Pitching and Defense Leads Bee Jays to Opening Win

With a large opening night crowd  looking on, the Liberal Bee Jays opened their season with a 9-1 win over the Denver Cougars at Brent Gould Field.  The BJ’s used six pitchers to hold the Rocky Mountain Collegiate League’s Cougars to five hits.

AJ Folds singled in the first and scored after an error, two walks, and a wild pitch.  Denver tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the third.  BJ shortstop Justin Harris used a 6-3 double play to get out of the inning without further damage.  Blaine Thomas looped an RBI double to right to give the BJ’s a 2-1 lead.  After Denver placed their first two men on base to begin the fourth, Liberal used a 4-6-3 double play from Cason Gregory to Justin Harris to Cayde Ward to get out of the inning.  Harris lofted a homer to left center to lead off the fourth.  Elijah McCarter singled and scored when the Cougars turned a double play.  That made it 4-1 Jays after four.  Liberal scored a pair of runs with two outs in the sixth after a Cayde Ward single and two Cougar errors.  Harris singled and stole a base to lead off the seventh.  AJ Folds singled home a run.  Wyatt Grant singled before Ward doubled home two with a fly ball to left center.

Ethan Swanson pitched three innings allowing one run.  Rafferty Brown went two scoreless.  Cade Citelli, Brady Bowles, Thomas Bartels, and Kyle Duffey pitched scoreless innings for the BJ’s.  Citelli struck out the side.  Harris, Folds, and Quintt Landis had two hits a piece.

Liberal is 1-0 and Denver is 1-4.  The Bee Jays open play in the Kansas Collegiate League’s Jayhawk Division with a 7 pm game Sunday night at Dodge City.  The BJ Dugout Show begins at 6:45 on 1270 and kscbnews.net.