played shutdown baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Dobitz is] a leader, and he used to be our number one catcher and we kind of had some kids come up that love catching, and whenever you can get a freshman or a sophomore that loves to catch, it takes the pressure off of the juniors,\u201d Nighthawks coach Nolan Dix said. \u201cI think if we keep him at short, and he keeps making plays like that, our defense is going to take care of itself, and it’s going to be a fun year if we can score.\u201d<\/p>\n
The all-around performance on the field made Jordan Jung\u2019s job easier on the mound. The senior right-hander put together his best performance of the season in his second appearance on the bump. He only yielded one run, which came in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run, on two hits and tallied four strikeouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got to trust each other because I can’t go out there and throw 15 strikeouts a game. I got to trust my guys, and tonight I didn’t have a lot of strikeouts,\u201d Jung said. \u201cBut that\u2019s fine because the defense really worked their butts off. Got a bunch of outs, and it all worked out tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Hettinger-Scranton\/New England Nighthawks senior pitcher Jordan Jung delivers a pitch against the Heart River Cougars on Thursday, April 16 at William C Blair Post 144 ballpark.<\/p>\n
Jacob Cheris \/ The Dickinson Press<\/p>\n
Jung\u2019s delivery on the hill and Dobitz and the defense locking down led to a 12-run third inning. Everyone in the lineup registered a hit, with freshman Logan Mausehund leading the charge, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and a pair of RBI doubles in the third inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the sophomores get locked in and start hitting the ball like that and the freshmen as well, it’s gonna make for a fun year because you see the confidence in there,\u201d Dix said. \u201cThere’s chatter in the dugouts rather than if you’re down, there’s no chatter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nighthawks scored seven times in the third inning with no outs and they wouldn\u2019t take their foot off the gas pedal. They were getting timely hitting all game long, which has been an area that the team struggled with to begin the season. In their game against Shiloh Christian, they left 11 runners stranded despite outhitting the Skyhawks 4-3.<\/p>\n
Heart River\u2019s defense wasn\u2019t clicking once again<\/a><\/p>\n , and let the snowball effect take over. It has been a theme for the past three games. <\/p>\n In their 6-0 loss against Hazen back on Tuesday, April 14,<\/a><\/p>\n the Cougars had four errors and difficulties on the mound with 12 walks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are young, but a lot of it’s on me. I gotta come up with better ways to get them prepared for games. Obviously, we’ve struggled in the field and everybody’s in the same boat, \u201d Heart River coach Kurt Silbernagel said. \u201cThere were plays that we just instinctively didn’t go for the ball the way we should. And again, those things fall on me. We got to work on things in practice more.”<\/p>\n The Nighthawks will be back in action on Tuesday, <\/p>\n April 21 for another Region VIII showdown against Beulah<\/a><\/p>\n , while the <\/p>\n
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