Titans lose pitching battle to O'Neill/Neligh

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In a pitching masterpiece Friday, June 23, in Orchard, O'Neill/Neligh's Kol Otten took the mound against Tri-County's Wyatt Shabram. The Titans lost to the Irish by a score of 0-3.

The final stat line in this dual on the mound saw Otten shutting out Tri-County, allowing seven hits while striking out 12 batters. Meanwhile, Shabram maxed out his pitch count, allowing one earned run in the second inning and then two runs in the top of the seventh, including one earned and one unearned. Shabram struck out nine batters.

Titans coach Jeff Shabram said, "Ryan Rifer came in relief in the seventh inning, getting two quick outs. Tri-County's defense, along with O'Neill/Neligh's, was also on point the entire game making solid plays in support of their pitcher. It was a fun game to watch."

The Titan offense would mount some surges in the first, third and fifth innings, getting base runners on and advancing into scoring position, only to leave too many runs out on the bases on the third out.

Offensive highlights for Tri-County saw Connor Thomson go two for four batting and Rifer go three for three.

"We were extremely pleased with the effort of the Titans and saw some more good baseball versus another high-quality opponent. All of these experiences will serve us well in the postseason. This is the third time Tri-County has played O'Neill/Neligh this season," Shabram said.

On Friday, June 30, the Titans travel to Atkinson in a seniors match-up at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KBRX 102.9 FM.