Plainsmen Split With South Mountain; Fall In Two Close Games Against Paradise Valley

In the final two days of their spring trip, the Plainsmen would go up against another two solid teams, both of which would be two seven-inning games.  The men have been competing against some top talent while down there and have been playing well, but have just been on the wrong side of the scoreboard.  Their next two series would be against South Mountain and Paradise Valley, both who stack up evenly against the Plainsmen. 

The first series against the South Mountain Cougars would shape up to be a great match-up.  The first game of that series would be the longest, and Northeastern would prove to be the better team in the end.  The game would start with Gunner Pickett on the mound for the Plainsmen, who would do his job and keep the game scoreless in the first inning.  In the bottom of two, the Cougars would be able to time Pickett up and score in one run to take the 1-0 lead.  The game would be a battle for the rest of the game until the top of seven when Keegan Meyn was able to get two RBI's with a single.  The game would then be in favor of the Plainsmen with a 2-1 score.  The lead would only be short lived when SMCC was able to sneak in one run before the end of regulation, sending it into extra innings.  In extra innings, neither team would be able to get that one run needed to take the lead.  The game would go into the top of 12 when Keegan Meyn would come through again to score in the pinch runner, giving the Plainsmen the 3-2 lead.  In the bottom of 12, the men would hold the Cougars from scoring, and give them the win.

After the first game of the series, the guys had put in a lot of energy, but the end result gave them a boost to be ready for the second.  Javis Steward would get the nod to start the game for NJC.  He would do well to keep it a one run game after the Cougars would score in the bottom of two.  In the Top of four, Keegan Meyn would tie it up as he would get an RBI by knocking in Corbin Geisendorf.  The game would stay tied until late in the game when SMCC hit a triple and gave them the 2-1 lead.  Right after, a sac-fly would get the runner from third in, giving them the 3-1 lead.  In the final inning, the Plainsmen could not get the runs they needed to overcome the deficit, and would end up with the split on the day.

The next day would feature another tough team as Northeastern would go toe-to-toe with the Paradise Valley CC Pumas.  The week had been long, but their job was not over as they would need to finish the trip strong.  The first game would start rough as the Pumas would take a 3-0 lead after the first three innings.  The Plainsmen would find their groove in the fourth and get two runs, making it a 3-2 game.  The fifth would go scoreless for both teams, and the sixth would be more beneficial for PVCC as they would get one.  The men knew the last inning was their time to shine.  They would have some success, but it was not enough to overcome their two point deficit and would fall 4-2 to the Pumas.

The final game of the series, and of their trip was a well played game.  For as many games they played in a row, they could have folded the last game before returning to Sterling, but what they did was far from that.  The game would stay a 0-0 game until the bottom of two when the Pumas broke the ice by scoring one run.  Both teams would play sound defense and both pitchers would throw strikes.  Northeastern would be able to tie the game up in the top of five by driving in one run.  With the game tied, it was back to being any teams game to win.  This game was also shaping up to go into extra innings, until the Pumas would find a way to get one of their own around the bases, winning in the bottom of seven.

With their spring trip over, the Plainsmen played the competition they needed to get better, and now are prepared for their Region IX opponents.  Their first game back in Colorado will be on March 23 as they travel to Lamar for a conference game.