The Beloit Hornets American Legion baseball team opened out “AA” State Tournament play on Wednesday in Marysville against defending state champion Ottawa. The Hornets fought strong, but ultimately fell short of Ottawa by a count of 4-2.

Ottawa got out to a 3-0 lead, scoring one run in each the first, second and third innings. In the bottom fo the the fourth inning, Beloit inched closer, scoring 2 runs, as Casey Smith got things started with a walk after the first two batters of the inning were retired. After Smith walked, Lane Koster drove him home with a double, and Koster was brought home by a Colin Loomis triple.

The two runs in the fourth would be all Beloit would tally, as Ottawa added another run in the top of the fifth to finish with the 4-2 win. Zach Brummer pitched 6 innings for Beloit, allowing 6 hits, and 4 runs, 2 of which were earned. Brummer also struck out five Ottawa batters, but walked six in the loss.

Ottawa improved to 30-5 with the win, while Beloit fell to 25-8 after the loss. The Hornets will now move onto the loser’s bracket where they will face Ellis at 10:00 on Thursday morning in Marysville. Ellis was dispatched by Doniphan County in the first round, 10-0 in six innings. Fans can hear the game on KD Country 94 and on the web at www.kdcountry94.com. Pregame will be around 9:50 and first pitch at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.