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.

EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

After the Fourth of July game against Dodge City ended in a draw, the Bee Jays traveled to Dodge Sunday for a 12-8 win and then lost a one-run game to the Rocky Mountain League-leading Hays Larks, 3-2 Monday.

Liberal trailed the A’s 7-5 in the ninth inning of the annual holiday classic against the A’s Saturday, but the Bee Jays rallied with a Ben Finnegan home run to lead off the inning and a sacrifice fly by Drew Gartman that scored Trenton Uyeda to force a 7-7 tie.

Because the game was non-league, the teams agreed to end the game and allow the post-game fireworks celebration to start.

Following the tie in Liberal, the Bee Jays traveled to Dodge City Sunday for a rematch with the A’s, and after falling behind 3-1 early, the Bee Jays rallied for a 14-8 win.

L&T staff report

James Fieser played his last game representing the Liberal Redskins as a receiver in the Kansas Shrine Bowl June 27. Fieser made a 22-yard catch in the game and had another 50-plus yard reception that was called back on a penalty on the line.

Fieser was an all-state receiver as a Redskin and will continue his football career in college as a Butler Grizzly this fall.

EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

After scoring 59 runs in three games in Colorado, the Liberal Bee Jays only managed to score two runs against Dodge City in five innings Thursday, and that led to a 9-2 loss in a weather-shortened game.

During the three-game streak, the Bee Jays scored 59 runs but gave up 31, and the pitching staff continued to struggle against the A’s Thursday.

Dodge City scored two runs in the first and then added four in the third and three in the fourth.

The Bee Jays scored single runs in the third and fourth innings, but with storm conditions intensifying, the game was called after the Bee Jays went down in order in the top of the fifth which made the game official.

Stephen Brown allowed four runs on three hits and five walks, and Anthony Edwards allowed five runs on three hits and two walks.

Liberal will host Dodge City July 4.