HAWKS STAY ALIVE IN REGION 11 TOURNAMENT

BURLINGTON, Iowa – The Northeast Community College baseball team hit the road Thursday to compete in Game 1 of the Region 11 Tournament in Burlington, Iowa against North Iowa Area Community College. The Trojans took the final contest by a final score of 5-4 before the Hawks topped Des Moines Area Community College in a win-or-go-home contest later in the day.

Northeast (38-19, 21-12 ICCAC) gave the ball to Christian Carew (Parker, Colo.) in Game 1 and the sophomore held his own as he pitched six innings, allowed just three hits, no earned runs and struck out seven batters. Derek Woolwine (Bouler, Colo.) put the Hawks on the board first with a triple in the bottom of the first frame that scored Taylor Gill (Orem, Utah). Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo.) later launched the first postseason homer of the year for Northeast in the third inning to jump ahead 3-0. The contest stayed close the entire way before NIACC tripled in the bottom of the eighth frame to pull ahead and capture the victory.

Kirkwood Community College downed Des Moines Area Community College in 12 innings in Game 2 of the tournament, leaving a showdown between the Hawks and the Bears during the nightcap. Northeast again went up early as they held a 5-0 advantage before the third inning. DMACC then thundered through the middle part of the matchup to go up 7-5 through their half of the fifth frame. Eli Crnkovich (Valley, Neb.) tossed four strong innings in relief to keep the Hawks alive before Derek Woolwine ripped a go-ahead single in the eighth inning. Gage Ingram (LaVista, Neb.) recorded the final three outs for Northeast to extend their season at least another day.

STAT SHEET GAME 1:

Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo.): 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R

Kaden Young (Columbus, Neb.): 2-4, 2B, RBI

Christian Carew (Parker, Colo.): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K

STAT SHEET GAME 2:

Derek Woolwine (Boulder, Colo.): 4-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB

Tom Shakespeare (Canberra, Australia): 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R

Eli Crnkovich (Valley, Neb.): 4 IP, 3 H, R, 5 K

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head baseball coach Marcus Clapp on the two games:

"It was a long day, but we fought all day," Clapp said. "One game at a time is all we can focus on. Our group has to play for each other and leave it all out there. We will continue to battle and fight."

UP NEXT:

Northeast will have to wait until tomorrow to find out who their opponent will be, but they will for sure play next at 5 p.m. tomorrow in Burlington, Iowa.

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