By Dale Miller
dale.miller@theindependent.com

Due to miserably cold conditions, the scheduled doubleheader against Lincoln East was reduced to one game.

And the Islanders found a way to gut out a 7-5 victory in that game.

Grand Island scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning without the benefit of a hit to take the lead for good.

"The conditions were definitely tough," G.I. coach Rick Kissack said. "They absolutely affected play on the field. It hurt the quick movement you use in baseball."

Wind chills in the lower 20s seemed to slow up both teams and led to missed opportunities. East (4-3) stranded 11 baserunners and the Islanders (4-5) left 10 on.

But the home team got the job done when it needed to in the fifth. Trailing 3-2, Grand Island got 10 batters to the plate without a hit.

The big play came with two on and one out. A dropped third strike on Brandon Tjaden forced a throw to first, and Luke Farrar came home on the play. A bad throw to home also allowed Nathan Zook to score to put the Islanders ahead.

Grand Island added two more runs in the inning on bases-loaded walks.

"Tjaden got out of the (batter's) box to avoid the tag and force the throw," Kissack said. "Luke and Nathan kicked into a higher gear to get around (and score)."

After finally taking the lead, the Islanders were determined to maintain the advantage.

"We knew once we got the score (in our favor) that we had a good chance," said Zook, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. "This is a good win. It was a tough environment."

The Islanders' pitchers helped the team overcome four errors and secure the win. Kirby Wells earned the win by going six innings. He gave up five runs two earned on nine hits, struck out five and walked one.

Dylan Meier pitched the seventh to earn the save.

"Kirby Wells pitched great," Kissack said. "Dylan is now 2-for-2 in his last two save opportunities. He's got that three-quarters pitching motion we like to have in our program."

Wells had 94 pitches, but he was willing to go longer even in the cold conditions.

"My arm doesn't get that sore," he said. "Even though I had 94 pitches, I could have come back (in the seventh) if they needed me."

Still, it was far from perfect pitching conditions.

"It was very tough," Wells said. "I wanted to get out there and get back in (to the dugout) as quickly as possible. I wanted to rely on the defense behind me more than trying to get strikeouts. Quick innings were the key."

Quick innings was the area where the Spartans fell short. They used five pitchers in the game, including three to get out of the fifth.

"We knew we had to play good defense," Zook said. "Kirby threw good. We knew if we made the plays we could get the win."

Zach Smith and Alex Lux each had three of Lincoln East's nine hits.

Slade Bolles went 3-for-3 with a walk for the Islanders, who host Omaha Creighton Prep on Saturday.

"We have a tough one on Saturday," Kissack said. "Creighton Prep is one of the state's best. We'll see how we do against them."

Lincoln East (4-3) 102 002 05 9 4

Grand Island (4-5) 002 041 x7 6 4

WWells. LZillig. SvMeier. 2BLincoln East, Thurber, Lux.