The Melons, after a massive win against Valparaiso on July 13, were set for a fierce rematch with rivals Holdrege in the B-6 Area Tournament last week. This time, the rematch would be win twice or go home for the Melons, where Holdrege had room to lose one game.
In the first game, the Melons, as the home team, originally elected for William McVay to be the pitcher, but after McVay struggled with arm pain, the Melons elected to pitch Callen Johnson. Johnson had pitched twice already during this tournament and had seen success in both games. Johnson got the Melons started off by recording the first three outs of the game after a weak back-door single to right field. This gave the Melons some momentum as Johnson dug in to lead off in the bottom of the first.
Johnson struck out, but Jaxon Earll …