EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

 

The Liberal Bee Jays scored early and often in their final game in Colorado this season with a 21-7 run rule win over the Gameday Angels, setting up a grueling run against Dodge City and Hays the rest of the Rocky Mountain League season.

Cole Manuel started the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning followed by two more runs for a 3-0 lead.

Charlie Ziola homered on the second, and Josiah Rojas hit a three-run shot in the fourth followed by Ziola’s second homer of the game, and Liberal led 8-0.

Seth Green scored on a wild pitch later in the fourth, and the Bee Jays added four more in the sixth to take a 13-0 lead.

The Angels finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth with four runs to cut the lead to 13-4, but the Bee Jays responded with seven runs in the seventh including an RBI triple by Green who later scored on a Gameday error, and RBI single by Cal Anthony, a bases loaded hit by pitch on Drew Gartman, a bases loaded walk to Cade Adams, and RBI single by Charlie Ziola and a two-RBI single by Ben Finnegan, and the Bee Jays had a 21-4 lead.

The Gameday Angels plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the run rule, and the Bee Jays secured the 21-7 win.

Liberal will return to Kansas today and play the Dodge City A’s in Dodge City before returning to Brent Gould Field to host the A’s on the Fourth of July.

The Bee Jays will then travel to Hays for a three-game set with the Larks July 6-8 before returning to host the A’s July 11 and the Larks July 13-15.