Central bats break out in victory over Fort Osage

Apr. 10—Central's ability to respond to obstacles powered them to a 10-7 win over Fort Osage on Friday at Phil Welch Stadium, elevating them to a 5-3 record on the season.

Central senior pitcher Alex Duke made note of the team's finishing effort in this contest.

"Just shows that we're capable of handling the adversity and finishing it even if it was a little scrappy at the end. We got the dub, that's good. I trust my boys."

Central (5-3) jumped out to a 5-1 lead going into the fifth inning, highlighted by a four-run third inning that saw senior Gavin Maltsbarger score on a two RBI single down the left field foul line.

Central senior Zach Williamson and junior Hayden Grunert put the ball in play in their following at bats, driving in two runs on ground outs.

But Fort Osage (3-6) wasn't quite finished. Central's starting pitcher Conner Bell went out in the top of the fifth and Osage saw success, loading the bases before they had suffered a single out, already having connected on a pair of RBI doubles.

By the time Central got back to the batter's box, the Indians led by just one run.

But the Central wasn't rolling over, either. They took advantage of some spotty fielding from Osage to load the bases, culminating with Logan Miller driving in two runs on an triple to center field.

"That was huge. We needed to respond. They cut a four run lead to one, we needed to respond and we did," Central head coach Brent Seifert said. "They made another little run at us and we were able to respond again. I love seeing that, I love that our kids handled it."

Entering the sixth inning, the Indians led 10-4.

The Indians had an inconsistent but ultimately capable performance from their bullpen, cycling through four different pitchers. Bell got the win, striking out four across four innings. .

Central senior Josh Eivins spoke on the varied but solid effort of his team's cast of pitchers.

"They've been unbelievable," he said. "We have some big games coming up and are going to need some good pitching, and they've been doing their job."

In the top of the seventh, Osage was able to drive in three runs. With the bases loaded and two outs on the board leading by just three, senior relief pitcher Brayden Piatt needed to put the game away or risk an Osage rally.

Seifert called Piatt in for a quick conference, and the rest was history.

"He just had a couple of mechanical things, he was rushing a bit," Seifert said. "He fixed that, and obviously did well on that last guy."

Piatt struck out the last man swinging, icing the game.

Central will travel to Kearney for a doubleheader on Saturday.

Levi Smith can be reached at levi.smith@newspressnow.com.