The last Seward Legion juniors baseball state title came in 2013. The team’s last trip to the state tournament was in 2016.
The team is back at state this season, playing in the Class B tournament at Alliance. Seward ZKE Storage started play July 15 with an 11-4 win over the host Alliance team.
Cale Gardiner went 3-4 with a double to lead the Seward offense. Kyle Riley, Quinn Berner, Deklan Lindau and Karson Dyer had two hits each. Dyer also drove in three runs and, although he had no hits in the game, Brycen Burt notched three RBIs as well.
Burt, Kayson Salyer and Riley Calway each pitched at least two innings and combined for nine strikeouts.
Seward took the field against Waverly July 16 and needed eight innings before getting the 2-1 walk-off win.
Seward led 1-0 after the second inning, but Waverly tied the score in the fifth.
In the bottom of the eighth, Gardiner led off with a walk for Seward. With one out, Connor Sveeggen doubled to left to drive in Gardiner and give Seward the win.
Riley was 2-4 in the game for Seward. Sveeggen, Brendon Ruth and Dyer each pitched.
Seward (26-5) lost to play Wahoo 12-3 July 17. Wahoo defeated Central City and Lincoln Christian in its first two games. Seward came back to defeat Gering 6-3 to advance to the championship round, where its opponent July 16 was Wahoo.
Seward broke the state trip drought with a 6-0 win over Beatrice July 12 in the Class B Area 1 tournament championship game.
Seward ZKE Storage scored three runs in the first inning and didn’t look back in shutting out Beatrice.
The team pounded 11 hits in the game, led by two each from Burt, Riley, Deklan Lindau and Gardiner, who hit a pair of doubles. Ruth and Riley drove in two runs each.
Dyer pitched all seven innings and struck out nine in the win.
The win avenged a 4-3 loss to Beatrice July 11 that dropped Seward into the elimination bracket. Beatrice scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to walk off with the win.
Berner was 2-3 for Seward, and Sveeggen struck out eight Beatrice batters in 6.2 innings.
Seward defeated Sutton 13-7 July 10 in its second game of the area tournament. Bostyn Happ and Ruth had three hits each, and Riley was 2-3 with three RBIs.
