BJ Rally Falls Short in Wellington

Last season when the Wellington Heat and Liberal Bee Jays played, you could just about bank on a one run game. Five of the six games between the teams last season were decided by one run. Tuesday night , the BJ’s dug holes of 4-0 and 8-2 only to rally to lose by one 8-7 at Hibbs-Hooten Field in Wellington.

The Heats touched off BJ starter Brad Vassar for four runs on five hits in the second including Kyle Lacy’s home run to the trees in right. Liberal scored in the third when Texas State’s Luke Sherley doubled, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch. Texas State’s Jaylen Hubbard launched a triple to center to drive home a run in the third to slice the Heat lead in half at 4-2. Wellington plated four in the fifth on four hits and one error which allowed two unearned runs to score. Wellingtons’s Chase Rader hit his seventh homer of the season in the inning. Liberal rallied against the Heat bullpen. After striking out nine times in six innings against Heat starter Jinny Parra, Liberal found a soft underbelly to the Heat, their middle relief. The BJ’s scored three in the seventh. Sherley and Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Bryson Allen singled and Olivet Nazarene’s Madison Foster walked to load the bases with no outs. Tennessee Tech’s Chase Chambers lifted a sac fly to the wall in right center before Nicholls State’s Gavin Wehby doubled home two to make it 8-5. Sherley doubled home a run and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth to make it 8-7.

Wellingto out hit Liberal 11-9 while the BJ’s kicked it around for three errors and several other misplays and base running errors. The Heat are 10-0 and 5-0 in the Jayhawk. The BJ’s are 6-3 and 2-2. The same two teams meet Wednesday night in Wellington on 1270 and kscbnews.net.