Bee Jays Settle for Split with Hays

Playing Hays for the first time since 2019, fans at Brent Gould Field on Thursday night were treated to a pair of competitive baseball games.  The Bee Jays rallied to win game one 5-3 and Hays held off a late Liberal rally to take game two 3-2.  It was Liberal’s first loss in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League.

Game one began Wednesday night when two full innings were played before it was postponed due to rain.  The game resumed in the top of the third on Thursday at 5pm with temperatures in the high 90’s.  Liberal loaded the bases in the first and didn’t score.  They scored two in the fourth.  Caden Hensley singled and Chane Reisdorph ripped  a double down the third base line.  Ryan Leary grounded out to score a run.  Cooper Hext singled home a run.  Liberal loaded the bases but only scored the two runs.  Hays scored a run on a BJ error in the sixth.  Hays took a 3-2 lead with a two runs on two hits but three BJ walks and one HBP.  Liberal responded in the bottom of the eighth.  Caden Hensley and Chance Reisdorph singled to lead off the inning and Ryan Leary bunted for a hit to load the bases with no outs.  Cooper Hext lofted a sac fly to center to tie the game.  Luke Smith line a sac fly to right for the lead.  Keaton Grady ripped a double to left center for the 5-3 lead.

Liberal used five pitchers for the win.  Sean Brady started on Wednesday night and pitched two shutout innings.  Jackson Berry went 3 and 2/3 innings and did not allow an earned run.  He struck out four.  Dylan Kerbow went two innings allowing one run.  Luke Barbier went 1 and 1/3 scoreless to close it out for the win.  He was the Epic Touch Player of the Game for doing that.  Tyce Armstrong was 3-4.  Liberal out-hit Hays 12-8 and won despite four errors.

Game two was a low scoring affair.  Hays scored two runs in the first on a BJ error.  The Larks chased home a third inning run.  Hays did not score again.  Jack Arthur lofted a solo home run to left center in the fourth to make it 3-1.  Liberal had two on and one out in the fifth and did not score.  In the seventh, the BJ’s staged a rally.  Ryan Leary walked to lead off the inning.  Caden Hensley doubled to left but Leary was thrown out at home for the first out.  Gavin Brzozowski doubled off the wall in center.  Conner Westenburg hit a sac fly to right.  But with the tying run on third, Liberal grounded to second to end the game.

Robert Bonilla was the Epic Touch Player of the Game working 4 and 1/3 scoreless innings and keeping the BJ’s in the game.  Henley was 2-2.

Liberal has lost four of their last six.  They fall to 9-4 and 7-1 in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League.  Hays is 13-4 and 10-2.  The Bee Jays host the Colorado Springs Outlaws Friday night at 7pm with pre-game at 6:45 on 1270, 92.3, and the KSCB and The Legend App.  Billy’s-Ayr Lanes is the buyout sponsor.

 

Wednesday night’s audio of the first two innings of game 1:

 

Thursday night’s audio of game 1, third inning to end:

 

Thursday night’s audio of game 2: