Big innings spark 12-3 for First Central Bank

McCook First Central Bank's Walter Fitzsimmons is mobbed by teammates following his solo homerun Tuesday night at the Jaycees Complex.

Gabe Gauthier/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. -- Whatever concerns McCook First Central Bank coach Chris Conroy had heading into Tuesday’s game against Gothenburg were put to rest on the bat of Walter Fitzsimmons.

The center fielder hit a solo homerun to ignite a five-run second inning, paving the way for a 12-3 win at the Jaycees Complex.

“I was a little worried (going into this game) that 10 of our 15 guys were coming off a three-day football camp,” Conroy said. “It showed early, but we got those first few innings out of us and had that five run inning. That helps out a bunch.”

Starting pitcher Seth Dugger allowed just one run in the first two innings before Fitzsimmons took the plate. On the second pitch, he launched a solo shot that went well beyond the left field wall to tie the game at 1-1.

“On the pitch he (the Gothenburg pitcher) threw it right down the middle and I was able to get a bat on it,” Fitzsimmons said of the homerun. “It looked good and felt good.”

And it also got the First Central Bank bats going.

The juniors brought in four more runs that inning to establish a 5-1 lead that they never lost.

“Everyone gets juiced up when they see a homerun like that,” Conroy noted. “It’s always nice to get a big hit and carry on.”

Gothenburg clawed two runs back in the third inning before the hosts erupted for six more runs in the fifth.

With the bases loaded, James Mockry hit an RBI single before Dawson Bredvick’s bases-clearing double made it 9-3.

Three more runs in the fifth inning, including a two-RBI single by Mockry, brought the game to a close.

A key moment came in the top of the fifth inning. Faced with a bases loaded, no outs situation, First Central Bank strung together three straight outs to escape the inning unscathed.

“That’s huge,” Conroy said about the inning. “We’ve gotten real good about knocking the ball down in the infield and protecting those runs.”

Fitzsimmons also praised the work of Dugger and Mockry on the mound.

“James and Seth pitched great tonight,” he said. “We can always expect good things out of them.”

Up next for First Central Bank will be a weekend tournament at Hastings, Neb.

McCook will open with Gering on Friday, followed by a Saturday doubleheader then a Sunday matinee with Lincoln North Star.

“We’re going to be playing good teams,” Conroy said about the weekend. “These games could go either way.”