BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Larned’s Legion baseball team started and ended the summer regular season with sweeps over the Great Bend Legion Braves.
Larned beat the Braves 9-1 and 11-10 to open the season and closed the regular season with 3-1 and 7-6 wins over the Braves at the Great Bend Sports Complex.
Larned features five starters — Mello Bryant, Aidan Smyth, Jack Stelter, Logan Erway and Dillan Smith — who played for the Indians’ spring baseball team. The Braves feature no players who competed on Great Bend’s varsity baseball team.
Larned (13-11) also beat Hays Thomas More Prep (12-8) in three of four summer games. Larned won 4-0, 9-0, 9-8 and lost 9-0. The Indians;’ top pitchers are Dillan Smith (5-1) and Aidan Smyth (3-2).
Great Bend’s 17-and-under A zone tournament matches the Great Bend Braves (11-14) playing the Hays Eagles (12-15-1) at 2 p.m. Monday. The Salina Eagles (10-14) play Russell (8-10) play at 4 p.m. Hays Thomas More Prep (12-8) and Larned (13-11) play the winners Monday.
Great Bend coach Randy Beck will select Chayse Gruber (2-2), Stefan Spray (2-4), or Sage Koelsch (0-2) as his first-game starter.
"The team that plays the best baseball will win out," Beck said. "We're right there as a baseball team. We can win this thing. We've been in every game we've lost. Often we give up one big inning."
Beck said the Braves' offense has been productive most of the summer. Untimely errors and walks by the pitching staff have cost the Bravesa winning record.
The Monarchs feature varsity starters Jace Wentling, Jacob Pfeifer, Noah Gibson, Carter Newell and Tyson Dinkel from the spring.
The zone champion and runner-up advance to the A state tournament July 24-28 at Topeka’s Lake Shawnee. Linn Couny defeated Clay Center 7-4 for last year’s state championship.
Great Bend’s 19-and-under AAA zone tournament July 20-22 features the the Great Bend Chiefs (19-13), the defending state champion Salina Falcons (16-10-1), last year’s state runner-up Nickerson (5-4), Hays Eagles (28-6), the Hutchinson Colts (15-15) and Beloit (9-2). Automatic qualifier Hays and a second qualifier will advance to the Senior Legion state baseball tournament. Salina defeated Nickerson 5-3 in last year’s state championship.
AAA and AA zone qualifiers advance to the Senior Legion state tournament July 31-Aug. 4 at Hays. Ottawa and Pittsburg will be AAA zone sites. AA zone sites are Norton, Russell, Sabetha and Iola. Iola defeated Marysville 3-0 for last year’s AA state championship.
A ZONES (17 under)
GREAT BEND (July 15)–Hays Eagles 7, Great Bend Braves 6; G2–Salina Eagles 4, Russell 1; G3–Hays-Thomas More Prep 7, Hays Eagles 5; G4–Larned 11, Salina Eagles 1
7-16–G5–Hays Eagles 13-16-1 vs. Russell 8-9, 4 p.m.; G6–Great Bend Braves 11-15 vs. Salina Hawks 11-15, 6 p.m.; G7–Larned 14-11 vs. Hays-TMP 13-8, 8 p.m. (Zone 1 champion)
7-17–G8–Winners games 5, 6, 6 p.m.; G9–Winner G8 vs. loser G7 (Zone 2 champion)
EMPORIA (July 13)–G1–Garnett 17, Emporia 16; G2–Chanute def Ottawa As; G3–Topeka Washburn Rural 13,. Garnett 5; G4–Iola 8, Chanute 4
7-14–G5–Chanute 13, Emporia 0; G6–Garnett 13, Ottawa As 3; G7–Chanute 13, Garnett 2
7-15–G8–Topeka Washburn Rural 10, Iola 0 (Zone 5 champion); G9–Iola 6, Chanute 3 (Zone 6 champion)
NEWTON (July 14)–G1–Salina Hawks 13, Derby 2; G2–Junction City 5, Hutchinson 2; G3–El Dorado 9, Andover 8
7-15–G4–Hutchinson 12, Derby 2; G5–Salina Hawks 7, Junction City 3; G6–Newton 13, El Dorado 3
7-17–G7–Andover vs. El Dorado, 1 p.m.; G8–Hutchinson vs. Junction City; G9–Newton vs. Salina Hawks (Zone 3 champion)
7-18–G10–Winners games 7, 8; G11–Winner G10 vs. loser G9 (Zone 4 champion)
MARYSVILLE (July 13)–Oskaloosa River Bandits 10, Alma 0; Hiawatha 22, Leavenworth 2; Topeka West Senators 1, Clay Center 0; Clay Center 23, Leavenworth 7
7-14–Marysville 6, Oskaloosa River Bandits 3; Topeka West Senators 4, Hiawatha 3; Oskaloosa River Bandits 10, Clay Center 4; Alma 9, Hiawatha 4
7-15–G9–Marysville 5, Topeka West Senators 0
7-16–G10–Oskaloosa River Bandits vs. Alma, 6 p.m.; G11–Winner G10 vs. Topeka West Senators, 8 p.m.
7-17–G12–Marysville vs. winner G11, 6 p.m.; G13 (if needed)–Winner G 12 vs. loser G12, 8 p.m.
AAA ZONES (19 under)
GREAT BEND (July 20-22)–Hays Eagles 28-6, Beloit 9-4, Salina Falcons 18-10-1, Great Bend Chiefs 21-13, Nickerson 6-6, Hutchinson Colts 16-16
OTTAWA (July 23)–G1–Leavenworth vs. Oskaloosa Bandits, 6 p.m.; G2–Ottawa Arrows vs. Topeka Senators, 8 p.m.
7-24–G3–Doniphan County vs. Leavenworth-Oskaloosa winner, 6 p.m.; G4–losers games 1, 2
FRONTENAC (July 20)–G1–Chanute 12-9 vs. Newton Knights 13-20-1, 9 a.m.; G2–Linn County 10-4-1 vs. Garnett 6-10, noon; G3–Emporia 27-1 vs. game 1 winner, 3 p.m.; G4–Pittsburg 22-7 vs. game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
7-21–G5–losers games 2, 3, 9 a.m.; G6–Losers games 1, 4, noon; G7–winners games 3, 4, 3 p.m.; G8–Winners games 5, 6, 6 p.m.
7-22–G9–Winner G8 vs. loser game 7, 10 a.m.; G10–Winners games 7, 9, 1 p.m.; G11 (if needed)–Winner game 10 vs. loser game 10, 4 p.m.
AA ZONES (19 under)
IOLA (July 19)–G1–Columbus vs. Rose Hill, 6 p.m.; G2–Yates Center vs. Fort Scott, 8 p.m.
7-20–G3–Iola vs. G2 winner, 10 a.m.; G4–Losers games 1, 2, noon; G5–Winners games 2, 3, 2 p.m.; G6–Winner G4 vs. loser G3, 4 p.m.
7-21–G7–Winner G6 vs. loser G5, noon; G8–Winners games 5, 7, 2 p.m.
NORTON–Norton, Cimarron, Colby, Hill City, Otis-Bison
RUSSELL (July 20)–G1–Smith County Raiders 13-10 vs. Ellinwood 6-10, 3 p.m.; G2–Lincoln County 10-5 vs. Russell 12-8, 5 p.m.; G3–Hoisington 17-4 vs. game 1 winner, 7 p.m.
7-21–G4–Losers games 1, 2, 3 p.m.; G5–Winners games 2, 3, 5 p.m.; G6–Winner G4 vs. loser G3, 7 p.m.
7-22–G7–Winner G6 vs. loser G5, 6 p.m.; G8–Winners games, 5, 7, 8 p.m.
7-23–G9 (if needed)–Winner G8 vs. loser G8, 6 p.m.
SABETHA (July 21)–G1–Silver Lake 15-7 vs. Hiawatha 2-18, 4 p.m.; G2–Corning 8-6 vs. Seneca 7-13, 6 p.m.
7-22–G3–Marysville 18-4 vs. Silver Lake-Hiawatha winner, 6 p.m.; G4–Sabetha 22-1 vs. Corning-Seneca winner, 8 p.m.
7-23–G5–Losers games 2, 3, 6 p.m.; G6–Losers games 1, 4, 8 p.m
7-24–G7–Winners games 5, 6, 6 p.m.; G8–Winners games 3, 4, 8 p.m.
7-25–G9–Winner G7 vs. loser game 8, 6 p.m.; G10–Winners games 8, 9, 8 p.m.
7-26–G11 (if needed)–Winner G10 vs. loser G10
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