NEWTON — The Great Bend Braves swept a Class A American Legion doubleheader against Newton on Sunday afternoon after McPherson, which was scheduled to be part of a triangular with Newton and Great Bend, had to back out.
The Braves (10-10) won the first game 12-11 and the second 13-9.
“We ended up playing a doubleheader with Newton,” Braves head coach Jordan Metro said. “McPherson called up and said they didn’t have enough players for a game, so we played Newton.
“That first game should not have been as close as it was. Our defense struggled in both games, really.”
In spite of a struggling defense, the Braves led each inning except the first of Game 1.
“They were up 4-2 after the first inning, but we scored six runs in the second,” Metro said. “We led the whole way after that. It was kind of the reverse of all season. We usually have good defense and struggle a little at the plate, but we did awesome hitting in both games.”
Tristan Hall went 4-for-5 with three RBIs to lead the Braves. Hall finished 8-for-10 in the doubleheader with double and a home run in the second game.
Shade Wondra went 3-for-5 in the first game with two RBIs.
The Braves totalled 16 hits in the second game with Logan Zecha going 3-for-3 and scoring four times.
Dillon Reiser went 3-for-5 in Game 2.
“We just haven’t put a complete game together yet,” Metro said. “If we play defense like we have all year and hit like we did this weekend, we will be a very tough team to beat.”
Next, the Braves are going to compete in a wood bat tournament in Hays over the weekend. They play the Hays Junior Legion team on Friday morning at 9, followed by a game against Dodge City at 11:15. Both games are to be played on Fort Hays State University’s Larks Park.
On Saturday morning, the Braves will face Fort Morgan of Colorado at 11:15 on the Thomas More Prep-Marian field before starting elimination play on Saturday afternoon.

                                                                             — Kevin Price