by Justin Fluke-Kanzaland Radio

Falls City and Doniphan County won first round games at the NEK League Tournament Thursday in Sabetha. Logan Faller picked up his second win against Hiawatha to propel Falls City to a 4-2 win while Doniphan County rallied from a six-run-deficit to win their legion opener 13-7 against Centralia.

At Somerset Park, Falls City got a two-out two-run hit by Trevor Harling in the first and never trailed. After Hiawatha scored a run in the second they pulled within a run in the fifth on doubles by Jereme Jones and Taylor Olson before Falls City added the final tally in the sixth on three of the five Hiawatha errors. Gabe Noll allowed just two earned runs in six innings and struck out nine and Hiawatha fell to 0-4 on the season. Falls City is 4-2 and will meet Doniphan County in the first semifinal Saturday at 5:00 PM.

Centralia jumped to a 6-0 lead in the first on consecutive RBI hits by Patrick Bramhall, Tyler Glatzcak and Nathan Hollis and Derek Surdez carried a no-hitter into the fourth. Justin Hawkins led off with a double a DC scored six runs on five hits before adding six more runs on four hits in the fifth to take a 12-6 lead. Starter Brennan Wehner held on through four innings to get the wins while Jerad Hawkins pitched one-hit ball over the final three frames and also scored three runs. The 8-10 hitters for Doniphan County (Brett Dunlap, Ryan Barker and Wehner) led the offense going a combined 7-11 with 8 RBI. David Heideman pitched the final three plus innings for Centralia while Hollis and Phil Steinloge each had two hits in the loss dropping Post 216 to 5-2 on the year. Centralia will play Hiawatha at 12:00 Saturday in the consolation bracket.