Undercover police in Omaha sting NCAA scalpers

OMAHA Fans of one-and-done teams here shouldn't plan on getting a huge windfall from scalping second-round tickets for the NCAA tournament Omaha police are cracking down.

Undercover officers arrested eight people here Thursday for scalping the toughest non-Hannah Montana ticket in town this year, citing them for misdemeanors.

Officer Bill Dropinski says the NCAA had not asked police to set up the sting, but police have sent undercover officer to bust scalpers at other major events in the past, including the College World Series.

Dropinski wouldn't say how much the tickets were marked up. Ticket reseller StubHub.com is selling seats for the Kansas-UNLV/Wisconsin-Kansas State double bill for $275 to $530. Face value is $53.

HC splits doubleheader with Northwestern

Hastings College split a doubleheader with Northwestern College on Friday afternoon at Duncan Field in Hastings, losing 13-9 and winning 4-1.

In game one, Leigh Jochimsen led the Broncos (8-15, 1-1 GPAC) with three hits while Pat Morey and Joe Jeanjaquet each added a single and a double. Morey also had two RBIs while Jeanjaquet had three. Joe Piscitelli and Chris Denny also had two hits in game one for the Broncos. Alex Kucera was given the loss on the mound for Hastings as he pitched five innings giving up nine hits and striking out two.

In game two Bret Compliment led the offense for Hastings as he recorded a double and a triple while driving in one run. Joe Jeanjaquet had two RBIs for the Broncos on one hit. The story in game two for the Broncos was pitcher Bryant McCann, who threw a complete game while giving up only one run on seven hits. He also struck out three batters.

The Broncos will host Briar Cliff University at 1p.m. Saturday at Duncan Field. The two teams will play two seven-inning games.

UNK, N.M. Highlands divide twinbill in Kearney

KEARNEY Senior first baseman Joe Nowaczyk hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fifth inning and propel the Nebraska-Kearney baseball team to an 11-10 win over New Mexico Highlands in the second game of a doubleheader Friday at Memorial Field.

In the first game, Highlands came out on top, 6-3. The Lopers dropped to 8-8 in the RMAC 12-13 overall. The Cowboys, meanwhile, fell to 3-13 in league play and are 14-16 overall.

All nine runs scored in the first game were of the unearned variety. The Cowboys committed four errors, as did the Lopers. Highlands scored all six of its runs in the fourth with five crossing home plate after two were out.

UNK is at league power Mesa State next weekend.

Broncos go 2-1 in final day at Tucson Invitational

Hastings College rounded out its trip in Arizona by going 2-1 on its final day at the Tucson Invite.

The Broncos (11-10) defeated Franklin Pierce (N.H.) 4-3 and Hope International (CA) 3-2 before falling to last year's NAIA national champion, Simon Fraser (B.C.) 9-3 in the nightcap. Chelsey Woodside was on the mound for the Broncos in their 4-3 victory over Franklin Pierce and 9-3 loss to Simon Fraser. Stacey Paladino threw for Hastings in the 3-2 win over Hope International.

CS-Pueblo sweeps tripleheader from UNK

KEARNEY Catcher Bonita Nuanez and center fielder Ashley Aldrich had big days at the plate and Kelsey Swanberg was strong on the mound to lead the Colorado State-Pueblo to a tripleheader sweep of Nebraska-Kearney on Friday afternoon at Dryden Park.

The Thunderwolves (15-11, 10-7 RMAC) won 8-3, 11-2 (6 innings) and 6-1. The Lopers, mired in a seven-game losing streak, are now 7-14 (6-11 RMAC).

Game one was a scoreless affair until Nuanez (2 for 4, three RBI's) hit a two-run homer in the fourth. Pueblo then tacked on four in the sixth on four hits and one error and then scored twice more in the seventh.

UNK did get a solo homer from freshman Cassie Keck, her sixth of the year, with sophomore Kelsey Smith going 2 for 2 with two runs scored.

Swanberg, fanning nine and walking just two, improved to 6-6 by throwing a complete game six-hitter.

Pueblo recorded 12 hits in the second game and scored four in the third, three in the fifth and four more in the sixth. Nuanez hit another two-run homer with Aldrich going 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Finally, first baseman Kristin Krueger had a two-run shot in the sixth.

Swanberg threw the first three innings, all scoreless, to earn another win. Keck (2 for 3) had two of UNK's three hits in the game.

Finally, the T-Wolves had 11 hits in the third game, three coming from left fielder Kari Romero and two off of Aldrich's bat. Aldrich got things started with a two run homer in the first with third baseman Katie Johnson (3 for 3, two runs) later adding a triple and a solo homer.

Amber Higby went the distance for CSUP, allowing just six hits and a walk. Colorado senior Molly Langerak went 2 for 4 to pace the Lopers.