By JIM MISUNAS
The inaugural baseball game for the Great Bend Bat Cats was treated like a Broadway debut.
An appreciative crowd clapped politely for the Bat Cats, who battled the Hays Larks tough in Friday’s 2-0 opening loss at Al Burns Field. The Bat Cats responded with friendly waves to the fans. Great Bend returns home at 7 p.m. Sunday to play Hays.
“We appreciated the support we received,” said Bat Cats coach Roger Ward. “The fans appreciated our effort. It was fun playing pretty good baseball tonight.”
The grand opening drew several hundred fans, who saw why Bat Cats pitcher Jarrett Seaton earned Pitcher of the Year honors in the Jayhawk Conference.
Seaton threw 62/3 innings and yielded no earned runs while baffling the Hays Larks, last year’s NBC World Series runner-up. The lefthander mixed a sharp-breaking curveball with accurate fastball accuracy for three-hit baseball.
“That will be a typical start for Jarrett Seaton because he’s a quality pitcher,” Ward said.
Bat Cats centerfielder Mateo Zunica earned the fans’ applause with a running fifth-inning catch against the centerfield fence and a diving sixth-inning catch. Third baseman Dawson Pomeroy delivered a fourth-inning defensive gem.
But the Bat Cats were scoreless in the hard-fought 2-0 loss to Hays. The Bat Cats saw four baserunners reach second base.
The toughest play of the night occurred when Jordan Wilkerson’s leadoff sixth-inning double ended with an out at third base. A relay throw from second baseman Jon Soberanes sailed high to third baseman Alex Weiss, but Wilkerson was ruled out on a close play.
“I thought Jordan was safe, but the umpire had a better angle on the call,” Ward said.
The teams traded scoring opportunities until the ninth inning. Bat Cats sparkplug Michael Sinks, who singled twice, advanced to third base in the first and third innings. Pomeroy reached second base in the second inning.
“You’ve got to get the job done and put the baseball in play with runners on third base with less than two out,” Ward said. “You want to put pressure on the defense.”
The game started with Seaton’s first strikeout, but the extra baserunner who reached base on a passed ball cost the Bat Cats a run. Trey Ochoa singled and scored from first base on a potential double-play groundball to third baseman Dawson Pomeroy.
The Larks added a valuable ninth-inning insurance run when Clayton Rasbeary doubled home Weiss, who reached on an error. Reliever Jack Waggoner backed up Seaton with four strikeouts in 21/3 innings.
Rasbeary doubled home Weiss, who reached on an error. Reliever Jack Waggoner backed up Seaton with four strikeouts in 21/3 innings.
LARKS 2, BAT CATS 0
HAYS ab r h bi
Jon Soberanes 4 0 0 0
Trey Ochoa 4 1 1 0
Jacob Boston 4 0 0 0
Alex Weiss 4 1 0 0
Spencer Packard 2 0 0 0
Nick Jones 3 0 1 0
Max Remy 3 0 1 0
W. Pennington 1 0 0 0
Clayton Rasbeary 3 0 1 1
Keone Givens 3 0 0 0
Totals 31 2 4 0
BAT CATS ab r h bi
Mateo Zunica 3 0 1 0
Michael Sinks 4 0 2 0
Corrigan Bartlett 4 0 0 0
Jordan Wilkerson 4 0 1 0
Dawson Fontenot 2 0 0 0
Brandon Bachar 1 0 0 0
Brooks Asher 1 0 0 0
Hunter Romero 3 0 0 0
Peyton Barnes 1 0 0 0
Dawson Pomeroy 3 0 1 0
Brady Michel 3 0 0 0
Ben Sems 2 0 0 0
Totals 31 0 5 0
HL 100 000 001 — 2 4 2
GB 000 000 000 — 0 5 2
2B—Wilkerson, Rasbeary. SB—Bartlett, Sinks. CS—Zunica, Pomeroy, Rasbeary. S—Packard. HP—Sems, Zunica, Jones. PB—Fontenot. E—Pomeroy, Remy, Ochoa, Sinks.
HAYS ip r er h so bb
Lopez 5 0 0 4 1 0
Starks 4 0 0 1 7 1
GB ip r er h so bb
Seaton 6.2 1 0 3 8 2
Waggoner 2.1 1 0 1 4 1
