BY JIM MISUNAS
Garden City spoiled Great Bend’s goal of a baseball sweep with a perfectly timed double play. Buffalo second baseman Caleb Metzen turned a groundball by Stefan Spray into a game-ending double play in a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
Great Bend won Friday’s opener 5-4 in 55-degree temperatures with a north wind blowing 20 mph. The Panthers (6-3, 3-2 WAC) must win their final three WAC games for a first-place tie with defending champion Hays High (7-2, 6-1 WAC).
PANTHERS 5, GARDEN CITY 4 (G1) – Great Bend reliever Chayse Gruber (4ER-19 IP, 1.33 era) preserved a 1-run victory with three splendid innings after starter Stefan Spray (2-0) worked four innings. Gruber struck out four batters and worked out of a bases-loaded no-out situation by retiring Luis Varela, Sebastian Rodriguez and Calen Wiese in the fifth inning.
The Panthers scratched out five runs with productive outs and alert baserunning. Paco Hernandez (.548, 17-31) delivered three hits to extend his streak to nine straight consecutive times reaching base.
Varela singled home Metzen in the first inning. Paco Hernandez scored on alert baserunning on Spray’s groundball out. Brad Beck stole second base and scored on Joseph Moeder’s second-inning single for a 2-1 lead.
Garden City’s Micah Perez singled home Ricardo Almanza for a 2-2 tie. Panther Gavin Haberman singled home courtesy runner Edwin Chavez and scored on a passed ball for a 4-2 lead.
Almanza scored on Varela’s sacrifice fly as Gruber worked out of a bases-loaded fifth-inning jam. Carter Coombs’ sacrifice bunt helped Panther Jade Poe score on a fifth-inning error for a 5-3 lead. Perez singled home Almana in the sixth inning for a 5-4 score.
GARDEN CITY 4, PANTHERS 3 (G2) – The Panthers hung around with clutch pitching and baserunning until Spray’s groundout ended it. Hernandez walked and Gruber singled off Buffalo reliever Adam Cook.
Wiese singled home Rodriguez and scored on a second-inning passed ball for a 2-0 lead. Metzen’s single scored Varela after a third-inning double for a 3-0 lead. Koelsch scored on a passed ball after reaching base on catcher’s interference.
Varela singled home Emilio Zundt for a 4-1 lead. Haberman’s infield single scored Gruber in the fifth inning. Coombs singled and scored on a hard-hit sixth-inning groundball by Chavez.
Garden City 101 011 0 – 4 8 4
Great Bend 112 010 x – 5 8 3
Metzen, Wiese (7) and Rodriguez. Spray, Gruber (5) and Beck. W—Spray 2-0. L—Metzen. 2B—GB—Gruber, Hernandez.
Garden City 021 010 0 – 4 6 2
Great Bend 001 011 0 – 3 4 0
Salinas, Cook (4) and Rodriguez. Hernandez, Koelsch (5) and Poe. W—Cook. L—Hernandez, 0-1. 2B—GC—Verela.
WAC BASEBALL
Hays High 6-1 7-1
Great Bend 3-2 6-3
Garden City 3-3 6-5
Dodge City 1-2 3-4
Liberal 0-5 5-5
TUESDAY—*Hays 16-6 Great Bend
THURSDAY—*Hays 8-2, 8-2 Dodge City; Liberal 13-2 Guymon, Okla.
FRIDAY—*Great Bend 5-4 Garden City; Garden City 4-3 Great Bend; Liberal 19-12, 16-7 Woodward, Okla.
TUESDAY—*Dodge City at Great Bend (1); *Garden City at Liberal (1)
THURSDAY—*Hays at Great Bend (1)
FRIDAY—Wichita West, Scott City at Dodge City; Liberal at Wichita Life
HAYS HIGH (6-1, 7-1)—WW *Liberal 12-2, 10-0; W Washburn Rural 14-4, 5-15 (suspended); WL *Garden City 15-3, 10-16; W *Great Bend 16-6; WW *Dodge City 8-2, 8-2; 4-21—*at Great Bend (1); 4-23—at DeSoto (2); 5-5 to 5-7—at Hays Tournament (4); 5-10—Ulysses (2)
GREAT BEND (3-2, 6-3)—W Junction City 11-0; L McPherson 2-8; WW Hutchinson 7-6, 11-2; WW *Liberal 7-4, 10-1; L *Hays 6-16; WL *Garden City 5-4, 3-4; 4-19—*Dodge City (1); 4-21—*Hays High (1); 4-26—Hays-TMP (2); 4-29—*at Dodge City (1); 5-5 to 5-7—at Hays Tournament; 5-13—at Goddard Eisenhower
GARDEN CITY (3-3, 6-5)—W Newton 5-4; L Circle 1-2; L Augusta 3-6; W *Liberal 9-8; WW Goodland 14-3, 11-1; L *Dodge City 2-8; WL *Hays High 16-10, 3-15; WL *Great Bend 4-3, 4-5; 4-19—*at Liberal (1); 4-26—Dodge City (1); 5-2—Lamar, Colo. (2); 5-6—at Emporia (4); 5-12—Hays-TMP (2)
DODGE CITY (1-2, 3-6)—LL Andover 5-7, 5-7; L Newton 6-8; L Valley Center 2-4; W *Garden City 8-2; WW Wichita South 15-5, 11-0; LL *Hays High 2-8, 2-8; 4-19—*at Great Bend (1); 4-22—Wichita West, Scott City; 4-26—*at Garden City (1); 4-29—*Great Bend (1); 5-3—at Wichita, McPherson; 5-6/7—at Emporia; Maize South; 5-10—*at Liberal (1); 5-12—*Liberal (1)
LIBERAL (0-5, 4-5)—WW Hugoton 15-3, 15-3; L *Garden City 8-9; LL *Hays High 2-12, 0-10; LL *Great Bend 4-7, 1-10; 4-14—at Guymon, Okla. (2); WW Woodward, Okla. 19-12, 16-7; 4-19—*Garden City (1); 4-22-23—at Wichita Life; 4-25—Wichita South (2); 5-2—Elkhart (2); 5-10—*Dodge City (1); 5-12—*at Dodge City (1)
