BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
The American Legion baseball Great Bend Chiefs threw 13 shutout innings to sweep Bucklin SK Elite 8-0 and Larned 10-0 in Sunday’s doubleheader at the Great Bend Sports Complex.
The Chiefs (6-2) play Dodge City in a Wednesday doubleheader.
CHIEFS 8, SK ELITE 0 (G1) — Ellinwood lefthander Tyler Stuhlsatz (2-1) pitched brilliantly for the Chiefs with nine strikeouts and no walks in a five-inning gem. Reliever Jade Poe worked the final two innings.
Seven SK Elite errors led to eight unearned runs for the Chiefs.
Two errors created a three-run first inning. Poe scored on Stefan Spray’s misplayed groundball. Paco Hernandez scored on Gavin Haberman’s sacrifice fly. Brad Beck singled home Spray for a 3-0 lead.
Three errors paved the way for a three-run fourth inning. Beck scored on Mathew Moeder’s groundout. Moeder scored on an Edwin Chavez fly ball that was misplayed. Bradley Hopkins scored on the third error of the inning.
Hopkins singled home Moeder and Chavez after an eror and walk started a two-run sixth inning.
SK Elite’s Nate Noman and Bryce Ashlock yielded no earned runs. Mason Brooks, Kenny Zimmerman and Izaiah Pearce singled.
CHIEFS 10, LARNED 0 (G2) — Chiefs’ pitcher Stefan Spray (2-0) threw no-hit baseball for five innings with three strikeouts. Larned’s Brady Hope singled off reliever Sage Koelsch in the sixth inning to break up the no-hitter.
The Chiefs scored five unearned runs off five Larned errors.
Spray led the offense with three runs batted home. Moeder drove in two runs.
Hopkins singled home Moeder and Chavez scored on a second-inning passed ball for a 2-0 lead.
After a pair of walks, Chavez scored on Stuhlsatz’s fourth-inning fly ball.
A six-run fifth inning busted the game open. Moeder’s double drove home Jade Poe and Beck, who reached on a bunt single. Moeder scored on a Chavez’ sacrifice fly. After an error and two walks, Spray’s bases-loaded double scored Hopkins, Koelsch and Stuhlsatz for a 9-0 lead. The Chiefs earned a run-rule victory when Moeder scored the 10th run on a sixth-inning error.
Reliever Koelsch struck out Gavin Alvarez, Eian Sanders and Carlos Ibarra after Larned’s Jacob Grosfield reached on an error and Brady Hope singled to start the sixth inning. Larned shortstop Grosfield turned a double play on Haberman’s third-inning groundball.
SK ELITE 3, LARNED 2 (G3) — Larned pitcher Mello Bryant struck out 10 batters in a hard-luck 3-2 loss. SK’s Nate Bowman tripled home Bryce Ashlock and Nathan Imel in a three-run fourth inning. Bowman scored on Ryan Garretson’s groundout. SK reliever Ken Zimmerman worked the final two innings.
Larned failed to score with the bases-loaded when Carlos Ibarra grounded into a fifth-inning double play. Jacob Grosfield singled home Ian Orth and Bryant in the sixth inning, Shortstop Zimmerman threw out Bryant at home and Eian Sanders was retired to end the rally.
Larned’s Ty Smith was hit by a seventh-inning pitch, but catcher Nate Bowman threw him out on an attempted steal. Carson Shaver singled, but Ian Orth struck out to end the ballgame.
SK Elite 000 000 0 — 0 3 7
Great Bend 300 302 x — 8 6 0
Bowman, Ashlock (5) and Zimmerman, Brooks. Stuhlsatz, Poe (6) and Beck. W—Stuhlsatz, 2-1. L—Bowman.
Larned 000 000 — 0 1 5
Great Bend 020 161 — 10 9 3
Alvarez, Hope (4) and Hope, Shaver (4). Spray, Koelsch (6) and Poe, Beck. W—Spray, 2-0. L—Alvarez, 0-2. 2B—GB—Mathew Moeder, Spray.
Larned 000 002 0 — 2 6 1
SK Elite 000 300 x — 3 3 3
Bryant and Shaver. Brooks, Zimmerman (6) and Bowman. W—Brooks. L—Bryant, 0-1. 2B—SK—Zimmerman. 3B—SK—Bowman.
GREAT BEND CHIEFS (6-2)—W Dodge City 3-2 (W Spray 1-0); L Dodge City 4-7 (L Stuhlsatz 0-1); W Larned 5-4 (W Koelsch 1-0); W Larned 4-3 (W Poe 1-0); L Hays Eagles 7-9 (L Chavez 0-1); W Hays Eagles 3-2 (W Stuhlsatz 1-1); W Chiefs 8, SK Elite 0 (W Stuhlsatz 2-1); W Chiefs 10, Larned 0 (W Spray 2-0)
