Liberal baseball swept Hays on Thursday in a make up double header that allowed the Redskins to claim a share of the Western Athletic Conference title. Each Hays and Liberal needed a sweep of one another to tie Dodge City and Garden City at 5-3 in final conference standings.
Trey Riggs allowed just two runs in game one but the offense managed just single run in support in the Indian’s third consecutive one run loss. The sophomore over came three errors through the game but Liberal managed to get three hits in the fourth inning for the decisive margin.
Riggs went six and two-thirds innings throwing 105 pitches, the maximum allowed by KSHSAA. Tyrone Wynn finished off the only batter he faced in the seventh inning. Riggs struck out a career high nine, passing his previous high of seven that he established Saturday versus Goddard-Eisenhower in the Diamond Classic.
Hays batters walked six times and were hits twice. The Indians were 0-12 with runners in scoring position.
Hays managed just four hits in the loss and scored the only run when Wynn doubled to score Cody Petersen.
Coach Frank Leo
Both team’s offense came around in the second game with Liberal scoring runs each of the odd numbered innings, including five in the seventh for a 11-7 win to clinch their share of the conference crown. Each team scored a single run in the first with Hays tying the game on a triple by Wynn. He scored on a wild pitch in the next plate appearance. Liberal scored two more in the third and three in the fifth to expand their lead to 6-1. Hays answered with two in the bottom of the fifth and had the bases loaded but could not score any more.
Liberal needed all of their five seventh inning runs as Hays strung together four runs in the final inning, all on two outs but left the bases loaded for fourth time in the game. Hays stranded fourteen runners in the second game loss. They left ten on the base paths in the first game. Hays used two pitchers in the game with Cole Murphy taking the loss and exiting the game with a stiff back after the third. The Indians walked seven batters and hit four. Liberal walked nine and hit three.
Wynn led the way in game two with four hits. Peterson added two hits. Both players also scored two runs. Peterson and Palmer Hutchison each drove in two runs. The Indians finished game two 5-16 with runners in scoring position out of 22 play appearances.
Hays falls to 8-10 overall and finishes 3-5 in the WAC. Liberal is now 13-5 and 5-3. Hays returns to action on Friday for senior day, taking on Valley Center. It will be the Indians third double header in four days and will finish off ten games over nine days.