Great Bend Braves stay hot
BY JIM MISUNAS
DODGE CITY – The Great Bend Braves Legion baseball team stayed hot with wins over Larned 5-1 and Dodge City 11-10 Saturday at the Dodge City Tournament. Larned outlasted Dodge City 10-9 for a walkoff victory.
The Great Bend Braves and Larned will resume bracket play Sunday.
BRAVES 5, LARNED 1 -- The Braves (10-8) expertly turned a pair of double plays. Shortstop Sage Koelsch and second baseman Esten Moore started a fourth-inning double play. Third baseman Kade Poe turned Jacob Grosfield’s line drive into a seventh-inning double play.
Koelsch scored a run on a wild pitch and Chayse Gruber singled home Poe for a 2-0 first-inning lead. Sage Koelsch doubled home Mathew Moeder for a 3-0 lead after two innings off pitcher Dillan Smith.
Esten Moore scored on a sixth-inning wild pitch and Brad Beck’s single scored Koelsch for a 5-0 lead.
Larned’s Aidan Smyth scored on Mello Bryant’s seventh-inning groundout.
BRAVES 11, DODGE CITY 10 – The Braves rallied from a 6-0 deficit. Sage Koelsch drew a bases-loaded walk to score Joseph Moeder for a true “walkoff” victory with two out. The Braves scored three runs in the final inning to steal a victory. Gavin Haberman walked and Gruber doubled. Haberman and Gruber scored on wild pitches for a 10-10 tie.
Koelsch scored on a first-inning wild pitch. The Braves scored six second-inning runs. Gruber scored on Stefan Spray’s single and Paco Hernandez singled home Joseph Moeder. Spray and Hernandez scored on errors. Jade Poe scored on a bases-loaded walk for a 6-6 tie. Joseph Moeder’s single scored Brad Beck for a 7-6 lead.
Dodge City led 10-7 scoring four runs without an RBI. Hernandez scored on a third-inning wild pitch for a 10-8 score.
LARNED 10, DODGE CITY 9 – Mello Bryant scored the game-winner on Jacob Grosfield’s groundball that was misplayed. Carlos Ibarra bunted Bryant to second base after a single and Bryant stole third base.
Larned scored four first-inning runs. Smyth scored on an error. Bryant singled home Colin LaBouchardiere. Dillan Smith scored on a wild pitch. Bryant scored on Gavin Alvarez’s single for a 4-0 lead.
Smyth scored on a wild pitch and Logan Erway scored on Ibarra’s single for a 6-1 lead after two innings. Smyth scored on a fourth-inning error. LaBouchardiere singled home Ibarra and Gunnar Cline scored on a bases-loaded walk for a 9-3 lead after five innings.
Dodge City scored six runs in the sixth inning. Dodge City tied the score 9-9 on a wild pitch after three singles, a walk, error and passed ball on a strikeout.
Dodge City 604 0 – 10 2 3
GB Braves 161 3 – 11 5 0
Hernandez, Feist (1), Joseph Moeder (1), Haberman (3) and Beck. Imel, Smith (2), Friess (4) and Friess. W—J. Moeder. L—Friess. 2B—GB—Gruber; DC—Imel.
GB Braves 210 002 0 – 5 9 1
Larned 000 000 1 – 1 3 1
Poe, Koelsch (6) and Beck. Smith and Murray. W—Poe. L—Smith. 2B—GB—Joseph Moeder, Gruber, Koelsch; L—Cline.
Dodge City 011 106 – 9 6 4
Larned 420 121 – 10 8 4
Ellison, Keck (3), Valadez (6) and Friess. Smyth, Murray (3), Grosfield (4), Bryant (4) and Erway. 2B—DC—Imel.
