Sewardsaints.com
WICHITA – The eighth-seeded Seward County Saints fell 11-3 in seven innings to the top-seeded and top-ranked Johnson County Cavaliers in the opening round of the Plains District Tournament at Eck Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Seward falls to 25-37 overall on the season while Johnson County is now 57-2 and has won 41 consecutive games.
The Saints will play Hutchinson at 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in an elimination game.
Seward got out to a strong start taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the third after starting pitcher Michael Lujan held the Cavs to consecutive zeros in the first and second, highlighted by a double play in the first and two strikeouts in the second.
Jhett Huffman led the top of the third off with a double, and Isai Santaella followed up behind him with an RBI double to left center to make it 1-0. A Grant Cox RBI sac fly scored Santaella to stake the Saints to an early 2-0 lead.
Johnson scored its first run of the game in the bottom half of the third on a dropped fly by left fielder Jacob Urias that saw the batter Brayden Giesler come all the way home to score, making it 2-1.
JCCC chased Lujan (L, 5-6) in the fourth. The first Cavalier batter of the inning was retired but the next six reached as Johnson took a 5-2 lead. Brooks Kappelmann came on in relief of Lujan and recorded the final two outs of the frame, but not before the Cavs took a 7-2 lead.
Juan Alvarez singled home Huffman in the fifth to make it 7-3. Johnson plated four more in the fifth, highlighted by a three-run triple from Giesler that made it 10-3.
The Saints were held scoreless down the stretch as Johnson got the run-rule win in seven innings.
Kappelmann tossed 1.1 innings in relief, allowing two runs on a hit with three walks and two strikeouts. Trajan Chavez threw the final 1.1 allowing an earned run on one hit with two punchouts. Lujan threw the first 3.1, allowing six runs on four hits, striking out three and walking four.
Liam Roche (W, 14-0) earned the win for Johnson tossing 4.2 innings giving up three runs on five hits. Keston Holman threw 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
Huffman was 2-3 and scored two runs to lead the Saints offense.
