EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
For the first three innings, it may have looked like Liberal was trying to give the game away. With several catches dropped and plays not made, the Redskins found themselves trailing 6-1 against Western Athletic Conference foe Dodge City.
But the Redskins rallied late to overcome the miscues for a 7-6 win.
The Redskins had chances to score early, but other than a single run in the second inning the Redskins left the bases loaded in the first and third without scoring a run.
Dodge City scored a lone run in the second after a Liberal error allowed a runner to reach, and multiple errors in the third led to five more Red Demon runs in the third inning.
Trailing 6-1, the Redskins left the bases loaded in the third and didn’t score a run in the fourth. But in the fifth inning, the Redskins pushed three runs across the plate to narrow the gap to 6-4.
The Redskins tied the game with two runs in the sixth, and with two outs in the seventh in a 6-6 tie, the Redskins pushed the walk-off run across the plate for the come-from-behind 7-6 win.
Liberal committed six errors, and Dodge City committed four.
Of the combined 13 runs scored in the game, only two were earned.
Zayden Martinez, Marco Alonso and Erek Lira each had two hits in the win. Xavier Porras also had a hit.
Brooks Kappelmann pitched six innings and allowed six runs, none of them earned, on six hits and a walk while striking out 11.
Martinez earned the win on the mound after pitching a shutout seventh inning while striking out one.
The win moved Liberal to 12-10 overall and currently in the seventh-seed position in the Class 6A West standings.
Dodge City fell to 8-14 and 14th in the Class 6A West Division.
Liberal will host Garden City (7-10) today in the regular season finale. Liberal defeated Garden City 6-0 earlier this season.
