BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
When El Dorado qualified for the Zone 1 baseball championship, the Great Bend Braves went flat after earning a state berth win or lose. After playing red-hot baseball, the Braves were overmatched by El Dorado pitcher Cole Rickard in a 9-0 championship setback.
The Braves had won nine of 12 games while playing great baseball. The Braves (10-13) and El Dorado (12-12) qualify for the A state tournament July 19-23 at El Dorado.
Great Bend committed seven errors, which led to seven unearned runs. The Braves had two baserunners picked off base and walked six batters. El Dorado took advantage against pitchers Carson Poe and Slade Mohr.
El Dorado led 5-0 on one hit. Pinch runner Jordan Linson scored on Abe Pena's second-inning groundout. Four Braves walks and two errors led to a 4-run third inning where Preston Johnson had the lone hit on a bunt. Rickard singled in Johnson in the fourth inning. In the seventh, Linson and Pena scored on errors and Johnson's single scored Zac Jacobs for a 9-0 victory.
Braves Ian Premer and Colin Saffa delivered base hits.
BRAVES 6, CHANUTE 3 (G3) — The clock struck midnight by the time the Great Bend Braves American Legion baseball team edged Chanute 6-3 in Tuesday's A Zone tournament.
Braves reliever Kale Kern struck out five batters in three brilliant shutout innings after starter Austin Gilbert (3-1) threw four innings at the Great Bend Sports Complex.
Down 2-0, the Braves outscored Chanute 6-1. Poe scored on Gilbert's groundout and Gavin Gilkison scored on Eli Soupiset's groundball for a 2-2 tie. Chanute's Brady Alonzo singled home Kolby Baker and Jacob Thompson in the first inning. Chanute's Talan Haynes scored in the fourth inning on a pair of Braves' errors.
Saffa doubled home Gilkison to ignite a 3-run fifth inning. Trey Milsap singled home Gilbert. Saffa scored on Kern's double for a 5-3 lead. Jason Wondra scored the final run on Milsap's seventh-inning single.
"The guys have pieced things together," said coach Randy Beck. "This tournament is good for us to see what we've learned over the summer. These guys have done what it takes to become better baseball players. We plan to play good, fundamental baseball and qualify for the state tournament."
EL DORADO 10, CHANUTE 8 (G5) — Chanute rallied from an 8-1 deficit to force extra innings with an 8-8 tie. El Dorado's Hunter Hamm hit the game-winning double in the ninth inning.
BRAVES 6, EL DORADO 5 (G1) — The Braves edged El Dorado 6-5 in Tuesday's first game.
El Dorado's Cole Rickard singled home two runs and Hunter Hamm delivered an RBI single for a 3-0 lead. The Braves rallied with a 5-run fourth inning off El Dorado pitcher Easton Perkins (3-3). Eli Soupiset singled home Slade Mohr. Aiden Hekele scored on Jaxon Wondra's groundout. peyden Oelger singled in Soupiset and pinch runner Austin Gilbert. Oelger scored on Mohr's single for a 5-3 lead.
Carson Poe scored on Soupiset's sacrifice fly for a 6-3 lead. El Dorado's Hunter Hamm scored on a passed ball and Tanner Riddle scored on an error for a 6-5 score.
Braves starter Trey Milsap (1-1) struck out eight batters and picked Preston Johnson and Jordan Linson off first base. Relievers Kale Kern and Jaxon Wondra stranded the tying runner on base in the sixth and seventh innings.
CHANUTE 17, EL DORADO 10 (G2) — Chanute rolled past El Dorado in Game 2 behind 12 walks and five hit batters. Chanute scored 17 runs with eight RBIs. Logan Axleson, Jacob Thompson, Brady Alonso and Colton Cunningham each drove in two runs. Chanute pitcher Hunter Anderson delivered 146 pitches and yielded 10 runs.
BRAVES PITCHING RECORDS—Peyden Oelger 2-0, Austin Gilbert 3-1, Slade Mohr 1-0, Jaxon Wondra 1-0, Gavin Gilkison 1-0, Trey Milsap 1-1, Carson Poe 1-4, Colin Saffa 0-2, Aiden Hekele 0-2, Kale Kern 0-3
El Dorado 014 100 1 — 9 6 1
Great Bend 000 000 0 — 0 2 7
Rickard and Alonzo. Poe, Mohr (3) and Milsap. W—Rickard, 4-1. L—Poe, 1-4.
El Dorado 422 00 — 8 6 4
Chanute 100 00 — 1 5 3
Hamm and Fowler. Baker and Alonzo. Riddle, W—Hamm. L—Baker. 2B—E—Fowler, Jacobs; E—Baker.
Great Bend 020 030 1 — 6 10 3
Chanute 200 100 0 — 3 5 5
Gilbert, Kern (6) and Poe. Haynes, Tarter (6) and W—Gilbert, 3-1. L—. SV—Wondra. 2B—GB—Kern, Saffa; E—Neff.
Great Bend 000 510 0 — 6 8 1
El Dorado 003 002 0 — 5 7 1
Milsap, Kern (6), Wondra (7) and Saffa. Perkins, Jacobs (5) and Hamm. W—Milsap, 1-1. L—Perkins, 3-3. SV—Wondra. 3B—E—Perkins.
Chanute 112 023 8 — 17 9 5
El Dorado 000 314 2 — 10 12 1
Anderson and Alonzo. Riddle, Jacobs (2), Pena (3), Rickard (6), Scott (7) and Linson, Perkins. W—Anderson. L—Riddle. 2B—C—Alonzo, Keating; E—Perkins. 3B—C—Haynes; E—Hamm.
A ZONE TOURAMENTS
ZONE 1 (GREAT BEND)—CHAMPIONSHIP—El Dorado 9, Great Bend 0; El Dorado 10, Chanute 8, 9 innings; Great Bend 6, El Dorado 5; Chanute 14, El Dorado 8; Great Bend 6, Chanute 3; SQ—El Dorado 12-12; Great Bend 10-13
ZONE 2 (OTTAWA)—7-14—Pittsburg 17-4 vs. Game 5 winner; Pittsburg 13, Garnett 3; G5—Garnett 10-13 vs. Ottawa/Iola winner; Pittsburg 12, Ottawa 11; Garnett 6, Iola 5; SQ—Pittsburg 17-4, Garnett 10-13, Ottawa/Iola winner
ZONE 3 (MARYVILLE)—7-14—Marysville vs. Seneca (6-10); Hiawatha (14-10) vs. Topeka Kansas Senators
AA ZONE TOURNAMENTS
ZONE 1 (NORTON)—7-14—Colby 13-3 vs. Norton 7-12; Gove County 8-12 vs. Smith County 9-7
ZONE 2 (HUMBOLDT)—7-14—Iola 22-6 vs. Winfield 3-6, 5; Larned 10-4 vs. Garnett 3-12, 8
ZONE 3 (BELOIT)—CHAMPIONSHIP—Concordia 10, Beloit 3; Beloit 7, Marysville 6; Concordia 8, Marysville 1; Concordia 9, Clifton-Clyde 3; Marysville 10, Beloit 6; Beloit 10, Clifton-Clyde 6; SQ—Concordia 16-5, Beloit 13-7
ZONE 4 (SENECA)—7-15—Corning 11-2 vs. Game 7 winner, 6 p.m.; 7-14—G6—Doniphan County 11-10 vs. Seneca 9-8, 6; G7—Hiawatha 14-5 vs. winner G6, 8; Corning 6, Hiawatha 2; Seneca 8, Sabetha 5; Doniphan County 11, Sabetha 8; Corning 18, Doniphan County 0; Hiawatha 6, Seneca 2; SQ—Corning 11-2
