Brisson does it all for Mustang baseball team

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BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

OMAHA — When Lincoln Northeast couldn’t capitalize on a late-inning opportunity, Blake Brisson and his Millard North teammates made the Rockets pay.

Class A third-ranked Millard North scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to earn a 9-4 baseball victory Saturday in the Millard South Invitational, played at Omaha Westside.

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The Rockets cut Millard North’s lead to 5-4 in the fifth when Kameron Klozenbucher hit a three-run double over the Mustang center fielder’s head.

Northeast threatened again in the sixth when Max Jensen was hit by a pitch, Jon Bandars singled and Curt Adams walked to load the bases with one out. But Jacob Swift came on in relief of Ben Homer to get a pop-up to the catcher and a fly ball to retire the side and preserve the Mustangs’ lead.

That’s when Brisson struck yet again. He led off the seventh with his fourth straight hit in the game. And, like the other three times he reached base, Brisson stole second. Two straight errors brought Brisson home and then Brett Kuehn got his second double of the game to send another run home. Homer singled in another run and Tyler Hoffman hit a sacrifice fly to complete Millard North’s scoring.

“Once he gets on base, he makes things happen,” Millard North coach Dave Cork said of Brisson. “And he gets on a lot. He’s hitting exactly .400 right now and his on-base percentage is over .500.

“We try to use our speed to put pressure on the defense. We run and use the hit-and-run a lot.”

The Mustangs (18-4) had 11 stolen bases in the game, with Brisson getting five. He led off the game with a single, stole second, then stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly.

“Four hits, five stolen bases, four runs scored. That’s a pretty good game,” Cork said.

Northeast coach Jerome Ehrlich agreed.

“I went and found him after the game to tell him how well he played,” Ehrlich said. “He was a nightmare when he got on base.”

Ehrlich said the Rockets, who knocked off top-ranked Creighton Prep in the first round of the tournament, have begun to play consistently.

“In 13 out of the last 14 innings, we’ve played fantastic baseball,” he said. “I think you saw the disappointment that we didn’t tie the game or take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. We had the bases juiced and had our opportunity and just didn’t come through.

“This team is playing confident and playing loose. The win over Prep wasn’t a fluke. I like where this team is, playing loose and comfortable.”

Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.