Plainsmen Battle For Second Place In Region IX
The Plainsmen baseball team is in a neck and neck battle for the second seed in Region IX. The men have been playing very well as of late, which has helped them stay in the upper quadrant of seeding. This series against the Lamar Lopes was important because to be in second place, the Plainsmen would have to beat them to win the series and put them in second. The Lopes had the 2-1 advantage in the series wins over NJC, so these three games in the series would prove to be important. If the Plainsmen could win the three games, they would put themselves in great position come Region IX tournament time. With this series being held at home, Northeastern liked their chances with home field advantage.
The first game of the series would be in the Plainsmen's favor, and would bring the series to a 2-2 tie. The game would start with LCC taking a 2-0 lead over NJC, and the Plainsmen would take their time before they would mount a comeback. It was in the third inning when Northeastern would start scoring, and would take the lead with a score of 4-2. In the fourth, the Plainsmen would add three more to that score to make it a 7-2 ballgame. With great pitching and solid defense, the Plainsmen would go on to win the game 11-2.
The second game was a tough game from the start. Right away, both teams would start by scoring to make it a 1-1 game. The Plainsmen would take a one-run lead in the second by making it a 2-1 game. The fourth inning would be where the lead changed hands as the Lopes would get three runs in, making it a 4-2 game. Not to be outdone, the Plainsmen would counter that with two runs to bring the game to a tie. The game would remain a tie and would go into extra innings. The Plainsmen would give up two runs in the 11th and could not get those runs back when it was their at bat, and would fall 6-4 to the Lopes.
The next day was crucial for Northeastern to get a win as they now trailed in the series 3-2. Getting a split in the series would mean it would go to a tiebreaker, and a few of their wins as of late could help them out. The tiebreaker would not have to be used as the Lopes would get the 3-0 win over Northeastern in the final game.
The Plainsmen still sit well in the Region and look to get some wins against WNCC this Wednesday the 25 as they travel to Scottsbluff to play the Cougars.