Cornerstone Seniors Beat Millard South to Advance at State

After spotting Millard South a run in the first inning, the Cornerstone Insurance Group Columbus Seniors rolled to a 4-1 victory in an elimination game Sunday at the Class A National Division state tournament in Hastings. 

Cornerstone starter Juri Rivera gave up a run on two hits in the bottom of the first, but did not surrender another hit over the next five innings.  Rivera walked five batters and hit another, but also struck out five to get the win and improve to 5-1.  Alex Griffith tossed a perfect seventh with two K’s to notch the save. 

Ryan Eickhoff came through with a two-out, two-strike RBI single in the second to score Rivera, who had doubled, with the tying run.  In the third, Quenton Gustafson singled and later scored on a wild pitch and Connor Rausch doubled and scored an unearned run on a throwing error.  Bentley Willison reached on a fielding error leading off the sixth and proceeded to steal second, third and home for the final run. 

Columbus is now 1-1 in the tourney and 18-12 overall.  They’ll meet Elkhorn North in another elimination game Monday at 4 p.m.   You can hear play-by-play on KLIR 101 and at mycentralnebraska.com.