LIBERAL – Great Bend (3-2, 2-0 WAC) used strong pitching for an opening victory and offense in the nightcap for a 7-2 and 15-9 baseball sweep over Liberal (4-3, 0-3 WAC) in a Western Athletic doubleheader.

PANTHERS 7, LIBERAL 2 (G1) – Panther pitcher Stefan Spray struck out five batters in a nifty complete game performance. Spray turned a first-inning double play. Shortstop Sage Koelsch turned a seventh-inning double play to end the ballgame.

Liberal led 2-0. Aaron Barbosa tripled and scored on a first-inning groundout by Izzy Garcia-Rotolo. Barbosa scored on a Kwami Williams second-inning groundout.

Chayse Gruber doubled and scored on an Edwin Chavez fourth-inning squeeze bunt. Spray’s single scored Jade Poe. Matt Neiman scored on Koelsch’s fifth-inning groundout after a sacrifice bunt by Mathew Moeder. Brad Beck scored on a passed ball.

Spray scored on a sixth-inning passed ball. Poe’s seventh-inning single drove home Beck keyed by Gruber’s sacrifice bunt. Poe scored on a bases-loaded walk for a 7-2 final.

PANTHERS 15, LIBERAL 9 (G2) – Spray drove home four runs and Edwin Chavez drove in three runs in a wild nightcap.

Brad Beck’s single scored Koelsch and Beck scored on Poe’s groundout for a 2-0 lead. Liberal’s Garcia-Rotolo and Shay Kerr scored on errors for a 2-2 tie.

Neiman scored on Mathew Moeder’s second-inning groundout. Williams scored on Kerr’s groundout for a 3-3 tie. Spray’s single scored Poe for a 4-3 lead. Liberal’s Hunter Huskey scored on Oscar Rubio’s groundout and Braden Holder scored on Erik Baca’s single for a 5-4 lead after three innings.

Great Bend 000 221 2 – 7 10 2

Liberal 101 000 0 – 2 4 3

Spray and Beck. Barbosa, Rubio (6) and Archuleta. W—Spray. L—Barbosa. 2B—GB—Gruber. 3B—L—Barbosa.

Great Bend 211 034 4 – 15 11 5

Liberal 212 004 0 – 9 8 5

Gruber, Poe (5), Chavez (6) and Beck. Williams, Holder (4), Huskey (6), Archuleta (7) and Archuleta. 2B—L—Rotolo

WAC BASEBALL

Great Bend 2-0 3-2 

Dodge City 1-0 3-2 

Garden City 2-2 6-2

Hays High 1-1 3-1 

Liberal 0-3 4-3 

GREAT BEND (2-0, 3-2)—L Junction City 6-7; L McPherson 0-10; W Hutchinson 10-3; WW *Liberal 7-2, 15-9; 4-13—*Hays (1); 4-16—*at Garden City; 4-20—*at Dodge City (1); 4-22—*at Hays (1); 4-27—Hays-TMP; 4-30—*Dodge City (1); 5-6/8—at Hays Western Diamond; 5-14—Goddard Eisenhower

DODGE CITY (1-0, 5-2)—WL Andover 8-0, 1-8; W Newton 11-3; L Valley Center 12-13; W *Garden City 7-2; WW Wichita South 22-0, 13-3; 4-13—*at Liberal (1); 4-16—*at Hays High; 4-20—*Great Bend (1); 4-23—Wichita Heights; 4-27—*Garden City (1); 4-30—*Great Bend (1); 5-4—at McPherson/Campus; 5-11—*Liberal (1)

GARDEN CITY (2-2, 6-2)—WW  Wichita Heights 19-0, 14-7; W *Liberal 7-4; WW Goodland 6-5, 14-2; L *Dodge City 2-7; WL *Hays  High 23-22, 6-16; 4-16—*Great Bend; 4-20—*Liberal (1); 4-27—*at Dodge City (1); 5-3—at Lamar, Colo; 5-11—at Hays-TMP

HAYS HIGH (1-1, 3-1)—W Washburn Rural 5-3, 7-3; WL *Garden City 16-6, 22-23 ; 4-13—*at Great Bend (1); 4-16—*Dodge City; 4-22—*Great Bend (1); 4-24—at Olathe Heritage; 4-30—*Liberal; 5-6/8—Hays Western Diamond; 5-11—at Ulysses

LIBERAL (0-3, 4-3)—WW Hugoton 17-7, 10-6; L *Garden City 4-7; WW Guymon, Okla. 14-8, 19-3; LL *Great Bend 2-7, 9-15; 4-13—*Dodge City (1); 4-15—Woodward, Okla.; 4-20—*at Garden City (1); 4-22—at Guthrie, Okla. Tournament; 4-30—*at Hays High; 5-11—*at Dodge City (1)