GREAT BEND, Kan. – The Great Bend Bat Cats were at home Thurs., June 26, defeating the Kingman Islanders in walk-off fashion 6-5.
| TEAM: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||
| Kingman: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 | |||
| Great Bend: | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
The Cats had a strong start to the game, scoring in just their third at-bat. Following a walk by Peanut Brazzle, he would steal 2nd base then advance on a ground out. He would then score on an RBI groundout by Deacon Pomeroy.
Following three two shutout innings, Great Bend would get two runners on base on a walk and an error. With two outs, Carson Umphres would hit a double to drive the runners home. Umphres would later score on two passed balls, making it 4-0.
Kingman then lit a fire in the top of the 5th, leading off with a home run to put themselves on the board. three hits and a walk later, Kingman tied the game at 4-4. Great Bend bounced back to get a run back in the 7th inning though, as Logan Renken led off with a double, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Brazzle.
With Great Bend holding a 5-4 lead going into the 9th, Kingman would get a man on second base on an error with one out. One pitch later, Owen Schmidt of the Islanders tied the game on an RBI single. Jacob Field would get the next two outs on a strikeout and a groundout to keep the game tied.
Great Bend started the bottom of the 9th inning hot after Joey Marker and Renken hit singles to lead off. Umphres would advance the batters on a sacrifice bunt, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out. With first base open, Kingman intentionally walked Brazzle to put forces at every base. That would not be necessary though, as on a full count Kyle Walker singled to center field, scoring Marker to win the game 6-5.
The Bat Cats had eight hits in total, led by Renken and Walker who had two hits apiece. Umphres led with two RBI’s on the game. Tyler Clementz got the start on the mound, earning the no-decision after throwing five innings, allowing four earned runs, and striking out four batters. Tyler Stuhlsatz threw 3 1/3 innings giving up an unearned run and having three strikeouts. Jacob Field earned the win, throwing the final 2/3 inning.
The Bat Cats are now 11-6 on the season and sit in 2nd place in Jayhawk Collegiate League standings, just 1.5 games behind the Hutchinson Monarchs. They’re on the road Fri., June 27 against the Newton Rebels.
