BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
BUHLER — Great Bend Braves pitcher Trey Milsap praised third baseman Slade Mohr for his defensive brilliance to preserve his no-hitter.
Hutchinson Trinity's Anthony Ventura hit a topped grounder that Mohr handled perfectly to complete an 11-0 shutout of the Celtics in Friday's Buhler/Hutchinson Tournament. Mohr came up big after Sam Vogel reached on a 2-out error to put two Trinity runners on base.
"That was a great defensive play," Milsap said. "I give all the credit to Slade. It's all good."
Milsap worked ahead with an effective fastball and mixed in a breaking pitch to keep Trinity's batters off balance. Kaid McElgunn reached base on a fourth-inning walk to break up a perfect game.
"My fastball was my main pitch tonight," said Milsap. "My curveball, I call it a slurve, a mix of a slider and curve, was working good."
Milsap threw his first no-hitter this spring against the Garden City junior varsity team.
Milsap led the offense with a single, double and three runs batted home. Trenton Kern doubled twice and drove in a run with a trio of hits.
Mohr and Kern ignited a 5-run first inning with RBI hits. Carson Poe hit a sacrifice fly and Eli Soupiset's single scored Milsap for a 5-0 lead.
Milsap started a 5-run second inning with a 2-run double. Kern scored on a wild pitch. Soupiset hit a sacrifice fly and Colin Saffa's single Peyden Oelger for a 10-0 lead. Jaxon Wondra scored the 11th run when Milsap struck out.
WICHITA SELECT 6, BRAVES 4 — Wichita Select, a Wichita Heights summer team, rallied with a 3-run sixth inning. Select delivered four hits after Braves pitcher Mohr threw 1-hit baseball for five innings.
Caleb Cross singled home Cooper Oakley to start a 3-run sixth inning. Brady Jackson stole home. Braden Heitsmann singled home Cross for a 6-4 lead. Select stole six bases.
The Braves scored four first-inning runs. Minton singled and scored on a wild pitch. Mohr scored on a wild pitch. Milsap scored on a passed ball. Kern scored on Oelger's single.
Wichita Select's Kasch Oakley scored on a first-inning groundout. D Needham scored on a wild pitch. Landon Joynt scored on a groundout for a 4-3 score.
BUHLER NATIONALS 7, BRAVES 0 — A 2-out error opened the door for a 7-0 Buhler Nationals victory over the Great Bend Braves. Starter Carson Poe was nearly through three innings, but Carter Jones scored on an error. Cash Carson scored on Jacob Miller's single. Mitchel McDaniel scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead.
Eli White's fourth-inning single scored Carter Jones and Junior Gentry. White scored on McDaniel's single for a 6-0 lead. White scored on McDaniel's sixth-inning double for a 7-0 final.
Great Bend's Oelger and Milsap doubled off Buhler pitcher Jeffrey O'Neill. Braves Jaxon Wondra, Neill retired Aiden Hekele and Mohr to strand Oelger and Milsap at second base. Mohr and Saffa grounded into double plays. Daxton Minton was thrown out stealing in the first inning.
Braves shortstop Minton and rightfielder Hekele turned double plays in the first two innings.
BRAVES 9, JUNCTION CITY 1 — The Braves turned four walks and four hit batters into a 9-run second inning to roll past the Junction City Blue Jays 9-1 Saturday. Pitcher Minton (1-0) struck out five batters and threw a 3-hitter in an 87-pitch performance.
Poe doubled in Oelger to ignite a 9-run inning. Hekele scored on a groundout. Poe scored on an Eli Contreras double. Minton and Kern forced home runs on back-to-back hit-by-pitches. Oelger's walk forced a run home. Minton and Oelger scored on passed balls. Kern scored on an error for a 9-0 lead.
Third baseman Hekele turned a first-inning double play on a Abdullah Harris groundball.
Hutchinson Trinity 000 0 — 0 0 2
GB Braves 551 x — 11 10 1
Vogel, Zambo (2) and Schroeder. Milsap and Saffa. W—Milsap, 1-0. L—Vogel. 2B—GB—Trenton Kern 2, Milsap.
GB Braves 400 000 0 — 4 2 1
Wichita Select 300 003 x — 6 6 2
Wondra, Mohr (1) and Saffa. Aaron, Jackson (1) and Needham. W—Jackson. L—Mohr, 0-1. 2B—WS—Jackson.
GB Braves 000 000 0 — 0 5 2
Buhler Nationals 003 301 x — 7 8 0
Poe, Hekele (5) and Saffa. Neill and Jared Miller. W—Neill, 1-0. L—Poe, 0-1. .2B—GB—Oelger, Milsap; BN—McDaniel, Jared Miller.
GB Braves 090 00 — 9 4 1
JC Blue Jays 000 10 — 1 3 1
Minton and Milsap. Gomez, Buchanon (3) and Dedrick. W—Minton, 1-0. L—Gomez. 2B—GB—Poe, Contreras; JC—Walker.
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