EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

Liberal kept its NBC World Series tournament hopes alive by taking two out of three from Rocky Mountain League-leading Hays.

After dropping the first game of the series 3-2, the Bee Jays won Game 2 10-6 to force the rubber game Wednesday.

Brooks Kappelmann pitched six scoreless innings to lead the Bee Jays to a 4-3 win.

Jhett Huffman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the game’s first run, and Cal Anthony scored on a fielder’s choice later in the second ginning to give the Bee Jays a 2-0 lead.

Base runners paid off again in the seventh when Huffman scored on a fielder’s choice, and a sacrifice fly pushed Ben Finnegan across the plate, and Liberal led 4-0.

But Liberal reliever Skyler Raley struggled in the ninth and gave up a home run that scored three runs before Josiah Rojas took the mound and struck out the final Hays batter to secure the 4-3 win.

The loss was the fourth league loss for Hays, while the Bee Jays have eight losses in the league. Fort Collins has six, and Dodge City has 10.

The Bee Jays have a single game against the A’s at home Saturday before hosting the Larks for three games beginning Monday.