Dora Falcons take second at district tourney
Photo/Dora School The Dora Falcons baseball team took second place in the Class 1 District 4 Tournament last week. Members of the team are, from left (front row), Briggs Gunter, Brady Thompson, Carson Howard, Lathan Smith; (back row) head coach Stetson Neldon, Blake Uhlmann, Braxton Mayberry, Liam Gray, Westin Ledbetter, Connar Lovan, Treyton Rogers and assistant coach Devon Uhlmann.
The Dora Falcons baseball team had a whirlwind of a week during the Class 1 District 4 tournament held in Hurley, with weather playing a big role. Dora, who was the number two seed in the tournament, was scheduled to play Summersville, seeded number three, on Tuesday, but the games were pushed back a day due to rain. So the Falcons practiced instead and then headed over to Hurley Wednesday under yet another cloudy sky.
“They (Summersville) gave us everything we wanted and more,” said Dora Coach Stetson Neldon. The Falcons were trailing 3-0 going into the sixth inning, when Blake Uhlmann drew a walk and Carson Howard laid down a bunt with two outs. Then Lathan Smith got a double, driving in Uhlman and Howard to bring the score to 3-2.
Dora held Summersville scoreless in the top half of the seventh and had their top three batters in the lineup coming up. Then lightning lit up the sky, and the rain started. The teams and fans sat through a 30-minute rain delay, but the weather didn’t let up, and the game was postponed until 2 p.m. the following day.
“Treyton Rogers, who pitched well into the sixth inning and was battling an injury, kept us in the game with good pitching,” Neldon said. Liam Gray took the mound when the game resumed and closed out the game with 17 pitches.
“Treyton was up to bat first in the bottom of the seventh. He hit the ball hard, but was out. Liam Gray and Brady Thompson were hit by a pitch, then stole second and third,” Neldon said. “Connar Lovan came up and ended the game on a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the seventh, and we won 4-3!”
The Falcons waited two hours and then played the final game of the tournament, taking on number one seed Galena for the championship title. “Several boys made plays in the field playing solid defense,” Neldon said. “Liam Gray pitched well into the sixth inning, and pitched an excellent game. It was 2-0 for four innings. An error and a hit resulted in two more runs for Galena, and it was 4-0 after five innings. Then Brady Thompson came in to close out the sixth and pitched well, but a couple of well-placed hits and a bobble resulted in three more runs for Galena –7-0 after six innings. In the top of the seventh, we scratched out a run, threatening to score more but wound up losing 7-1. We lost but battled our tails off against a very good Galena team. These boys never gave up and represented Dora R-III School District well.”
Neldon, who is in his first year of coaching baseball at Dora, expressed thanks to seniors Carson Howard, Brady Thompson, Briggs Gunter and Lathan Smith.