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Bluestem wins 2A baseball title
spt deh 1a-2a state bball ellis v chase county pitch web
Cottonwood Falls-Chase County High Bulldogs pitcher Colton Potts (10) lets it fly to a Ellis High School Railroader batter Friday afternoon during the second round of the 2017 Kansas State High School Activity Association 1A-2A state tournament at the Great Bend Sports Complex. - photo by DALE HOGG Great Bend Tribune

Leon-Bluestem completed a sweep of the top three seeds with an 8-5 championship over unbeaten Ellis 8-5 to capture the Class 2-1A state baseball championship. Blake Bevan was the Lions’ winning pitcher.
Bluestem reliever Jacob Lanier retired Brayden Bittel on a groundout to end the final Ellis threat with the bases loaded.
Bluestem (17-4) rallied from a 5-1 deficit after three innings. The Lions scored two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and two in the sixth. Lions Hunter Clift, Tritten Beavers and Nicholas Laidler scored the first three runs without a base hit.
Bevan and Beavers singled and Luke Simon’s RBI single sparked a three-run fifth inning. Beavers’ RBI single followed base hits by Clift and Beavers in a two-run sixth inning.
Bluestem defeated unbeaten Troy 8-4 and once-beaten Oxford 8-1 to reach the finals.

TROY 8, CHASE COUNTY 2 (3rd) – Troy scored in four innings, taking advantage of five errors and six walks and hit batters to cruise to a third-place victory.

ELLIS 5, CHASE COUNTY 4 (semifinal) – Ellis scored two ninth-inning runs when Martin Hernandez scored the tying run and Hensley scored the winning run when Brayden Bittel’s groundball was misplayed. Hernandez singled, Dalton Hensley was hit by a pitch and Easton Smith’s single tied the score 4-4 in the ninth.

BLUESTEM 8, TROY 4 (semifinal) – Bluestem scored eight runs in the middle innings to upset Troy. Bluestem’s Lanier doubled to key a three-run third inning. Moran delivered an RBI single in a wo-run fourth inning. Clift’s two-RBI double keyed a two-run fifth inning.

BLUESTEM 8, ELLIS 5
Championship
BHS 100 232 0 – 8 7 3
Ellis 212 000 0 – 5 9 5
Bevan, Lanier and Moran. Labarge, Bollig and Cox. W—Bevan. L—LaBarge.

TROY 8, CHASE CO. 2
Third place
CC 000 020 0 – 2 5 5
Troy 130 202 x – 8 3 4
Groh, Benjamin, Kohr and Sharp. Greaser, Smith and Winder. W—Greaser. L—Groh. 2B—CC—Johnson.

BLUESTEM 8, TROY 4
BHS 003 220 0 – 8 5 2
Troy 004 000 0 – 4 3 6
Beavers and Moran, Huss, Greaser and Greasere. W—Beavers. L—Huss. 2B—T—Greaser; B—Clift, Lanier.

ELLIS 5, CHASE CO. 4
CC 002 010 001 – 4 9 2
Ellis 011 001 002 – 5 6 3
Potts, Johnson and Sharp. Hensley, LaBarge and Labarge. W—LaBarge. L—Johnson. 2B—CC—Kohr. 3B—CC—Potts.