Horns double up on Lex, get big win at Broken Bow

The Imperial Pinnacle Bank seniors recovered from a rough outing last Wednesday to take a three-game win streak into this week.
The Horns got rocked 1-17 in their home game against Ogallala last Wednesday.
Ogallala got to Imperial pitching early in the game as their first five batters came around to score.
The Horns trailed 0-7, before they were able to score their first run. Mason Wallin singled  and came around to score on a Bryder Hickey single.
Imperial had scoring opportunities in the fourth inning, but were unable to take advantage.
Although hitting statistics were comparable, Imperial had seven hits to eight by Ogallala, six errors by the Horns did not help their cause.
Morel Jurado, Wallin and Jet Peterson walked nine and struck out five.
Imperial picked up two wins at Lexington Saturday.
The day opened with an 11-5 victory.
Lexington snatched the lead  in the top of the first inning with three singles.
Tysen Lempke led off for the Horns and took advantage of a Lexington error to reach base. A single by Nolan Burrell drove Lempke home.
Trailing 1-2, the Horns took the lead for good with a four-run second inning. After a walk by Colin O’Neil, five of the next six Horns’ hitters put the ball in play and scored four runs.
Imperial sat down the side in order over the next three innings and tacked on five more runs in the fourth inning. The Horns alternated singles with walks, while also benefiting from two Lex errors.
With Imperial leading 10-2, Lexington tallied four singles in the fifth inning and cut the Horns’ lead to 10-4.
It was too little, too late. Imperial traded one run in the sixth inning with one by Lexington in the seventh inning to claim the win.
O’Neil and Cooper Dillan allowed nine hits and four walks while striking out six.
The afternoon wrapped up with a 5-1 Pinnacle Bank win.
Imperial led off the game with three straight singles. Its first four batters reached base in the game, but the Horns could only bring home one run. A triple set Lex up to tie the game at one by the end of the first inning.
Jurado led off the second inning with a single, but the Horns had to rally with two outs to bring him home on a triple by Lempke.
The Horns carried the 2-1 lead into the fourth inning. Jurado reached base to start the inning once more and came around to score, as did Camron Lempke.
Lexington threatened to score in the fifth and seventh innings, but a strike out and line out, respectively, ended the innings.
Imperial was able to plate one more run in the seventh inning after back-to-back errors allowed Jaret Peterson to reach base. A double by Burrell scored the game’s final run.
After two errors in the first game of the double header, Imperial played clean defensively and didn’t have an error in the second game. Lexington committed four errors in each game and stranded 10 runners in the second game.
Burrell and Gavin Wisnieski allowed seven hits and three walks. The pair struck out five batters.
The Horns brought their record to 6-5 Monday night with a 7-3 win at Broken Bow.
Imperial plated two early runs in the game as Broken Bow’s pitcher struggled to find the zone. T. Lempke and Wallin walked and moved around the bases on wild pitches. A double by Peterson  scored Wallin. Broken Bow halved Imperial’s lead with a double and a RBI single.
Imperial continued to take advantage of Broken Bow struggles in the top of the second inning. Bryder Hickey and T. Lempke walked and scored on Wallin’s single paired with a Broken Bow error.
The Horns’ defense held Broken Bow scoreless in the second and third innings, but Broken Bow returned the favor holding Imperial scoreless in the third and fourth innings.
Broken Bow cut Imperial’s lead to 4-2 in the fourth inning, but the Horns gained that run back in the top of the fifth when Dillan doubled and scored on a RBI single by C. Lempke.
Neither team added to their total until the seventh inning. Jurado and Thomas Reeves reached base and both scored on a single by Hickey. A walk and back-to-back singles brought home Broken Bow’s final run of the game.
Well timed hits helped the Horns’ cause throughout the night and Imperial pitchers did a good job not giving Broken Bow any free passes.
Each team finished the night with seven hits, but Burrell and Lempke only gave up one walk each compared to seven walks issued by the Broken Bow pitchers. Six wild pitches by Broken Bow pitchers didn’t hurt either.
Up next
The Horns will take on Curtis/Maywood in Imperial Wednesday.
Thursday Imperial will head to Cambridge for a seniors-only doubleheader.
Gothenburg will be in Imperial Saturday for a junior-senior doubleheader.
Remaining games on the schedule include a trip to McCook, a junior-senior doubleheader with Hershland and an away game at Curtis/Maywood.
The senior league championship will be at the site of the west team July 6.
Ogallala leads the West team standings, followed by Gothenburg, Holdrege and Imperial. Broken Bow, Lexington and McCook round out league standings.