EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
Jason Davis had a shaky start to the Fourth of July classic between the Liberal Bee Jays and the Dodge City A’s, but he regained his composure and led the Bee Jays to a win.
The A’s pushed a runner across the plate in the first inning and in the top of the second to take a 2-0 lead, but the A’s pitcher struggled in the second inning, and the Bee Jays took advantage of the walks.
Matt Bernath tied the game in the bottom of the second with a two-RBI single, and after the Bee Jays loaded the bases, Drew Grego was hit by a pitch that forced in a run and gave the Bee Jays a 3-2 lead.
Justin Hudson followed with a double to push two more runners across the plate, and the Bee Jays had a 5-2 lead.
Liberal put a pair of runners on base in the fourth, and Carson Wilson drove a bomb over the left field fence for a three-run shot and an 8-2 Liberal lead.
Dodge City cut into the Bee Jay lead with a solo home run in the fifth, and a dropped third strike by the Bee Jays in the sixth allowed a Dodge City runner to score to cut the lead to 8-4.
But the Bee Jays responded in the sixth when Ryan doubled to left to push Willis and Landon Bruce across the plate for a 10-4 Liberal lead.
The Bee Jays started to flirt with the run rule in the seventh when Grego hit an RBI single to stretch the lead to 11-4, and Willis added an RBI single to push the lead to 12-4.
Drew Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to score Hudson, and the Bee Jays had a 13-4 lead with two runners on base. But the A’s were able to record the final out of the inning and avoid the run rule.
The Bee Jays again had runners at second and third with two outs in the eighth, but failed to push a run across the plate, giving the A’s one final shot in the ninth.
And the A’s started to rally.
Liberal reliever Trevor Steele struggled to throw strikes in the ninth, and after Dodge had two runners on base, an RBI dingle cut the lead to 13-5.
Another RBI single cut the lead to 13-6, and the A’s followed that with a two-run home run with two outs to cut the lead to 13-8.
Steele then beaned the next two batters he faced, and the Bee Jays went to the bullpen with Leonardo Tamaki.
The change led to a game-ending strikeout, and the Bee Jays came away with the 13-8 win.
Davis earned the win on the mound, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out five.
Braden Whipple pitched three solid innings of relief, allowing one run on no hits and a walk while striking out five.
Grego had a strong night at the plate with three hits and two RBIs.
Willis had two hits and three RBIs in the win.
Hudson also had a two-hit night.
The Bee Jays had 10 hits, as did Dodge City, but Liberal took advantage of 11 walks while only giving up six.
The Bee Jays traveled to Dodge City Saturday and fell short 10-7.
Dodge City broke through against Ian Reid in the second inning with a two-run single to take a 2-0 lead.
Dodge City used a ground out to force another un across the plate in the third for a 3-0 lead before the Bee Jays were able to score with an RBI double by Willis in the third and an RBI double by Ryan to cut the lead to 3-2.
But Reid struggled in the fourth beginning with a home run to give the A’s a 4-2 lead, and an error at second led to a 5-2 Dodge City lead.
Reid then allowed a three-run home run, and Dodge City led 8-2.
Grego hit an RBI single in the fifth, and he added a two-run home run in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-5.
But the A’s responded with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 10-5 lead.
Grego hit his second home run of the night in the ninth inning, a two-run shot to cut the lead to 10-7, but that’s as close as the Bee Jays could get in the loss.
Reid allowed eight runs in four innings on three hits and four walks while striking out one.
Grego had three hits and five RBIs in the loss.
Liberal travels to Colorado to face the Roughriders tonight.
