Bee Jays Bury Bulls in Opener

Liberal began their 60th summer of baseball with an emphatic 13-3 victory over the Bethany Bulls Friday night a Brent Gould Field in Liberal. Longtime BJ fan and veteran Jim Odom tossed the ceremonial first pitch.

The Bulls are a Jayhawk League team but the series is non league this weekend. Bethany, in the Oklahoma City area, is in their fourth year of existence.

Liberal scored three in the second. After back to back walks, Olivet Nazarene’s Madison Foster doubled off the wall in right center to score two. West Texas’s Nick Chapman singled him home. Bethany made it 3-1 with a fourth inning tally. The Bee Jays scored three in the fourth with two outs. Seward’s Brandon Rix singled and stole second before Chapman doubled him home. Montana State-Billing’s Luke Reinschmidt tripled him home. Former Saints Bryson Allen back for a second BJ season and playing at Southeastern Oklahoma State singled home a run. The Bee Jays broke it open in the fifth. Foster’s three RBI double gave Liberal a 9-1 lead. Rix doubled home a run. Reinschmidt triple home two before Gonzaga’s Jeff Bohling doubled him home.

Reinschmidt was 3-4 with two triples and three RBI’s and Foster was 3-5 with two doubles and five RBI’s. Rix and Chapman added two hits a piece.

Liberal used their Seward County connection using four current or former Seward pitchers. Stephen F Austin’s Tyler Wiedenfeld, in his third stint with the Bee Jays, pitched four strong innings allowing one run for the win. Seward’s Grant Glaze and Thomas Garland pitched two innings a piece without allowing an earned run and Seward’s Jakob Hernandez pitched the ninth in the win.

The same two teams meet Saturday and Sunday nights at 7 at Brent Gould Field. Koochel’s is the buyout sponsor Saturday and Chrysler Corner is the buyout Sunday meaning admission is free both nights.