Just like the NCAA basketball tournament, the motto with summer baseball is “survive and advance.”  The Hays Eagles did just that during the opening round of the American Legion AAA State Baseball Tournament in Manhattan on Wednesday, beating Winfield 8-6.  Ten game winner Josh Heifner gave up four runs on four hits in the first inning of the game over 44 pitches.  Hays though responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first by Austin Unrein, Riley Kaus, and Hayden Hutchison.

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Hays tied the game at four in the bottom of the second inning on a Hutchison sacrifice fly to score Casey Sedbrook.  Winfield regained the lead in the top of the third with back to back doubles and led 5-4 to the bottom of the fourth.

Hays plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth on RBI’s from Zack Legleiter and Trevor Henningson, giving the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.

Heifner (11-1) settled in after the first to pitch seven innings allowing five runs on eight hits walking just three and striking out five.  Tyler Woolridge pitched a scoreless eighth.  Austin Unrein allowed a run in the ninth while earning his second save of the summer.  The save of the game though may have come from center fielder Dan Bittle.  Bittle threw out a Winfield runner trying to score from second in the ninth inning that left the game with two on and one out instead of bases loaded and no outs.

Hays is 42-8 on the summer.  Winfield falls to 19-10.

Notes: Hays will play Thursday at 5:00 against Newton who beat Salina 10-3… The Eagles did plate runs in the fifth and eighth innings as well… Winfield out hit Hays 13-6.  Winfield committed three errors while Hays had 2… Hays stranded 12 base runners while Winfield left 13 on… Hays was playing with out head coach Brad Kelly who was in Hays for the birth of his second son Brant.