EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

Liberal only managed to get four hits against the Fort Collins Foxes Thursday at Brent Gould Field, and the lack of offense coupled with a last-inning collapse led to a 9-3 loss.

Cade Adams hit an RBI single in the third inning to give the Bee Jays a 1-0 lead, but the Foxes responded in the fourth with back-to-back RBI singles to take a 2-1 lead.

A wild pitch in the fifth allowed the Foxes to score another run to take a 3-1 lead, and an RBI single in the sixth pushed the Fox lead to 4-1.

Liberal scored two runs in the eighth when Trenton Uyeda singled to left, and Josiah Rojas scored followed by Cade Adams, and Liberal cut the lead to 4-3.

But the Bee Jay pitchers couldn’t keep the game close in the ninth. Braxon Trenkle took the mound and gave up a two-RBI single to push the Fox lead to 6-3.

Trenkle was relieved by Adam Swanson, who gave up a three-run home run to Foxes catcher Gladish, and Fort Collins took a 9-3 lead.

The Bee Jays put two base runners on in the ninth but could not score with all three outs coming from strikeouts.

The Bee Jays travel to Colorado and will not return home until the July 4 showdown with the Dodge City A’s.