MNB Seniors district baseball opener: Hayes no-hits Lexington

Brett Burton/McCook Daily Gazette McCook National Bank pitcher Phil Hayes tossed a no-hitter Tuesday night against Lexington.

LEXINGTON -- Phil Hayes was in control on the mound Tuesday night at Lexington, as he brought all aspects of his pitching game to the table.

His focus was off the charts, his accuracy impeccable and his confidence sky high as he threw his first career no-hitter in the McCook National Bank American Legion Seniors' district opener.

MNB defeated Lexington 4-1. The Seniors committed three errors that gave Lexington its only baserunners.

"Everything worked out pretty good tonight. My fastball was working nicely because of my location with it. Al (Shiers) did a great job behind the plate for me as well," Hayes said.

McCook opened up the game with a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

Jared Muehlenkamp doubled to right center and eventually scored on a passed ball, as MNB took control first.

Lexington wasted no time in scoring a run of its own when Justin Teeters scored Jake Mandelko on a sacrifice fly to left field.

McCook also scored one run in the second inning after Brett Burton's double scored Brandon Kotschwar to give MNB the one-run advantage.

"We started off well by scoring one run each inning. That is one of our goals, to win every inning and we started off that way tonight," head coach Justin Wacker said.

The bats started cooling off for McCook during the next four innings, as they could only get four runners on base.

Although they had a hard time producing a run, the Seniors still grasped their one-run lead heading into the seventh inning.

"We continued to put pressure on the defense during the middle innings, too. We just seemed to be hitting the ball right at them or they were making the plays," Wacker said.

"I wasn't too worried at all when I was only working with a one-run lead. I knew I had a good defense behind me, so I stayed pretty calm," Hayes said.

In the top of the seventh, Brett Burton led off with a single and later scored on a Lexington error.

Phil Hayes crossed the plate as well to give McCook National a three-run lead heading into the final half inning of play.

Hayes retired the next three batters and McCook walked away from Lexington's field remaining in the winners‚ bracket.

"Brett and Jared both hit the ball well. Brett had a go-ahead RBI in the second inning and started off the seventh with a single up the middle. If you get your leadoff runner on in each inning, it will put a lot of pressure on the defense," Wacker said.

"I was more relaxed in the bottom of the seventh. I had a lot more fun and with a three-run lead it felt like I had a lot of weight taken off my back," Hayes said.

According to Wacker, it was big to get a first-round win and to remain in the winners‚ bracket.

"It was very important to stay in the winners‚ bracket. We will have to play less games and it also builds our confidence going into the next game," he said.

Hayes struck out 13 and didn't walk a single Lexington batter. He was getting ahead in the count and never threw three balls to one batter.

"There is not much more that Phil could have done. I still didn't think he had his best breaking ball, but he was earning spots on the plate from the umpire because he was very consistent with his fastball," Wacker said.

The McCook National Bank American Legion Seniors (15-19) will play the winner of the Gothenburg and Holdrege matchup at 8 p.m. in Lexington on Thursday.

"With our pitchers, we can go with anyone except Phil. As long as we get another solid pitching performance, play good defense and score runs when we can, we should be very successful," Wacker said.

McCook National

Bank Seniors vs.

Lexington Pinnacle

Bank Seniors

B-6 District Baseball

Tournament @ Lexington

Tuesday, July 19

Lexington Recreation Complex

McCook (4)

Lexington (1)

WP: Phil Hayes

LP: Curtis Roemmich