By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
After dropping a 10-run decision to Hays in Tuesday's first game Washburn Rural's baseball team was three innings away from potentially earning a split before the second game was suspended due to darkness
The Junior Blues took a 14-4 loss in game one but had a 15-5 lead in the second game before the umpires suspended the game in the top of the third inning.
Before the second game was suspended, Washburn Rural, a 6A state qualifier last spring, was able to see some promising offense.
Ty Weber had four runs batted in, while Keaton Catlin drove in two runs.
“We were more aggressive and patient at the plate than we had been,” Washburn Rural coach Jay Mastin said. “We were able to get the bases loaded and take a lot of walks. Our guys did well with runners on base and were able to hit the ball out to the outfield. The offense was a lot better in the second game.”
Hays, third in 5A last season, walked 10 Washburn Rural batters through two innings. The traffic on the base paths was the key for the Junior Blues to have an 11-run second inning.
The first game wasn’t as kind to Washburn Rural as the second one.
The offense got started early for the Indians. In the top of the second inning, Tennessee commit Dylan Dreiling hit a grand slam over the right-field fence.
Washburn Rural would come back with some offense of its own in the bottom of the third as Weber cleared the bases with a three-run double to bring the Junior Blues within one run.
After the third inning, runs weren’t easy to get for Washburn Rural against Hays pitcher Carson Spray.
“We had a hard time putting a swing on anything,” Mastin said. “We had about four or five guys go down looking on strikes. Putting the bat on the ball was a challenge for us in the first game.”
Junior Blue southpaw Colin Redeker would come on in relief and did a solid job.
Collectively, things would trend more in the right direction for Hays in the top of the fifth inning. Garrett Wellbrock and Dalton Dale would drive in four runners off of two singles and a runner would score on a walk.
Washburn Rural would score a run in the bottom of the sixth off of a wild pitch and were five runs away from tying the Indians.
Hays would come back and demolish the baseball in the top of the seventh inning. Bradyn Dreher and Gage Porter both had singles, driving in a combined four runs.
“(Hays) had a lot of guys load up the bases in the first game which wasn’t good for us,” Mastin said. “The bases were loaded almost every inning and we had to keep pitching out of trouble. If you put that many guys on you will get burned a few times.”
Washburn Rural will host Centennial League foe Manhattan on Friday.
First game
HAYS 14, WASHBURN RURAL 4
Hays (3-0) 040 050 5 – 14 8 1
Washburn Rural (2-2) 003 001 0 – 4 3 2
W – Spray (1-0). L – M. Bettis (0-1). 2B – Hays: Dreiling, Porter. Washburn Rural: Weber. HR – Hays: Dreiling.
Second game (suspended)
WASHBURN RURAL 15, HAYS 5
Hays 230 – 5 3 1
Washburn Rural 4(11)x – 15 8 0
