EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
The final score isn’t as important as the experience in what has become an annual tradition between the Liberal Bee Jays and Liberal Rattlers.
The Bee Jays won 8-5, but the score may be deceptive. This year, the Bee Jay pitchers took the field with the Rattlers, and the Rattler pitchers took the field with the Bee Jays. That way, the Rattler batters faced Rattler pitchers, and the Bee Jay batters faced Bee Jay pitchers.
No matter who got a hit or made a good play, the crowd had a reason to cheer.
“It’s important to get the Rattlers out here,” Liberal Bee Jay coach Jared Mayeda said. “This is usually one of our biggest crowds, which is really fun, but it’s also important to get our batters and our pitchers some innings. We were able to do both of those. And we get to see some of the future baseball players here in Liberal, and that is always special.”
The Liberal Rattlers are coached by Brock Kappelmann, who is being helped this summer by his son, Brooks, who plays for the Seward County Saints. Brooks was also a former Rattler and Bee Jay, and he is currently in rehab for an injury that took place during his freshman season with the Saints. He has remained engaged by assisting with the Rattlers.
“It was great for us,” Brock said. “We were obviously very wide-eyed, early on in the game especially. We’ve played two weekends so far. We played in Goddard the first weekend and then in Oklahoma City after the high school season. We are appreciative to the Bee Jays for allowing this to happen. Our guys had so much fun. They learned a lot and how much faster the game is played up above them.”
Playing the college-level competition provides the Rattlers with a glimpse at what the future can be.
“This is right up there for what we do in the summer,” Kappelmann said. “I want this to be a major part of the scrapbook. We won’t play in front of a crowd like this. We obviously won’t play against a team like this. Playing on Brent Gould Field — whether it be a kid from Elkhart, Plains or Satanta or Sublette — these kids grew up coming to games here, so it is meaningful to them.”
For Mayeda, it’s another way for the Bee Jays to connect with the community.
“We always talk about our kids camps, but this is just as important,” Mayeda said. “The Bee Jays run off the support of the community. We have such great support here, whether it is from the board, from the Rattlers, from the fans and everyone in between. To put on an exhibition for the community is important. I always have this one circled on my calendar. We get to see the local kids, and we had a huge crowd. It’s always a great night.”
For the Rattlers, it’s a chance to see just what will be expected in the future.
“The Bee Jays get to the ball much more quickly, and they get it in much more quickly,” Kappelmann said. “I’m not as limber, and I wave them a lot more often on weekend tournaments than I did against the Liberal Bee Jays, that’s for sure.”
The game also gives Mayeda a chance to evaluate his roster.
“We use the first couple of weeks to feel out what we have,” he said. “We have about 14 hitters and 14 or so pitchers. Guys are starting to fill a role. They are getting comfortable with Liberal, with their teammates and their coaches, which is probably the most important thing. We have four games this week. We will see a lot of everyone.”
The Rattlers also take the opportunity to see how players react.
“It took a little time, especially when our pitcher and catcher are on the other side,” Kappelmann said. “There was some coordination to have guys ready in the bullpen before they go in. We have a very versatile team. Brooks and I had to map it out today, and we had to predetermine what we were doing all seven innings. Luckily we have a lot of versatile guys who can play a lot of positions.”
