Panther baseball earns split
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
LIBERAL – After a disappointing opener, Great Bend’s baseball team delivered a message with a 10-run first inning. The Panthers rolled past Liberal 15-1 after losing Friday’s Western Athletic Conference opener 7-4.
Tyler Stuhlsatz led the Panthers’ offense with six hits in eight at-bats. The Panthers (3-3, 1-1 WAC) welcome WAC rival Hays High (4-0, 4-0 WAC) Tuesday for a home doubleheader at the Great Bend Sports Complex.
“Hitting is contagious. We hit the ball hard Game 2,” said Great Bend coach Randy Beck. “We plugged a few gaps and had guys running the bases. We did a good job extending the lead in Game 2.”
LIBERAL 7, PANTHERS 4 (G1) – Great Bend’s batters struck out 17 times, the most since Hays High’s Dylan Dreiling struck out 18 Panthers a few years ago. Liberal starter Brooks Kappelmann struck out 12 batters. The Panthers hit four fly ball outs, but the Redskins still committed five errors.
“We had a few offensive opportunities, but didn’t capitalize,” Beck said. “We needed a couple timely hits. Kappelmann threw a nice game. He worked his two pitches in the zone and threw his curveball effectively.”
Liberal led 4-0. Aidan Schwindt ripped a leadoff homer. Brooks Kappelmann singled home Marco Alonso and Alex Schwindt in a 3-run second inning. Aidan Schwindt scored on an error.
The Panthers scrambled for three fifth-inning runs. Stuhlsatz scored on a passed ball. Bradley Hopkins on a J.J. Grove single. Carson Umphres scored on an error for a 4-3 score.
Liberal’s Alonso scored on Alex Schwindt’s double in a 3-run fifth inning off pitcher Edwin Chavez. Xavier Porras and Alex Schwindt scored on a Panther error for two unearned runs. Trenton Kern scored on an Umphres sixth-inning double for a 7-4 final.
PANTHERS 15, LIBERAL 1 (G2) – Great Bend’s Stuhlsatz capped a 3-hit game with a bases-loaded double. Ian Premer doubled and drove in three runs with three hits. The Panthers scored 10 runs on nine hits in the first inning.
Umphres delivered a 2-run triple. Bradley Hopkins drove in two runs. Owen Kaiser and Hunter Herrman each drove in a run.
Umphres (2-0) pitched a one-hitter in 32/3 innings with four strikeouts. Southpaw Stuhlsatz retired four Liberal batters.
“Carson has been our most consistent pitcher so far,” Beck said. “The defense knows he’ll throw strikes.”
Great Bend 000 031 – 4 8 0
Liberal 130 030 x – 7 7 5
Herrman, Chavez (3), Ribordy (6) and Kaiser. Kappelmann, Zayden Martinez (6) and Alex Schwindt. W—Kappelmann. L—Herrman, 1-2. 2B—GB—Chavez; L—Alex Schwindt. HR—L—Aidan Schwindt
Great Bend (10)14 00 – 15 13 3
Liberal 000 00 – 1 1 3
Umphres, Stuhlsatz (4) and Kaiser. Lira, Alex Schwindt (1), Avila (3) and Aidan Schwindt. W—Umphres, 2-0. L—Lira. 2B—GB—Premer, Hopkins. 3B—GB—Umphres, Kern
