Juniors Drop Heartbreaker to Fort Morgan

Sidney’s American Legion Post 17 Junior Baseball team hosted Fort Morgan on Wednesday, June 16, and the teams battled through the late afternoon heat to find themselves tied at 6-to-6 at the end of six innings.

In the top of the seventh, Fort Morgan was able to scratch out a run, but Sidney’s Reid Fiscus battled hard on the mound, loading the bases then working out of the jam to keep Sidney in the game.

Sidney was able to plate a run to keep the score deadlocked in the eight, when Fiscus returned on the mound for the seventh inning. A great curve ball struck out Fort Morgan’s first batter, then another good curve ball by Fiscus induced a groundout. Fiscus gave up a single, but then recovered and got the final out of the inning on a ground out to shortstop. In the bottom of the eight, Owen Gillham was hit by a pitch to give Sidney a base runner, but with two outs Lando Riddle laid down a bunt but the Fort Morgan third baseman made a great play an ended the inning by throwing out Liddle at first base.

Fiscus took the mound again for the ninth inning and issued a lead off walk. Fort Morgan bunted the runner to second base, then a base hit to center field gave the visitors runners on first and third with one out. The runner at first moved to second via a steal, then Fiscus struck out the batter to give Sidney two outs.

Fiscus then hit a batter in the helmet, and although the batter was not injured, it loaded the bases for Fort Morgan. A pop fly to centerfield couldn’t be handled, and Fort Morgan scored two runs to take a two-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth.

Sidney fought back in the ninth when Blaine Russell blasted a lead off double to the outfield, then Jakob Meyer hit a long drive to the left field wall for a double, scoring Russell. But Sidney’s next three batters were retired via strikeout, then a fly out to center field, then finally a groundout to the pitcher to stop the rally and give Fort Morgan an 8-to-7 victory.