After playing one if its worst games of the summer last Friday, the Neosho Nighthawks American Legion baseball team redeemed itself Monday.
Playing host to Aurora Post 126 in a “AAA”/ “AA” doubleheader, the Nighthawks won with ease in the District 15 contest 12-2 at Roy B. Shaver Stadium.
The victory, coming on the heels of a 10-0 loss to Nevada in district play Friday, bumped Neosho over the .500 mark in district play at 4-3.
Neosho (12-8 overall) had the bats going throughout the the game as the team pounded out 17 hits, and eight of the nine batters in the line-up had at least one hit on the day.
“I’m very happy how we hit the ball, especially with how the younger guys hit the ball,” Neosho coach Eddie Crupper said.
Neosho played with a short bench in Monday’s game, so four players — two backups and two from the “AA” team — got a chance to start for the Nighthawks.
Aurora (15-10, 5-4) jumped up 1-0 on the Nighthawks in the top of the first inning thanks to three straight singles — including an RBI knock by Kyle Roy.
Neosho answered with three runs in the first, part of a string of eight unanswered runs against Post 126.
Anthony Westfield had an RBI double, followed by a sac fly by Anthony Hendrix and an opposite field RBI single by Tyler Marion. With a two-run cushion, Neosho starter Scott Adams cruised from that point, giving up only one hit the remainder of the game. Aurora got a one-out double from Dustin Hedrick in the top of the second, but he was left stranded at third base with one out, as Adams got a strikeout and a fly out to end the scoring threat. The Nighthawks tacked on five runs in the second inning to pull ahead 5-1. Drew Miller had a 2-run double, while Jacob Patterson and Jared Brown had RBI singles. Another run scored on an errant pickoff play.
“They are a good hitting team, they found holes everywhere and we hit it right at them,” Aurora coach Grant Baker said.
Miller and Westfield drove in runs in the third inning, and two errors led to the final two runs of the game. Westfield and Jacob Rickman had three hits each for the Nighthawks in the game.
Neosho plays at home against Cassville Pot 119, at 6 p.m., Wednesday.
