BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
WICHITA — The Great Bend Bat Cats went down battling.
The Cheney Diamond Dawgs survived the Bat Cats’ patented late-game rallies with a 10-8 victory that eliminated Great Bend from the NBC World Series Wednesday. In the final three innings, the Bat Cats had the game-tying batter up to the plate.
“We had a chance and kept battling, and that’s all you can ask,” said Great Bend coach Roger Ward. “They left it all on the field. A couple breaks today, and we’re playing baseball tomorrow.”
The Bat Cats (30-19) tied for fifth at the NBC World Series. They defeated Wichita 316 Elite, the Sunflower Collegiate champion Hutchinson Monarchs and the Wichita 316 Sluggers, the Sunflower Collegiate runner-up.
“We got over the hump and finished higher in the NBC than we ever have,” Ward said. “This team has a special place in my heart. It’s a good bunch of baseball players. They liked each other and played baseball for each other. They made it a good experience.”
After playing clean baseball, the Bat Cats committed three errors and missed a chance to throw a baserunner out. The Bat Cats yielded four unearned runs and gave up eight baserunners on walks, hit batters and errors at Riverfront Stadium.
“You can only give up so many of those,” Ward said. “It caught up with us and we didn’t climb out of it. It cost us.”
Great Bend’s Austin Bonnel singled in Nolan Riley and Zane Spinn and Bonnel scored on an error for a 3-0 lead. Jaxson Syring’s homer drove in Caleb Farmer after a walk for a 3-2 score.
Two errors keyed Cheney’s five-run fourth inning. Gavin Rogers, Ryan Koval and Ed Scott scored on errors. Koval hit an RBI single and Scott’s perfect bunt scored Syring for a 7-3 lead.
Nolan Riley’s single scored Kyle Gates and Riley scored on a fifth-inning error for a 7-5 score. Bat Cats first baseman Micah Grover had Rogers in jeopardy off second base, but his early throw enabled Rogers to escape a rundown. Koval’s single scored Rogers for an 8-5 lead.
Bat Cat Alex Rodgers scored on a seventh-inning wild pitch and Jordan Maxson doubled home Spinn for an 8-7 score. Cheney made it 10-7 when Ed Scott delivered an RBI single and Andrew Brautman scored on a balk.
Maxson singled home Riley in the ninth inning. But Cheney reliever Conner Holden retired Bonnel on a long fly ball to end the Bat Cats’ 2021 season.
Leading the Bat Cats’ batting during the NBC World Series were Maxson (9-18, .500); Riley (9-22, .409); Gates (6-17, .353); and Spinn (7-22, .318 ).
GB Bat Cats 300 020 201 – 8 11 3
Cheney 020 510 11x – 10 11 4
Ebert, Maley (6), Tourney (8) and Allen. Gifford, Jacobs (6), Gillig (8), Holden (9) and Farmer. W–Gifford. L–Ebert, 0-1. Sv–Holden. 2B–GB–Gates, Maxson; C–Epp, Ashby, Rogers, Brautman. HR–C–Syring.
2021 NBC WORLD SERIES
WICHITA RIVERFRONT STADIUM
8-14–G30–Santa Barbara (Calif). 14, Austin Lonestar, Texas 1
8-12–G29–Austin, Texas 7, Cheney Diamond Dawgs 5
8-12–G28–Cheney 11, Hays Larks 1; G27–Santa Barbara 8, Austin, Texas 0
8-11–G25–Hays 8, Seattle Studs 1; G26–Cheney 10, Great Bend Bat Cats 8
8-10–G23–Seattle 10, Derby Twins 3; G24–Great Bend Bat Cats 5, Hutchinson Monarchs 4
8-9–G21–Santa Barbara 7, Hays Larks 5; G22–Lonestar 7, Cheney 0
HUTCHINSON, HOBART DETTER
8-8–G18–Derby 10, Mid-Crest (Ill.) 4; G17–Seattle Studs 6, Waco (Texas) 3; G20–Great Bend Bat Cats 9, Sluggers 1; G19–Hutchinson 10, Liberal 2
8-7–G9–Waco 16, Puerto Rico 11; G10–Mid-Crest 11, San Diego Stars 3; G14–Hays 13, Hutchinson 1; G13–Santa Barbara 9, Sluggers 4
8-6–G11–Liberal 11, Boulder (Colo.) Collegians 3; G12–Great Bend Bat Cats 13, Sluggers 0; G15–Cheney 15, Derby 7; G16–Lonestar 10, Seattle 8
8-5–G2--Wichita Sluggers 11, Puerto Rico 1; G3–Hays 16, Mid-Crest 8; G4–Hutchinson 4, San Diego 3; G1–Santa Barbara 14, Waco 0
8-4–G5–Cheney 9, Boulder 4; G6–Derby 5, Liberal 4; G7–Lonestar 7, Great Bend Bat Cats 5; G8–Seattle 14, Wichita 316 Elite 0
