NORFOLK, Neb. -- After a sweeping a doubleheader a day prior, the Northeast Community College baseball team dropped the final contest in a three-game series against No. 13 Iowa Western Community College on Sunday, falling to the Reivers by a 10-3 margin.

The Hawks gave up one run in the first inning, one in the second and five in the fifth to fall behind 7-0. Sophomore Carlson singled on a hard ground ball to left field to score fellow sophomore Young in the bottom of the sixth frame and Carlson came around to score later in the inning thanks to a single from Grayson Headrick (Littleton, Colo.). Sophomore Hagen scored on a wild pitch in the eighth, but that was the last of the Northeast scoring on the day as the Hawks will now set their focus on the Region 11 Tournament. 

Northeast (37-18, 21-12 ICCAC) honored sophomores Nick Carlson (Kearney, Neb.), Taylor Gill (Orem, Utah), Darius Hagen (Omaha, Neb.), Jackson Foster (Wichita, Kan.), Kaden Young (Columbus, Neb.), Eli Crnkovich (Valley, Neb.), Clay Beaumont (Tekameh, Neb.), Austin den Hoed (Papillion, Neb.), Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo.), Gage Ingram (LaVista, Neb.), Christian Carew (Parker, Colo.), Nate Zyzda (Sioux City, Iowa) and Jackson Horn (Papillion, Neb.) as part of Sophomore Day prior to the matchup. 

“It was a good day to celebrate our sophomores,” Northeast baseball coach Marcus Clapp said. “It was one of those days for both teams, not that it didn’t matter, but it didn’t affect anyone’s seeding. We played a lot of guys. I wanted to take the sophomores out together and we did that. We just have to get ourselves ready for the tournament. I think we are. We will get a couple of days of practice and then we will head out. 

The Hawks will now play in the Region 11 Tournament starting Thursday morning.

“Nothing new,” Clapp said. “We just need to get ourselves ready. Make sure we feel good. Make sure our arms are healthy. We are going to give them a couple of days off. We want to make sure that we are healthy and relaxed heading into the tournament.”