BY JIM
MISUNAS
Sunflower Collegiate All-Star Duante Freeman is officially on fire.
Freeman homered and drove home five runs as the Great Bend Bat Cats routed league leader Cheney 14-4 in Saturday’s Sunflower Collegiate League baseball game.
Bat Cat pitcher Conrad Hansel worked five innings to earn the victory.
The Bat Cats (20-10) are 21/2 games ahead of the Hutchinson Monarchs (16-11) for second place in the West. The Bat Cats return to West Division champion Cheney (26-5) Sunday.
Great Bend roughed up starter Jack Brimacombe and continued to hit the Diamond Dawg relievers.
Bat Cat shortstop Collin Meinert played his typical flawless defense. He started a 6-3 double play on Quinn Waterbury in the sixth inning. Meinert turned Blake Rambusch’s eighth-inning groundball into a double play.
Ryan Monson singled home Collin Meinert and Dawson Pomeroy singled home Monson for a 2-0 lead after one inning. Freeman homered and Pomeroy scored on Chase Gibson’s groundout in the third inning.
Freeman singled home Meinert and Monson and Romero singled home Freeman for a 7-1 lead after four innings. Freeman singled home Meinert and Monson scored on Brady Michel’s sacrifice fly for a 9-3 lead.
Freeman finished a career-best night when he doubled home Alex Guevara in a four-run seventh inning. Monson scored on a balk. Romero doubled home Freeman. Michel doubled home Romero for a 13-4 lead. Nolan Riley scored on an eighth-inning error for a 14-4 run-rule victory.
Cheney DD 000 120 10 – 4 5 5
GB Bat Cats 202 302 41 – 14 16 2
Brimacombe, Koon (5), Shipp (7) and Grover. Hansel, Bell (6) and Gibson. W—Hansel. L—Brimacombe. 2B—Freeman, Michel, Romero; C--Vingocha. 3B—C—Dunnam.
HR—GB—Freeman (4).
