HOME SWEET TURF
Panthers sweep WAC baseball opener
BY JIM MISUNAS
Liberal led Great Bend’s baseball team 4-0 with six outs left.
But Sage Koelsch and his Panther teammates would not be denied on their first-ever artificial turf games at Jeff Langrehr Park.
Koelsch delivered the game-winning double that ignited a 7-run sixth inning in a 7-4 Western Athletic Conference victory. The Panthers completed Friday’s sweep with a dominating 10-1 victory in the nightcap. The Panthers (5-1, 3-0 WAC) take over first place in the league.
Koelsch drilled a first-pitch fastball to right field off Liberal pitcher Brock Kappelmann that scored Brad Beck and Carter Coombs with the tying and go-ahead runs.
It was perfect timing for Koelsch, batting .571 (12 for 21).
"I looked first-pitch fastball," Koelsch said. "We started putting the ball in play and found some gaps."
Down 4-0, Chayse Gruber singled and Stefan Spray hustled out an infield single. Gruber scored on Jade Poe's groundout. Spray and Gavin Haberman scored on Brad Beck's double down the third-base line. The Panthers took advantage of a 2-out break when Coombs reached on an error. Gruber's triple to right field scored Koelsch and Paco Hernandez for a 7-4 lead.
"That was a big comeback, but we weren't worried," Koelsch said. "We knew we had a lot of baseball left."
Koelsch (1-0) threw 51/3 shutout innings in a nifty 68-pitch relief performance on a pitching friendly day with north winds gusting past 20 mph.
"That's my best game pitching I've had," Koelsch said. "I hit my spots with my fastball. My curveball was a big pitch, breaking really good today."
Liberal scored four second-inning runs off crafty Panther starter Edwin Chavez. Erek Lira and Zayden Martinez drilled RBI singles and Israel Garcia delivered a 2-run single.
PANTHERS 10, LIBERAL 1 (G2) – Panther righthanded pitcher Gruber was brilliant for the third time with three strikeouts and zero earned runs in six innings. Gruber (3-0) has 20 strikeouts with zero earned runs in 15 innings.
Gruber's single scored Hernandez in a 3-run third inning. Gruber and Spray scored on Liberal errors. Hernandez drilled a 2-run triple to score Joseph Moeder and Koelsch. Gruber's single scored Hernandez for a 6-0 lead. Coombs' single scored Poe and Beck for an 8-1 lead. Hernandez tripled and scored on a passed ball. Spray scored on Poe's sacrifice fly for a 10-1 final
Somewhere, former Great Bend coach Jeff Langrehr was smiling. Langrehr coached the Panthers to 1995 and 1998 state baseball titles. His father, Harold Langrehr, played for Great Bend’s 1955 state baseball champions.
Liberal 040 000 0 – 4 6 1
Great Bend 000 007 x – 7 11 1
Kappelmann, Kerr (6) and Garcia. Chavez, Koelsch (2) and Beck. W—Koelsch, 1-0. L—Kappelmann, 1-2. 2B—GB—Beck, Koelsch. 3B—GB—Gruber.
Liberal 000 010 0 – 1 3 4
Great Bend 003 322 x – 10 11 0
Rubio, Martinez (4), Lira (4) and Kerr. Gruber, Hernandez (7) and Beck. W—Gruber, 3-0. L—Rubio. 2B—GB—Gruber 2. 3B—GB—Hernandez 2.
