Baseball Recap: Omaha Central Comes Up Short

Omaha Central extended their losing streak to five on Saturday, dropping their season record down to 7-11 in the process. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost an 8-6 heartbreaker at the hands of the Westview Wolverines. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Wolverines this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 9-4 on Monday.

Joe Dougherty put in work while hitting and pitching. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one double. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.

Mark Ripp

Runs

04/19/25 @ Westview	2
04/04/25 vs Benson	2
04/01/25 vs Buena Vista	2
04/11/25 vs Columbus	1
03/25/25 @ Bryan	1

In other batting news, Mark Ripp was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. He has become a key player for Omaha Central: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 5-10 otherwise.

As for Westview, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games.

On Westview's side, Zach Babic looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit.

At the plate, Westview's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ty Simms, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most hits Simms has posted since back in April of 2024. Darius Boyd was another, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Omaha Central will face off against rival Lincoln North Star at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, Westview is set to square off against their familiar foe Lincoln Southeast at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.