BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend's crafty lefthander Matt Nedved was on fire. Nedved threw a 1-hit shutout, struck out seven batters and retired 15 consecutive batters, thanks to a nifty double-play. The Bat Cats roared past Wichita 316 Elite 15-0 in Tuesday's Sunflower Collegiate League opener. The Bat Cats (12-1, 8-0) doubled their fun with a 13-1 victory in the nightcap at Al Burns Memorial Field.
BAT CATS 15, 316 ELITE 0 (G1) — Nedved (1-0) yielded a topped infield single to Tytin Goebel, then recorded 15 outs without another hit. Second baseman Hunter Gotreaux and shortstop Raithen Malone turned Goebel's groundball into a third-inning double play.
316 Elite pitcher Chayse Gruber, from Great Bend, endured a nightmarish first-inning as the Bat Cats scored 10 runs. The visitors committed a trio of errors that cost Gruber dearly.
Kyle Gates sparked the Bat Cats' offense with a 2-run triple and four RBIs. Hunter Gotreaux drilled a 3-run homer and A.J. Mustow also homered.
In the first frame, Dawson French ripped a 2-run single and Gates hit a 2-run triple. Gates, Si Schumacher, Alex Rodgers and Simon Larranaga also delivered RBI singles for a 10-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Mustow led off with a homer. Gotreaux brought home Malone and French on a 3-run homer. Rodgers scored on a Gates' groundout for the 15th run.
BAT CATS 13, 316 ELITE 1 — Bat Cat Dre Amaral capped a 7-run fourth inning with a 3-run homer to spark a run-rule victory.
Riley Silva tripled and scored on a Bodi Wallar sacrifice fly. Dawson French singled home Connor Allen and Colby Christian in the first inning. Christian doubled home Amaral and Silva in a 3-run third inning. Wallar scored on Colter Maldanado's single.
Wallar and Maldanado delivered RBI singles and Brady Kreutzer singled home Maldanado and French in a 7-run fourth inning. Amaral's homer drove home Kreutzer and JoJo Nieves.
Pitchers Matthew Howell and Cade McWilliams combined for a 1-hitter.
316 Elite 000 00 — 0 1 4
GB Bat Cats (10)00 5x — 15 13 0
Gruber, Clark (1), French (4), Coss (4) and Epp. Nedved and Schumacher. W—Nedved, 1-0. L—Gruber. 2B—GB—Rodgers, Larranaga. HR—Gates, Gotreaux, Mustow.
316 Elite 001 00 — 1 1 2
GB Bat Cats 303 7x — 13 11 0
Doty, Hernandez (3), Turner (4) and Wentling. Howell, McWilliams (5) and Allen. W—Howell, 2-0. L—31. 2B—GB—Christian 2. 3B—GB—Silva. HR—Amaral.