It was a tough Class B Area 1 tournament for the Crete Nestle Purina Post 147 juniors.
Crete struggled to get its offense going in games against Auburn and Hickman, losing to Auburn 8-0 July 8 and to Hickman 13-2 July 9 to end the season with a 1-17 record.
Auburn pulled away with three runs in the third inning to build a 4-0 lead.
Kenner Svitak hit a double for Crete. Patton Svitak, Cale Burkhardt, Everett Heath and Alex Eltze each hit singles.
Carson Kotil, Jeffrey Kuncl and Patton Svitak each pitched.
Against Hickman, Crete led 1-0 after the first inning. Kenner Svitak and Patton Svitak drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. After a double steal with one out, Kenner Svitak scored on an error.
Hickman answered with three in the top of the second and scored nine in the top of the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Crete didn’t stop fighting, however. In the bottom of the fourth, Brody Klein reached base on a dropped third strike and stole second. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Kuncl.
Kuncl’s double was Crete’s only hit of the game.
