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EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
A wild pitch in the seventh inning may have led to the winning run for the Hutchinson Monarchs over the Liberal Bee Jays, but it was a play earlier in the game that may have the Bee Jays regretting a missed opportunity at the NBC World Series in Wichita.
Liberal bowed out in ninth place after losing 2-1 to the Monarchs in the first round of bracket play.
The defensive battle made every base runner critical, and the Bee Jays had several runners early.
The Bee Jays had two runners on in the second inning, but Noah Giovannelli was stranded at third when Seth Green struck out to end the inning.
Read more: Bee Jays end run at NBC World Series with 2-1 loss
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EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
WICHITA — After a disappointing opening 7-5 loss against the BTL Hornets, the Liberal Bee Jays rebounded with a 7-0 win in their second game of the 2026 National Baseball Congress World Series. They play a critical third and final game in pool play at 8 p.m. tonight against the 2-0 Santa Barbara Foresters.
Andrew Banda started for the Bee Jays against the Hornets and struggled early, allowing two runs in the first inning and four runs in five innings.
Liberal trailed 4-1 after five innings and battled back to 4-2 after seven, but the Hornets put up three runs in the eighth against relievers Stephen Brown and Thomas Fowler, and even though the Bee Jays scored three runs in the top of the ninth, they came up short 7-5.
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EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
Two weeks ago a bid to the NBC World Series seemed bleak, and a Rocky Mountain title out of reach.
Seven straight Rocky Mountain Baseball League wins later, the Bee Jays not only received a bid to the national tournament, but they also claimed the league title outright, and after knocking off Dodge City 12-1 Saturday night, the Bee Jays grabbed bottles of water and doused each other in celebration of the dramatic finish to the season, and first-year head coach Caeden Trenkle stood soaked after having the water cooler dumped on him.
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EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
Josiah Rojas had six RBIs in the first four innings, and the Liberal Bee Jays pulled even with the Hays Larks for first place in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League with an 11-2 win Wednesday at Brent Gould Field.
The Bee Jays swept all four league games from the Larks this season.
The Bee Jays defeated Hays Tuesday 14-6 to set up a battle for first Wednesday.
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ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Athletics at Turpin High School are held to a higher standard than many schools. This can be seen with the numerous footballs posted all over the broadcast booth at the Cardinals’ field with state championships and runner-ups for that program.
Turpin has achieved success in other programs over the years, but the school’s softball program is relatively new, with less than two decades on the diamond for the Lady Cardinals.
Thus far in its short history, Turpin softball has achieved little success, but this past season, the program took a significant leap forward with its first winning season and its first ever All-State player.
Read more: McGowan becomes first Turpin All-State softball player

