HAYSVILLE – The Great Bend Bat Cats completed a four-game sweep of the Haysville Aviators 14-0 and 5-0 with a double shutout Sunday. Jack Waggoner and Ryan Patrick combined for a two-hit shutout. McPherson’s Alex Ruxlow threw a five-hit shutout in the nightcap.
“Getting back to .500 is huge,” said Bat Cats coach Roger Ward. “The pitching staff really stepped up. We got two shutouts and three complete games.”
The Bat Cats (13-13) travel to the Hays Larks (17-7) Tuesday before returning home for a doubleheader Wednesday at Al Burns Field, Game time is 5 p.m. for Military Appreciation Night. Military personnel will be honored between games.
“If you haven’t been to a game where veterans come out, you need to, because it will make the hair on your arms stand up,” Ward said. “This is a big week.”
The Bat Cats are 11-2 against the bottom three Jayhawk teams and 2-11 against the top four teams in the Jayhawk League
BAT CATS 14, AVIATORS 0 (game 1) – Brennan Fontenot drove in five runs to spark the Bat Cats.
Waggoner threw four shutout innings and Patrick threw three innings in her best outing of the summer. Third baseman Bryce Baumwart, from Barton Community College, started a fifth-inning double play and second baseman Peyton Barnes started a seventh-inning double play.
Hunter Romero and Fontenot singled home Mateo Zunica and Romero and Jordan Wilkerson stole home in the first inning. Fontenot’s bases-loaded double scored Baumwart, Romeo and Wilkerson in a five-run second inning. Romero and Wilkerson forced home runs on bases-loaded walks.
Corrigan Bartlett’s single scored Zunica in the third inning. Great Bend’s Brady Michel and Dawson Pomeroy drove in fourth-inning runs. Brett Bonar, Wilkerson and Fontenot delivered RBI doubles to finish off the rout.
BAT CATS 5, AVIATORS 0 (game 2) – Southpaw Ruxlow completed a nifty 71-pitch complete game with three strikeouts.
Pomeroy doubled home Brooks Asher and Peyton Barnes in a three-run second inning. Wilkerson scored on Asher’s fly ball. Zunica’s triple scored Pomeroy in the fourth inning. Romero homered in the fifth inning.
BAT CATS 5, AVIATORS 4 (game 2, Saturday) – The Aviators played give away with walks and errors.
The Bat Cats scored a run on a passed ball and the tying and game-winning runs on bases-loaded walks. Romero scored on a passed ball and Haysville passed out four consecutive walks along with an error. Brandon Bachar and Zunica forced home runs on bases-loaded walks for a 5-3 lead.
Bat Cats pitcher Gyeongju Kim from South Korea retired the final two batters after Flores’ seventh-inning sacrifice fly.
Bartlett singled home Zunica and Bartlett scored on an error in a two-run fourth inning.
BAT CATS 14, AVIATORS 0
GB 351 230 0 – 14 16 0
H 000 000 0 – 0 2 1
Waggoner, Patrick (5) and Fontenot. Ethington, Radomski (2), Rivera (5) and Jones. W—Waggoner. L—Ethington. 2B—GB—Fontenot 2, Bonar, Wilkerson, Zunica.
BAT CATS 5, AVIATORS 0
GB 030 110 0 – 5 8 0
H 000 000 0 – 0 5 2
Ruxlow and Bonar. W—Ruxlow. L0—Kopplin. 2B—GB—Pomeroy; H—Silvestri 2. 3B—GB—Zunica, Wilkerson. HR—GB--Romero.
BAT CATS 5, AVIATORS 4
GB 000 203 0 – 5 4 0
H 001 110 1 – 4 8 1
Kim and Bonar. Sturgeon, Warren (6), Konwinski (6) and Kellogg. W—Kim. L—Konwinski. 2B—GB—Romero; H—Flores, Kellogg, Hildebrandt. 3B—H—Hutcheson.
JAYHAWK LEAGUE BASEBALL
Liberal BeeJays 21-6
Hays Larks 18-7
Dodge City As 17-8
Derby Twins 18-9
GB Bat Cats 13-14
El Dorado Broncos 11-17
Haysville Aviators 6-22
Oklahoma City 3-24
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Hays 5, Great Bend 2
Liberal 4, Dodge City 2
Derby 10, Haysville 2
El Dorado 4, Oklahoma City 3
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Hays at Great Bend 2
Liberal at Dodge City
Derby at Haysville
Oklahoma City at El Dorado
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Great Bend at Hays
Liberal at Dodge City
Haysville at Derby
Oklahoma City at El Dorado
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
Liberal at Great Bend
Derby at Oklahoma City
Dodge City at El Dorado
Hays at Haysville
SUNDAY, JULY 2
Great Bend 14-5, Haysville 0-0
Liberal 11, El Dorado 1
Derby 10, Hays 2
Dodge City 14, Oklahoma City 7
SATURDAY, JULY 1
Great Bend 8-5, Haysville 2-4
El Dorado 6, Liberal 3
Derby 4, Hays 2
Hays 7, Derby 6
Dodge City 10, Oklahoma City 5
FRIDAY, JUNE 30
Liberal 13, El Dorado 5
Hays 11, Derby 2
Dodge City 14, Oklahoma City 12
