EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

The Bee Jays didn’t get key hits with runners on base at times against the all-star Canes 18-and-under team over the weekend, but they finally broke through when they needed and chalked up two run-rule wins.

The Bee Jays had no problems getting runners on base in Saturday’s game with the Canes, but they struggled to push those runners across home plate.

Despite loading the bases in the first and second innings, the Bee Jays only scored single runs in each of those innings to take a 2-0 lead.

A passed ball in the third allowed another Bee Jay to cross the plate, but that was all Liberal could generate, and the Bee Jays led 3-0. But the Canes danced on the midfield again in the fourth, and this time the Bee Jays made them pay.

Liberal opened up an 11-run inning with an RBI single from Jhett Huffman followed by Drew Gartman getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Cole Manuel and Cade Adams each walked with the bases loaded to force in  two more runs, and Seth Green followed with a two-RBI single to push the lead to 10-0.

Huffman followed with an RBI double, and Gartman added a three-RBI double to push the lead to 14-0.

The Canes pushed a run across in the top of the fifth for the 14-1 final.

Sunday, the Canes loaded the bases in the first inning, and Tyson Arnold hit a two-RBI double to give the Canes a 2-0 lead.

The Bee Jays tied the game in the second inning with RBIs from Adam Swanson and Ben Finnegan, and the Bee Jays added seven more runs in the third inning to take a 9-2 lead.

Swanson doubled for two more runs in the fifth, and Charlie Ziola hit a walk-off sacrifice to score Josiah Rojas, and the run rule was enacted for a 12-2 win.