Tigers best O'Hara 7-3 in Kansas City

Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Matt Resnick/Daily Mail/ Nevada junior Andy Heathman watches the pitcher as he leads off of first base.

The Nevada Tigers baseball team continued its perfect start in conference play, dealing the O'Hara Celtics a 7-3 defeat in Kansas City Monday afternoon.

As the West Central Conference's newest member, Nevada sits atop the conference standings after storming out to a 3-0 start (3-1, overall).

"I'm happy with the effort we're receiving," Nevada head coach Danny Penn said.

Penn said he has been impressed with his team both offensively and defensively.

"Our pitchers are keeping us in games, our defense has been relatively solid, and our bats are starting to wake up," he said. "While it was a late night getting home, I hope we're able to keep the momentum going with another conference game at home (Tuesday) against Kansas City Center."

Nevada sophomore Derek O'Dell (2-0) picked up the victory, striking out five while giving up six hits and two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work.

O'Dell was relieved by junior Andy Heathman, who closed the door on the Celtics, pitching 1 1/3 innings of hitless and scoreless ball, while walking two and striking out two.

Penn said that Heathman was able to get the Tigers out of a late-game jam.

"When Derek did tire in the sixth inning, Andy came in with runners on second and third, and proceeded to strike out their hitter to end the inning," he said. "On the defensive side, Derek did a nice job of attacking their hitters and letting his defense work for him.

"We had a couple of mental mistakes defensively that could have led to trouble, but Derek did a nice job of picking up his teammates and not allowing O'Hara to take advantage."

For Nevada, third baseman Conner Masters was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a run-scored, Heathman was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run-scored; shortstop Tyler Ketterman was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run-scored; while freshman second baseman Branden Harder was 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs and a run-scored.

Pinch-hitter Trey Pritchett was 1-for-1 with an RBI, and Tanner Handly and Jacob Johnson plated a run apiece.

"We had a lot of off-balance swings that resulted in balls that were not hit hard," Penn said. "However, the second and third times through the lineup, we did a better job of waiting and driving the ball."

Penn said he thought his squad did a good job of making adjustments as the game progressed.

"Andy swung the bat well today, and Masters did a nice job of getting our scoring started with a 2-RBI double down the left field line," he said. "Trey Pritchett came through with a clutch pinch-hit RBI-single in the seventh to provide some insurance."

Next up

The Tigers will look to keep up the pace with a conference road contest against Warrensburg, Thursday afternoon.

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