time over the summer, but it’s a shame that baseball ultimately has had to take a back seat in all this.
I will admit, the Optimist Baseball and Softball Complex that sits by the airport is hands down one of the finest facilities in the state. A state-of-the-art hitting complex, brand new scoreboards and top quality maintenance equipment has made our complex one of the top destinations for area, district and state competitions.
I can remember 10 years ago when the Lexington baseball and some little league teams played just right behind the high school where the pole vault, long jump, and weight events are now located.
I miss those days. Sure, it was probably time for a new facility at the time, but it was nice to play on a historic field, where state championship teams have played and it almost felt as if you were playing on your home turf.
Baseball has been America’s pastime for over a century. Baseball has become a staple for programs such as UNK and Nebraska. The College World Series is something that the state has bragged about for years, as it is home to one of the single most exciting events in the NCAA.
For me, baseball was also one of the greatest teachers of life. When you struck out, it was embarrassing to most kids, but, it was a great teacher, knowing that there would be plenty of other opportunities to hit the ball.
Hitting in the winning run, or dreams of crushing the game-winning home run over the center field wall was always a dream of mine, but even though I never accomplished that, I enjoyed every time I stepped up to the plate.
Yes, some days can get extremely hot, some days cold, some days it may be a little muddy, but that’s what makes baseball so much fun.
I think we all need to sit back and think about what we are truly ignoring here, we are sitting by and watching years of history and success fall by the wayside. It’s time that Lexington baseball made a resurgence and it’s time to bring back a program, that once used to fill the stands and the crowds could be heard across town.
For my Extra Point, it’s almost hard to believe that my mother turned 50 on Thursday. At some points during the week, it brought tears to my eyes. She has been my closest friend and also my biggest critic, but all in all, she has molded me into the person I am today. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother and for that I am forever grateful. Happy birthday Mom.

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