GREAT BEND, Kan. – The Great Bend Bat Cats defeated the Kansas Cannons 3-2 at home Sunday, July 13, thanks to a walk-off two-run home run by recent Great Bend High School graduate Carson Umphres.
The two teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday, but it was postponed due to severe weather in the area. The doubleheader will now be played Wed., July 16. Sunday’s baseball resurgence saw a duel between two pitching staffs.
The Cannons got on the board with an RBI single in the top of the 2nd, but Great Bend hit the equalizer in the 3rd on a Peanut Brazzle RBI double. Both teams were unable to cross the plate until the 7th when the Cannons had an RBI single to take a 2-1 lead.
The Cannons came into the bottom of the 9th with their closer on the mound. He retired the first two batters via a strikeout and lineout, but Luke Nohinek kept the game alive with a double with two outs and a full count. Five pitches later, Carson Umphres saved the day with a two-run home run to left field, winning the game in walk-off fashion 3-2.
Elijah Lang started the game, throwing 6 2/3 great innings with six strikeouts. Owen Kaiser gets the win keeping the game scoreless in the final 2 1/3 innings. The Bat Cats struck out a total of 12 times and had five hits offensively.
The Bat Cats are currently in a ‘Race for 2nd Place’, as a 2nd place finish in the Jayhawk Collegiate League would punch their ticket to the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series in Wichita. The Hutchinson Monarchs have already won the league title, but they were already scheduled to participate in the NBC World Series after finishing as national runners-up in 2024. The race to finish in 2nd will likely go all the way to the finish line on July 18.
There are currently four teams looking to finish in 2nd, all of which are within two games of each other:
Standings with League Record:
- Hutchinson Monarchs (23-5)
- Derby Twins (17-10)
- Junction City Brigade (17-11) (0.5 GB of 2nd)
- Great Bend Bat Cats (15-11) (1.5 GB of 2nd)
- Haysville Aviators (15-12) (2.0 GB of 2nd)
The Bat Cats are 16-12 overall on the season, 15-11 vs. league opponents. They will be on the road against the Haysville Aviators at 7 p.m. Monday, July 14.
