Skins Squander Opportunities in Losses at Great Bend

It was not the way LHS wanted to begin their quest of a first WAC baseball title since 1993. After winning four of the past five against Great Bend the past two years, LHS fell flat on Tuesday as the Panthers roared to a pair of WAC wins 2-1 and 6-3 over visiting Liberal at the the Great Bend Sports Complex.

In game one, the Panthers scored one in the first after a lead off double and one in the second after a lead off triple. Sylman Pando doubled home Cole Evans in the third for Liberal’s run. It was a frustrating game for the Redskins who out hit the Panthers 9-8 and left 10 runners on base compared to GBHS’s five. Evans pitched six strong innings with five strikeouts. Four of Great Bend’s eight hits were for extra bases including three triples.

One bad inning was costly in game two and Liberal’s bats were quiet again. Great Bend won with only two hits thanks in large part to five Redskin errors. The Panthers scored one in the first. The Redskins plated one in the third when Sylman Pando drove home Tim Fitzgerald on a fielder’s choice. The inning included a batter’s interference call which cost LHS one out. In the bottom of the third, Great Bend scored a run on five hits, one three RBI triple, and four LHS errors. The Skins scored two in the fifth thanks to an error and a Kaden Long RBI single. LHS out hit GB 6-2 and again left 10 runners on base while GBHS stranded three. Tim Fitzgerald was 3-4. Jared Hasik pitched three innings without allowing an earned run. Tucker Deaton pitched three scoreless and hitless innings.

Liberal is 4-2 and 0-2 in the WAC while the Panthers are 3-1 and 2-0. Hays won two at Dodge City 15-2 and 7-5 in another WAC opener.

LHS plays at Clinton Saturday at noon and plays Anadarko at 2 in Clinton.