LAWRENCE – The Great Bend Bombers 16-and-under baseball team swept five consecutive games playing their best baseball of the summer to capture the Lawrence World Series Tournament. The Bombers defeated the Meriden Mammoth Rattlers 9-4 in the championship game at the University of Kansas.
The Bombers (15-7-2) outscored teams 55-11 in five tournament games. The Bombers travel to Oklahoma City next weekend.
BOMBERS 9, MERIDEN MAMMOTH RATTLERS 4 — The Bombers scored eight consecutive runs after trailing 4-1 to rout the Rattlers for the second consecutive game. Reliever Carson Umphres and Hunter Herrman combined for 11 strikeouts to overpower the Rattlers. The Bombers scored seven unearned runs, thanks to four Rattler errors.
Owen Ruge’s single scored Brady Heinen to give the Rattlers a 1-0 lead. Parker Busenitz scored on Madden Seidl’s second-inning double for a 2-0 lead. Great Bend’s Ian Premer scored on an error. Rattlers Cooper Watkins and Collin Kearney delivered RBI hits for a 4-1 lead after 31/2 innings.
The Bombers swung the momentum with a 5-run fourth inning. Campbell Coleman drilled a 2-run single and Umphreys and Ian Premer added RBIs for a 6-4 lead. The Bombers added three insurance runs on RBIs by Daxton Minton and Hunter Herrman and Umphres scored on an error.
Batting averages for the tournament were Cooper Johnson, 6-8, .750; Umphres, 9-13, .692; Coleman, 3-5, .600; Koehn Ribordy, 7-12, .583; J.J. Grove, 4-8, .500; Herrman, 4-9, .444; Premer, 3-9, .444; Lane French, 4-10, .400; Owen Kaiser, 4-13, .385; Carter Graham, 3-11, .273; Minton, 2-8, 2.50; Trenton Kern, 3-13, 214.
BOMBERS 11, MAMMOTH RATTLERS 4 — The Bombers busted the game open with a 6-run sixth inning to earn the No. 1 seed with a 4-0 record and 46-7 run differential.
Ribordy, Kern and Kaiser each drove home three runs. Johnson and Umphrey each drove home a run. Kaiser hit a 2-run double and Kern hit a 2-run single in the sixth inning.
BOMBERS 15, LENEXA A&H RAVENS 0 — Kaiser sprinted around the bases for an inside-the-park homer to clinch a 15-run rule victory. Kaiser drove home four runs.
Pitchers Johnson and French combined for a 3-inning no-hitter.
Ribordy and Graham each drove home two runs. Premer, Grove, Coleman, Herrman drove home runs.
BOMBERS 12, SHAWNEE JONES BARNES 3 — Premer drove home four runs and Herrman drove in three runs to spark a victory. Umphres drove home two runs.
BOMBERS 8, LAWRENCE FREE STATE 0 — Minton threw five shutout innings with two strikeouts. Kern, Premer and Graham each drove home two runs.
French scored on a passed ball for the first run and a wild pitch to end the ballgame.
Johnson scored on a fourth-inning groundout. Graham’s single scored Grove and Herrman. Umphres scored on Kern’s single and Kern scored on a Grove fly ball. Premer singled home Minton for a 7-0 lead.
Meriden Mammoth 110 200 0 – 4 8 4
GB Bombers 010 503 x – 9 11 1
Watkins, Seidl (6) and Seidl, Kearney (6). Herrman, Umphres (4) and Kaiser. W–Umphres, 2-1. 2B–GB–Umphres; MR–Watkins, Seidl.
Meriden Mammoth 001 030 – 4 5 0
GB Bombers 200 216 – 11 16 0
Ruge, Rusco (6) Busenitz (6) and Seidl. Graham, Johnson (6) and Kaiser. W–Graham, 1-0. 2B–GB–Ribordy 2, Kaiser; MR–Beilman. 3B–GB–Umphrey.
Lenexa Ravens 000 – 0 0 2
GB Bombers 717 – 15 11 0
Vogrin, Seoteart (2) and Jones. Johnson, French (3) and Kaiser. W–Johnson, 1-0. 2B–GB–Kaiser, Graham. 3B–GB–Coleman. HR–GB–Kaiser.
Free State 000 000 – 0 2 1
GB Bombers 100 331 – 8 7 0
Peters, Wiedeman (6) and Smith. Minton, Johnson (6) and Kaiser. W—Minton, 1-1. L—Peters. 2B—GB—Umphres, Ribordy.
Jones Barnes 003 00 – 3 2 1
GB Bombers 143 04 – 12 9 0
Robertson, Peterson (3), Gray (5) and Smith. Ribordy and Kaiser. W—Ribordy, 4-0. 3B—GB—Premer.
