Bats Cats shock Derby in 14 innings

BY JIM MISUNAS

jmisunas@gbtribune.com

The longest baseball game in Great Bend Bat Cat history delivered an epic ending.

A.J. Mustow drew a walkoff walk to score Alex Rodgers with the game-winning run for a 4-3 Sunflower Collegiate League victory over Derby. Reliever Eli Bullard walked Mustow after pitcher Tanner Warady was thrown out of the game with the bases loaded in the 14th inning.

Warady barely missed catching a broken-bat pop fly by Kyle Gates. Third baseman Brett Burrell picked up the baseball and tried to tag Rodgers, who ran past third base. Rodgers was called safe. When Warady complained, he was thrown out by umpire Brian Davis with two out and the bases loaded.

The relief pitching was downright brilliant in the 41/2-hour marathon. The Twins threw 10 consecutive scoreless innings. The Bat Cats matched them with nine scoreless frames.

Bat Cat Brett Allen threw five shutout innings with six strikeouts. Cade McWilliams threw 22/3 shutout innings. Derby's Telo Arsiaga, Coleson Syring and Warady combined for seven scoreless innings heading to the 14th inning.

"You go out there and attack the next guy," Allen said. "You treat it like the ninth. Each inning was the same mentally. It was a great team effort."

The showdown went scoreless for eight innings after Derby tied it 3-3 on Kirkland Trahan's fifth-inning sacrifice fly that scored Pat Hackworth.

Derby struck for two first-inning runs. Hackworth scored on a bases-loaded walk. Trahan scored on a Brett Burrell sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead

The Bat Cats rallied for a 3-2 lead. Colter Maldanado doubled home Mustow, who doubled in the second inning. A third-inning error by Derby's Trevor Baugh handed the Bat Cats two runs. Bodi Wallar doubled home Zane Spinn. Kyle Gates singled home Wallar.

Great Bend missed a golden opportunity in the 10th inning when Alex Rodgers, Bodi Wallar and Kyle Gates made outs to strand JoJo Nieves at third base.

Derby's biggest lost opportunity came when Derek Winn was called out at home in the third inning by umpire Hunter Fitzpatrick on an extremely close call. Winn tried to use a pop-up slide, but appeared to stop short of home plate.

Great Bend (22-8, 18-7) stays two games ahead of Derby (16-9) heading to Friday's rematch.

Derby 200 010 000 000 00 – 3 6 2

GB Bat Cats 012 000 000 000 01 – 4 7 2

Broughton, Arsiaga (7), Syring (9), Warady (11), Bullard (14) and Baker. Tower, McWilliams (6), Brett Allen (9), Powell (14) and Schumacher. W–Powell. L–Warady. 2B–GB–Mustow, Maldanado, Wallar; D–Hackworth.

SUNFLOWER COLLEGIATE

Cheney 22-3

Hutchinson 19-6

Great Bend 18-7

Derby 16-9

Newton 11-7

Haysville 11-11

Kingman 8-15

Wichita Lobos 6-16

Mulvane 1-20

316 Elite 0-18

7-8—Great Bend at Derby; Hutchinson at Kingman; Newton at Cheney; Elite at Lobos (2)