The high school baseball team welcomed Blue Valley to Onaga last Thursday night for the team’s home opener. The Buffaloes entered with a 4-0 record and were already 2-0 in league play, while the Rams were 0-2 and had yet to play a league game this season. Onaga entered as one of the highest scoring teams in the state and had one of the best margins of victory through the first part of the season in the state as well, and those numbers only got better after the Buffaloes swept Blue Valley in two shutouts.
Onaga got things rolling early in game one as Colby Simkins got the start on the mound and after giving up a walk to Rams senior Brock Burgman, the senior got out of the inning two batters later. Tennessee Hartman hit into a fielder’s choice, Simkins then struck out Trevor Clark, then Hartman was thrown out at second by junior catcher Hunter Lamond to end the inning.
The Buffaloes scored four runs in the bottom of the first as they batted around to take a 4-0 lead into the second inning. Simkins retired the side in the top half of the frame, striking out two batters in the process. Onaga would then pour on nine more runs in the bottom of the second. Leadoff Jackson Kolterman hit a double to get things started, then was knocked in on a single by senior Zac Fisher. Kolterman has been great in the leadoff spot and with Fisher and senior Colby Simkins hitting behind him, the sophomore has scored 14 runs on the season, the fourth most in the state of Kansas.
Simkins would walk after Fisher’s hit, then sophomore L.J. Koelzer singled to score Fisher. Lamond then hit his first double of the season on a line drive that scored both Simkins and Koelzer. With Lamond on second, senior third baseman Jeramia Dorsey hit the first home run of his career and the season for Onaga, a blast over the left-center field fence to take a 10-0 lead. Junior Rayce Fisher and senior Colby Fordham were both hit by pitches in the next two at bats, then sophomore Dylan Magnett grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Fisher. For the second straight inning, the Buffaloes had batted around and this time they only had one out at the end of it.
It took six more batters for the Rams to get the third out, and Onaga had a 13-0 lead heading into the third inning. Simkins would retire the side in the top of the third, again striking out two batters. Then would score two more in the bottom of the inning to end the game on a run rule, winning 15-0.
The Buffaloes recorded nine hits in the game, led by Zac Fisher’s four hits in four at bats. The senior also drove in four runs and stole three bases.
Simkins got the win for Onaga going all three innings, allowing no hits, striking out five, and walking one. He is now 3-0 on the season for the Buffaloes with a 1.75 ERA and has struck out 22 batters while walking just four. Trace Sump took the loss for Blue Valley. The righty pitched one inning, allowed five hits, walked two, struck out none, and gave up eight runs.
In game two the Buffaloes used three pitchers as they combined to throw another shutout. Zac Fisher got the start for Onaga and struck out the first three batters of the game. The offense then picked up right where it left off, as Onaga put up six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jackson Kolterman and Fisher both walked, then Colby Simkins singled to score the first run of the game. Fisher scored from third on a wild pitch, then L.J. Koelzer and Hunter Lamond would then both walk before Jeramia Dorsey reached on an error that scored Simkins. Racye Fisher then singled to score Koelzer, and Colby Fordham would walk to load the bases once again with no outs. Dylan Magnett hit into the first out of the inning, but it took three more batters to end the inning for Blue Valley and at that point the Buffaloes had a commanding 6-0 lead after one.
Fisher would retire the side once again in the top of the second, striking out all three batters. His night was then over having struck out all six batters he faced.
The Buffaloes scored another run in the second, third, fifth, and sixth inning. Jackson Kolterman took over for Fisher on the mound in the third inning and got off to a bit of a rocky start as he walked two batters and then gave up a hit to load the bases with no outs. Tennessee Hartman then hit a hot grounder back to Kolterman who threw it home to Simkins for one out, then a throw to first got another for a double play. Kolterman then struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Kolterman had a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth with two strikeouts before Hunter Lamond took the mound. He would strike out two in the fifth and three in the sixth to finish out the night.
Onaga recorded nine hits for the second straight game, led by Colby Simkins who went 4-for-5 at the plate. He singled in the first, singled in the third, singled in the fifth, and singled in the sixth, driving in two runs during the game and stealing two bases as well. Jeramia Dorsey and Racye Fisher also managed multiple hits in the game.
Zac Fisher was the winning pitcher for the Buffaloes. The right-hander went two innings, allowing zero runs on zero hits, striking out six and walking zero. He is now 3-0 on the season with a 1.08 ERA, having struck out 19 and walked just two. Brock Burgman took the loss for Blue Valley. He allowed four hits and seven runs over two innings, striking out one.
Onaga was back on the road Tuesday night at St. Marys in a matchup that could be a preview to regionals as the two teams will both play in the same postseason tournament in Onaga in May. The JV team will host Clay Center on Thursday with a double header beginning at 4:30pm, and the varsity team will play again on Monday when they host Oskaloosa in Onaga at 4:30pm.
You can check out the baseball team's roster, look at stats, follow results, look at the program’s history, and much more, head over to the team's page on the school website, www.usd322.org/page/baseball.