Hastings – A furious ninth inning by the Fremont Moo fell just short as the Hastings Sodbusters held on to win the 2021 season opener, 10-9, Saturday at Duncan Field.
Fremont came to the plate in the final inning trailing, 10-7. Peyton Garbers lined a one-out single through the middle. Two batters later, Alex Naran drew a two-out walk, bringing the tying run to the plate. After Drew Mize walked to load the bases, Derian Morphew shot a single back up the middle. Garbers and Naran scored to pull Fremont to within one. The Sodbusters’ center fielder bobbled the ball, and Mize was sent home, but tagged out at the plate to end the game.
The game had already been wild. After Fremont jumped out to a 2-0 lead after half an inning, Hastings scored three in the bottom of the third to take a one-run lead. The Sodbusters boosted their lead in the sixth inning to 4-2.
The Moo roared back into the game in the seventh. Mize laced a leadoff single up the middle. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, then stole third as Morphew drew a walk. A Tyler Push single to left scored Mize, moved Morphew to third, and cut the Hastings lead to 4-3. The next batter, Ryan Koski, grounded a ball to second that was mishandled, allow Morphew to score. After Push scored on a wild pitch, Garbers drove a two-out single to center to score Koski and give the Moo a 6-4 lead. Hastings answered with three in the bottom of the seventh to take a 7-6 lead.
In the top of the eighth, Fremont responded. Naran led off the inning with a single to right, then advanced to second when Mize bunted for a hit. A single to center by Morphew loaded the bases for Push, who hit a fielder’s choice grounder to short, driving in Naran to tie the game at seven. The Sodbusters took back the lead with a three-run bottom of the eighth and held on to win.
Steven Boyd (0-1) took the loss for the Fremont, allowing three runs in 1.1 innings pitched. Mize paced the Moo offense by going 3-for-5 with a triple at the plate. Push was 2-for-4 with two RBI as well. Garbers was 2-for-5 with an RBI from the No. 7 spot in the order.
After an off-day Sunday, the Moo (0-1) are back in action Monday at Duncan Field in Hastings (1-0) against the Sodbusters. First pitch is slated for 6:35 and the game can be heard on FremontMoo.com.
