Ogallala defeats Imperial 5-4 in Senior Legion Baseball on June 19th, 2025; Imperial wins and scores 13 in the 3rd inning against Ogallala in the nightcap

(Photo Credit: "Baseball Glove" in "Images in Media from Wix" on Wix.com)

Story Published by Evan Troxel on Friday, June 20th, 2025, at 6:51 p.m. Mountain Time

By: Evan Troxel

The Ogallala Adams Bank & Trust Senior Legion Baseball team defeated the Imperial Horns Pinnacle Bank Seniors 5-4 on Thursday evening, June 19th, 2025, at the Ogallala American Legion Field in Ogallala, Nebraska.

The game was the conclusion of a game that started in Imperial, Nebraska, on Thursday, June 12th, 2025, in which Ogallala led 5-4 after three innings in which the game was stopped before the fourth inning due to severe weather.

For whatever reason, Imperial didn't want to finish the game against Ogallala in Imperial.

Unfortunately for both teams (or at least Imperial), neither team scored in Ogallala in four innings on June 19th, to conclude the game that started in Imperial on June 12th.

As is common practice or tradition in Nebraska, Legion Baseball games are usually slated to be played in seven innings unless the mercy rule must take effect or the game is tied and there is extra innings.

So Ogallala was the road team for this game that concluded on their own home field.

For a recap of what happened in Imperial, there was no score after the first inning, Ogallala led 3-1 after two innings, and Ogallala again led 5 to 4 after three innings.

Ogallala's Jessie Ortega, Lou Menotti and Keegan Florom all scored on a three-run swing by Jonah Saner in which the center fielder made an error and Saner got thrown out at third base to end the top of the 2nd inning.

All three runners who scored walked in the inning.

Imperial's Thomas Reeves singled, stole 2nd base, and scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the 2nd.

Ogallala's Jackson Saner walked and advanced to 2nd on a Tai Le single to left field. He stole two bases and scored. Tai Le also stole 2nd, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a Jessie Ortega single.

Ogallala didn't get another hit until the 7th inning on June 19th.

Imperial, trailing 5 to 1, in the bottom of the third, scored three in that inning.

Conner Stromberger got on base via an error by the first baseman, advanced on a single by Brextin Moreno, advanced to third on a passed ball (in which Moreno advanced to 2nd), and scored on a Camron Lempke single.

Moreno advanced to 3rd on a passed ball while Camron Lempke advanced to 2nd. Moreno and Lempke then scored on a two-run triple from Thomas Reeves.

So Imperial's Thomas Reeves in Imperial pitched two innings giving up two hits and all five runs (and two earned runs, I guess, that's my opinion), with five walks and four strikeouts.

Camron Lempke threw one inning giving up no runs, no hits, two strikeouts and one walk.

On June 12th in Imperial, Ogallala's Bradyn Heilman pitched three innings giving up four runs, two earned runs (that's my opinion), five hits, two walks and six strikeouts. He struck out at least one batter in each inning.

Now the shift focuses to the conclusion of the game in Ogallala, and Imperial's Kaden Vogt pitched three and two-thirds innings allowing no runs, no hits and one walk with six strikeouts (in which five strikeouts actually counted as outs).

Vogt recorded five swinging strikeouts and one looking strikeout.

Ogallala's Jackson Saner reached based on an uncaught third strike (after the strikeout) in which the catcher made a throwing error in fair territory just out of the reach (I guess) of the Imperial first baseman in the top of the fourth inning.

Luke Minster walked in the fifth and that was the only other baserunner Ogallala had against Vogt.

In the top of the seventh with two outs, Imperial's Tristan Jablonski came into pitch and he gave up a single to Jessie Ortega, a walk to Bradyn Heilman and a single to Luke Minster.

Ogallala left the bases loaded on a flyout in foul territory by Markell Macke to right field (according to my notes), but I actually think Macke hit it to left field (not right field).

So Tristan Jablonski pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up no runs, two hits and one walk. He struck out none.

Bradyn Heilman pitched a complete game for Ogallala by throwing seven innings, with six hits, four runs, two earned runs (my opinion), three walks and fourteen strikeouts total (with thirteen actually counting as outs).

Heilman had eight swinging strikeouts and five "caught looking" strikeouts that were actually outs.

The other strikeout was an uncaught third strike in which the batter safely reached first base.

On June 19th, Heilman had at least two strikeouts in every inning except the final inning (the seventh inning) in which he had just one strikeout.

Heilman finished with eight strikeouts and seven of them were actual outs in four innings, while allowing no runs, one hit, and he gave up just two walks.

Imperial got baserunners to first and second in the bottom of the fourth but couldn't score (with the George Colton reaching on an uncaught third strike and advancing to second base on a Brextin Moreno walk).

In the fifth, Thomas Reeves got to third (after he walked and stole two bases) but couldn't score as Kaden Vogt struck out swinging and Carson Terryberry struck out.

In the bottom of the seventh, Imperial had one final chance and they almost had a runner on third base with nobody out, but Imperial decided to play too cautious and not try to be aggressive after a bad throw by Ogallala's catcher Jessie Ortega on a stolen base attempt to second base by Imperial's Brextin Moreno, and it ultimately costed them a win on Thursday night.

Moreno got on-base via a single.

Instead, Camron Lempke popped up to the shortstop on the 2nd base side and Gavin Wisnieski struck out looking and Thomas Reeves flied out to center field to end the ballgame.

So Ogallala won their first game at home this season even though they were technically the away team on Thursday evening on June 19th.

I guess it would have been nice if they actually could have won a game and actually scored some runs (or at least a run) on their home field!

Imperial finished with four runs, six hits, six people left on base and two defensive errors.

Imperial's Brextin Moreno had two hits and one run scored, Camron Lempke had two singles, one RBI and one run scored and Thomas Reeves hit a triple and a single, scored a run and had two RBI's.

Conner Stromberger also scored a run.

Ogallala finished the game scoring five runs off of four hits, they left eight men on base and committed just one error on defense.

Ogallala's Tai Le had one hit and one run scored.

You could say, and argue, Ogallala's Jessie Ortega, was the all-around MVP of this game as he was the only Ogallala player to record a hit, drive in a run and score.

Not to mention the fact that as the catcher, he helped Bradyn Heilman have a great game by calling lots of pitches for Heilman to throw across home plate.

Bradyn Heilman clearly was the number one reason Ogallala won (and didn't lose) this game.

Heilman threw one strikeout in every inning of the game.

Ortega had two hits, one run and the only RBI of the game in the opinion of this journalist.

In Game 2, a complete game (sort of, according to the rules it was a complete game), Imperial won against Ogallala 15 to 5 in a true road game for Imperial in which Ogallala was the designated home team.

Imperial's Camron Lempke scored three runs while Brextin Moreno, Thomas Reeves, Kaden Vogt, and Conner Stromberger all scored two runs each. Gavin Wisnieski, Tristan Jablonski, Evan O'Neil and Carson Terryberry each scored one run.

Moreno and Jablonski each finished with two RBI's while Wisnieski, Reeves, Vogt, Terryberry and Stromberger each had one RBI each.

Perhaps the biggest story of the game was that Imperial won the game and only recorded three hits while Ogallala had seven hits total.

Two hits came from Imperial's Camron Lempke and one came from Brextin Moreno.

All of the hits by Imperial were indeed singles.

Imperial committed zero defensive errors and they left just four people on-base for the entire game.

Ogallala took a 2-0 lead after one inning and they led 2-1 after two innings.

In the bottom of the first, Jackson Saner hit a double and scored on a Luke Minster bases loaded walk. Markell Macke hit a single and scored on a Levi Nolt bases loaded walk.

Ogallala's only other hit until the fourth inning was a single by Macke in the second inning.

Imperial scored 13 runs in the top of the third inning in which 13 of the first 14 batters to hit eventually scored.

The Horns scored three runs via a walk, two runs from a hit batter, two runs total from a single, one run from a fielder's choice non-out, and five from wild pitches. Ogallala only faced 16 batters in the top of the third inning.

So Imperial led 14 to 2 after three innings.

Ogallala then tacked on three last-minute runs in the bottom of the fourth (to probably continue the game for another inning) to make the score 14 to 5.

Ogallala had four hits in the inning, starting with a Keegan Florom single and then three RBI doubles from Jackson Saner, Jessie Ortega and Tai Le.

Florom, Jackson Saner and Ortega all scored in the fourth.

Imperial's Camron Lempke got hit by a pitch to start the top of the fifth and he moved to second and third on wild pitches before two of his teammates walked and then he scored on a bases loaded groundout to third.

Ogallala's Levi Nolt walked to start the top of the fifth and then he got caught stealing second base in which I believe Destry Oxford, the second baseman placed the tag on him.

Keegan Florom then struck out swinging while Jonah Saner grounded out to second base to end the game via the ten-run mercy rule after five innings of play.

Tristan Jablonski threw four innings for Imperial giving up all five runs and all seven hits, he walked four and hit one batter. He struck out four.

Thomas Reeves pitched the final inning and gave up zero runs and walked one and struck out one.

Ogallala's Jackson Saner pitched 2 2/3 innings and gave up just three runs (before leaving the game) and he ultimately gave up six runs on one hit, six walks and four strikeouts.

Jessie Ortega threw zero innings, gave up three runs, walked two and hit one batter.

Markell Macke pitched two innings and gave up five runs, two hits, five walks and two hit batters and one strikeout.

Tai Le pitched two-thirds of an inning and got two groundouts.

On Ogallala's offensive side, Jackson Saner was 2 for 3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI.

Markell Macke was 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Jessie Ortega was 1 for 2 with a run and an RBI.

Tai Le was 1 for 2 with an RBI.

Luke Minster and Levi Nolt each had an RBI.

Keegan Florom was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

Ogallala had just 7 hits, made one defensive error and left seven people on base.

Imperial is now 3-4 on the season in Senior Legion Baseball.

Ogallala is now 2-8 on the season.

Imperial plays at Holdrege on Sunday, June 22nd.

Ogallala plays at Broken Bow on Monday, June 23rd, at 5:30 p.m. Central Time (for the Junior Legion) and 8:00 p.m. Central Time (for the Senior Legion).

Ogallala's next home game for Senior Legion Baseball is a doubleheader on Tuesday, June 24th, versus the Buckley Bombers at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time.