Heat take 3rd at Riverton 4th of July Tournament         

[JULY 3, 2006]  The Lincoln Heat Bronco team participated in the sizzling 4th of July Tournament in Riverton over the weekend. They faced the Chatham Sticks in the first game of the tournament. The heat found themselves behind 7-1 early, partially due to a microscopic strike zone. That didn’t seem to stop the Heat from battling back though. They ended up having a huge 11 run inning to take the lead. It was far from over though. The Sticks battled back in the last inning of the game and found themselves with bases loaded and the winning run on second base. Will Podbelsek was called to the mound to save the game for the sticks. He ended up striking out the last hitter as the Heat won an exciting 14-13 game. Halen Sampson got the win and Will Podbelsek recorded the save. Will Podbelsek was 2-4 with a double. Trace Splain was 1-2 with 2 RBI’s. Nate Brandt had a triple and scored what ended up being the game winning run.

Later in the day the Heat played Team Powerade. Once again the Heat found they were battling from behind. Tate Gordon pitched the first two innings and Brent Hunsley pitched the last 4. Unfortunately the Heat weren’t able to overcome there early deficit and lost the second game 7-2. Andy Krusz was 2-3 in the game with a triple.

The last game of the tournament the Heat faced a solid Springfield Outlaws team. This was the game to decide 3rd and 4th place in the tournament. The Heat called on Halen Sampson to start on the mound. He pitched a great game going 5 2/3 innings giving up 4 earned runs and striking out 4. He was relieved by Will Podbelsek who ended up going the final 2 1/3 innings.

This proved to be another long and exciting game in the tournament for the Heat. After going back and forth all game long, the Heat had a chance to win it in the 7th, but then the Outlaws came firing back. The Outlaws had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 7th. The winning run was on 3rd base with no outs. The Heat brought their infield in. It paid off! A grounder was hit to Cody Heidbreder. He looked the runner back to 3rd and got the out at first. Then the Outlaws hit a line drive to Andy Krusz who doubled off the runner on 3rd to end the inning. In the top of the 8th, Tate Gordon squeezed in Will Podbelsek for the go ahead run. Then things got interesting again. The Outlaws started off the bottom of the 8th with a triple. The Heat then ran a pickoff play and picked off the runner on 3rd base. The Heat’s Ryan Montcalm turned a double play to end the inning and give the Heat a 6-5 victory and 3rd place in the tournament. Will Podbelsek recorded the win and also had 2 singles with 2 runs scored. Tate Gordon was 2-4 with 2 RBI’s.

The Heat have been on a roll as of late winning 9 of their last 10 games. Their next game is Wednesday at home vs. the Bloomington Astro’s.

[Provided by Kevin Qualters]

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