North Platte First Nationals – Page 3 – North Platte Post Archive

First Nationals Hall of Fame Inductees Announced with Schedule for the Hall of Fame Weekend

Posted on April 24, 2015

North Platte American Legion Baseball has had a long and distinguished run in North Platte, with the program officially starting around 1960. Hundreds of players and fans, along with dozens of coaches and others truly dedicated to the program have been involved in American Legion Baseball. In 2013 the Board of Directors decided a Hall of Fame to honor these outstanding individuals should be started. The inaugural class included two coaches, two players and two individual volunteers.

This year’s class includes one player, one state championship team, and two individuals who donated countless hours to making North Platte American Legion Baseball what it has become. This year’s class includes Zane Smith, Bob and Pat Sparks and the 1989 Midget Post 163 baseball team.

The Hall of Fame weekend will begin at 4:30 pm Friday May 1st at Bill Wood Field with an intra-squad scrimmage of our current Legion teams followed by an alumni vs alumni game at 6:30 pm. In between innings we will honor the Hall of Fame inductees. Admission is free. Saturday May 2nd, the American Legion 4 person golf scramble will begin at Lake Maloney Golf course with a shotgun start at 12:30 pm. Following the golf tournament, there will be a banquet in the clubhouse honoring the 2014 North Platte Legion Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. The golf tournament cost is $65.00 which includes the banquet. Tickets for the banquet only are $20.00. All past Legion players are invited to come out and participate. The entire community is welcome as well.

The First Nationals will start their regular season Sat May 16th when the Seniors travel to Scottsbluff. The Juniors host Scottsbluff at Bill Wood Field in North Platte at 1:00 pm. The Juniors and Seniors will be home to host a doubleheader against Hershey on May 20^th and all proceeds will go to North Platte Legion Alumni Kade Folchert and his family.

Signup to Play American Legion Baseball is Next Month

Posted on February 17, 2015

The North Platte First Nationals American Legion baseball team will have signups next month.

Signups will be at The Sports Shoppe at 1320 South Cottonwood Street in North Platte. The signups will last two days, Tuesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 11 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

American Legion baseball is open to players born between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2002.

The First Nationals Seniors team finished with a record of 31-18 last year, while the Juniors finished with a 29-13 record and won the A-7 District championship.

First Nationals Beat Malcolm, Win 30 Games

Posted on July 14, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals beat Malcolm 13-3 Sunday to win for the 30th time this season.

North Platte, now 30-17, has won 30 games for the first time since 2010 with Sunday’s win at Bill Wood Field.

Malcolm took the early lead Sunday by scoring two runs in the top of the first inning and one in the second to go up 3-0. The First Nationals however, quickly tied the game then ran away with a five-inning run-rule victory. North Platte scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Alec Wesslund. The First Nationals scored a run in the third inning to take a 4-3 lead, then added two runs in the fourth and finished the game with seven runs in the fifth inning for the 13-3 win.

Jayden Kruse pitched the complete game for North Platte and earned the win after giving up three runs on three hits. He also struck out four batters and walked one.

Luke Volz drove in three runs for the First Nationals and went 1-4 with a triple and a run scored. Darian Allberry had North Platte’s only other extra-base hit by going 1-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Wesslund, Marcos Silos and Riley Vierya each drove in two runs in the game as well.

North Platte now prepares to host the A-7 District Tournament beginning Friday at Bill Wood Field. The First Nationals are the No. 2 seed and will play No. 3 Hastings at 7:00 pm Friday. The tournament runs through Tuesday, July 22 with a 4:00 pm championship game. The bracket can be seen by clicking here.

The North Platte First Nationals Juniors split a pair of games over the weekend. North Platte beat Gretna 11-6 Friday, then lost 3-1 to Lincoln Northeast Saturday. The Juniors are now 25-10 and will travel to Hastings for the Juniors district tournament that begins Saturday.

The First Nationals Win Series Opener against Malcolm

Posted on July 12, 2014July 12, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals beat Malcolm 8-1 Saturday at Bill Wood Field to take the first game of a two-game series that spans two days.

North Platte (29-17) jumped out to a 6-0 lead by scoring two runs in the first inning, three in the second inning and one more in the third inning. The second inning was highlighted by a Luke Volz two-RBI double. Malcolm scored its only run in the top of the fifth inning before the First Nationals scored a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings for the 8-1 win.

Dalton Pflughaupt started on the mound for North Platte and pitched four scoreless innings without giving up a hit or a walk and he struck out one batter in earning the win. Darian Allberry came in for the final three innings and gave up one run on two hits. He also struck out two batters and walked one.

Volz led the way at the plate for the First Nationals by going 1-2 with a double, three RBI and a run scored. Jack Kenny went 2-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored, while Alec Wesslund went 2-4 with three runs scored.

The two teams will meet again Sunday morning at Bill Wood Field. The 11:00 am game is the final game of the regular season for North Platte.

The First Nationals Squeak by Ogallala 3-2

Posted on July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals held off Ogallala Friday night for a 3-2 win at Bill Wood Field.

North Platte (28-17) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning before its offense stalled in a 3-2 win over Ogallala. Ogallala scored a run in the top of the second inning then tied the game up with a run in the fifth inning. The First Nationals regained the lead and scored the winning run in the sixth inning as Darian Allberry scored on an Alex Harms RBI single. North Platte only managed two hits though from the second through the fifth innings.

Marcos Silos started the game on the mound for North Platte and gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits in four plus innings. He also walked two batters and struck out three. Riley Vierya came in, in relief and earned the win by throwing shutout ball for the final three innings. Vierya gave up three hits and walk while striking out three batters.

Harms had the only RBI in the game for the First Nationals as he finished the game 1-3. Allberry went 1-3 with a double and a run scored, Luke Volz went 2-3 at the plate with a double, and Alec Wesslund also led North Platte at the plate by going 2-3 with a run scored.

The First Nationals continue their stretch of four games in four days with a Saturday game against Malcolm. The first pitch at Bill Wood Field is scheduled for 1:00 pm. The two teams will meet again Sunday at 11:00 am to finish the regular season for North Platte.

The First Nationals Hammer Hershland

Posted on July 10, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals beat Hershland 17-0 at Bill Wood Field Thursday.

North Platte (27-17) wasted no time jumping out to an early lead by scoring five runs in the first inning, including a two RBI triple by Luke Volz. The First Nationals scored 10 more runs in the second inning and two in the third inning to get the 17-0 run-rule victory.

Ty Brockmoller returned from an injury to start the game on the mound for North Platte. He went three and two-third innings and gave up just two hits, struck out four batters and walked two. Devan Hovden pitched the final one and one-third inning and only allowed two batters to reach base on walks.

Volz led the way at the plate by going 2-3 with a triple, four RBI and three runs scored. Riley Vierya had North Platte’s only other extra-base hit with a double. Jack Kenny, Darian Allberry and Drew Callaghan each drove in two runs in the win.

North Platte’s next game is Friday against Ogallala at Bill Wood Field. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm first pitch.

The First Nationals Earn the No. 2 Seed in the A-7 District, will Host

Posted on July 9, 2014July 9, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals have earned the No. 2 seed for the A-7 district tournament and will host the tournament at Bill Wood Field July 18-22.

North Platte currently has a 26-17 record on the year and will play third-seeded Hastings. Scottsbluff earned the No. 1 seed for the tournament and has a first round bye. Kearney is the No. 4 seed and will play fifth-seeded Lexington for the right to play Scottsbluff.

The tournament begins Friday, July 18 with No. 5 Lexington Pinnacle Bank playing No. 4 Kearney Runza at 4:00 pm at Bill Wood Field. The second-seeded North Platte First Nationals will then play No. 3 Hastings at 7:00 pm that night.

It is a double elimination tournament that culminates on Tuesday, July 22 with a 4:00 pm championship game.

The First Nationals are 0-2 this season against Hastings. The two teams played a doubleheader in Hastings on June 10 and Hastings won 6-1 and 8-4.

North Platte’s record against the rest of the teams in the tournament are as follows:

2-2 vs. Scottsbluff- Lost at Scottsbluff 7-0 and 11-10; won in North Platte 12-4 and 10-1.

1-1 vs. Kearney- Won in North Platte 6-5; lost in Kearney 7-0.

1-0 vs. Lexington- Won in North Platte 9-0.

The cost of admission will be $6 for adults, $3 for students and veterans get in free.

The bracket can be seen below.

Larger version of the bracket: A-7 District Tournament Bracket

First Nationals Announce Schedule Changes

Posted on July 9, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals have announced changes to their schedule for the remaining games this week.

The First Nationals are down to their final week of the regular season and have added a game and changed the game time of this weekend’s games.

The North Platte Seniors (26-17) will now play Ogallala at 7:00 pm on Friday at Bill Wood Field. The First Nationals also changed the game times of the Saturday and Sunday games against Malcolm. The Seniors will now play Malcolm at 1:00 pm Saturday and 11:00 am Sunday both at Bill Wood Field.

The updated schedule for this week can be seen below:

Wednesday July 9^th– Junior/Senior doubleheader vs. Gering @ 5:30 and 8:00

Thursday July 10^th– Senior game vs. Hershey @ 7:00

Friday July 11^th– Senior game vs. Ogallala @ 7:00

Saturday July 12^th– Senior game vs. Malcolm @ 1:00

Sunday July 13^th– Senior game vs. Malcolm @ 11:00

Tonight’s game against Gering is the final regular season game for the North Platte Juniors (22-8). It is also Leadership Awards night for the First Nationals. The recipient of last year’s Seniors Leadership award was Drew Beyer and the Juniors award went to Kevin Hancock.

Kenny helps the West Win the Cornhusker League All-Star Game

Posted on July 9, 2014

Cornhusker League West All-Stars. Photo courtesy of Lori Allberry.

North Platte’s Jack Kenny drove in a run to help the West Team beat the East Team 3-1 in the Cornhusker League American Legion All-Star Game.

The All-Star game was played in Grand Island Tuesday night. Kenny’s RBI came in the third inning as he grounded out to the shortstop to drive in Gretna’s Zach Howell and propel the West to a 3-0 lead.

First Nationals coach Rick Ostergard was the head coach for the West Team this year and had three of his own players on the team. Kenny was joined by Darian Allberry and Luke Volz.

Kenny played both center field and right field in the game and finished 0-2 at the plate with an RBI. Allberry started in left field and pitched a scoreless third inning for the West and went 0-2 at the plate. Volz started at third base and went 1-2 at the plate.

The West took the early 2-0 lead thanks to a first inning two-run home run by Grand Island’s Phoenix Stevenson and never looked back. The East scored its lone run in the fourth inning. Hits were hard to come by Tuesday as the West had five in the game and the East had four. The West team did commit three errors compared to just one by the East team. Kearney’s Peyton Pocock earned the win on the mound for the West team.

The West team was made up of players from North Platte, Columbus, Kearney, Grand Island, Hastings, Norfolk and Gretna, while the East was players from the Lincoln Legion teams.

The North Platte First Nationals return to action Wednesday night at Bill Wood Field. North Platte plays Gering in a Junior Senior doubleheader beginning at 5:30 with the Juniors game. The Seniors first pitch will be at 8:00 pm. Tonight’s game is also the Leadership Awards night for the First Nationals.

Three First Nationals Players to Participate in Cornhusker League All-Star Game

Posted on July 8, 2014July 8, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals will be well represented at the 2014 Cornhusker League All-Star Game in Grand Island Tuesday.

North Platte head coach Rick Ostergard will be coaching the West Team, which consists of North Platte, Columbus, Kearney, Grand Island, Hastings, Norfolk and Gretna. The East Team will be made up of players from the Lincoln teams. The head coach of the teams rotate each year.

The head coach selects the players for his team with input from the other coaches in the league. The First Nationals will have three players, Luke Volz, Darian Allberry and Jack Kenny, competing in Tuesday night’s game.

Volz leads North Platte with a .382 batting average and 12 doubles. He is also tied for the team lead with four triples this season to go along 33 RBI and 33 runs scored. Volz also pitches for the First Nationals and has a 3-0 record with one save and a 4.87 ERA. He has 12 strikeouts compared to 10 walks for the season.

Allberry leads North Platte in runs batted in with 34 so far this season. He is batting .286 with nine doubles and 36 runs scored. On the mound Allberry boasts a 2.39 ERA and a 3-2 record. He has 33 strikeouts compared to just 12 walks this season.

Kenny is second on the team with a .344 batting average and is tied for the team lead with four triples. He also has eight doubles, 21 RBI and 32 runs scored. Kenny has also pitched seven and one-third innings this season for the First Nationals. He has yet to give up an earned run and has a 1-0 record with three saves. He has seven strikeouts compared to three walks.

The roster for the West Team can be seen below.

The Cornhusker League All-Star Game will be played in Grand Island with a 7:00 pm first pitch Tuesday.

West Roster

MATT MOORE (KEARNEY)

PEYTON POCOCK (KEARNEY)

CHRIS LANGIN (KEARNEY)

CALVIN HEHNKE (GRAND ISLAND)

KEVIN CAHOY (GRAND ISLAND)

PHOENIX STEVENSON (GRAND ISLAND)

RILEY BAASCH (GRAND ISLAND)

TYLER MORTON (COLUMBUS)

BLAKE BUBAK (COLUMBUS)

LUKE VOLZ (NORTH PLATTE)

JACK KENNY (NORTH PLATTE)

DARIAN ALLBERRY (NORTH PLATTE)

ALEX PANGANIBAN (HASTINGS)

MASON SPILINEK (HASTINGS)

ZACH HOWELL (GRETNA)

JACOB BLANK (GRETNA)