BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Fireworks followed a memorable Great Bend Bat Cats 13-1 victory Tuesday over the U.S. Military War Dogs, a traveling baseball team which supports Freedom Service Working Dogs.
Baseball was secondary to tributes for military members, a pregame flag ceremony and a postgame handshake line. The War Dogs are current and prior service members who compete in summer baseball exhibitions. Each team is dedicated to a particular mission.
Great Bend's Kyler Horsman singled, doubled and drove in three runs. Joey Marker singled, doubled and drove in two runs.
Jhett Creel, Horsman and Marker delivered RBIs in a 6-run first inning. Creel and Anthony Capobianco scored on wild pitches and Cooper Smith scored on an error. Capobianco doubled home Smith in the second inning. Kade Goeke scored on Marker's fifth-inning single.
Horsman's 2-run double was preceded by Jesse Ponce, Garrett Ninness, Carson Umphres in a 5-run seventh-inning for a 13-1 lead.
The Bat Cats (16-9) featured pitchers from the Great Bend Bombers summer baseball team to preserve pitching. Five pitchers threw shutout baseball, highlighted by a near-perfect 4-pitch seventh inning by Tiger Johnson. The Bombers struck out seven consecutive batters.
Third baseman Goeke and shortstop Ponce turned dazzling defensive plays on groundballs by R.J. Vaughan. Ruger Beck scored the War Dogs' first-inning run on a double steal.
HAYSVILLE 10, BAT CATS 6 – From the first inning when pitcher Andrew McCarthy hit back-to-back batters with 2-strike counts, to eight errors, the Bat Cats endured a forgettable night in a nightmarish 10-6 setback to Haysville Wednesday.
The eight errors led to six unearned runs off McCarthy (2-1) and reliever Tyler Stuhlsatz. Five Haysville runners scored after reaching base without a base hit.
Christian Amman singled in Anthony Capobianco in the second inning. Bat Cats sliced a 7-1 deficit to 7-6 with a 5-run seventh inning. Capobianco singled in Jesse Ponce and Cooper Smith. Ponce singled in Ammann. Kyler Horsman forced home Kade Goeke on a walk. Horsman scored on an error, but Capobianco was picked off at third base by pitcher Garrick Levesque.
Back-to-back Bat Cat errors with two out led to Jackson Bell's 2-run ninth-inning single. Bell and Cody Moore each drove home three runs.
Haysville scored two first-inning runs without a hit. Three seventh-inning runs scored when third baseman Kyle Walker misplayed Brock Lukewicz's bunt and a relay from Garrett Ninness was wild.
Haysville 202 000 303 – 10 10 2
GB Bat Cats 010 000 500 – 6 9 8
Senne, Gutierrez (7), Levesque (7) and Norris (9) and Moore. McCarthy, Stuhlsatz (7) and George. W–Senne, 2-1. L–McCarthy, 2-1. 2B–H–Carpenter 2,
War Dogs 100 000 000 – 1 4 5
GB Bat Cats 000 000 00x – 13 13 0
Casas, Butler (4), Kell (8) and Soski, Beck (4). Moore, Graham (3), French (4), Kaiser (5), Johnson (6), Herrman (8) and Creel, George (5). W–Moore, 1-0. L–Casas. 2B–Capobianco, Goeke, Horsman.
JAYHAWK COLLEGIATE
2ND HALF/OVERALL
Hutchinson Monarchs 9-2 20-7
Derby Twins 6-2 19-8
Wichita Dirtbags 5-2 7-12
Kansas Cannons 5-4 18-9
GB Bat Cats 5-4 17-10
Kingman Islanders 3-3 9-12
Haysville Aviators 3-7 17-11
Newton Rebels 1-7 4-20
Diamond Kings 1-7 4-17
MONDAY–Bat Cats 13, War Dogs 1; Monarchs 8, Newton 6
TUESDAY–Haysville 10, Bat Cats 6; Dirtbags 10, Derby 1; Monarchs 3, Cannons 1
WEDNESDAY–Bat Cats 9, Haysville 0; Dirtbags at Derby; Monarchs 15, Newton 2; Kingman def. Diamond Kings
THURSDAY–Dirtbags at Bat Cats; Wellington at Derby; Cannons at Newton
