GREAT BEND – The Hays Eagles Senior American Legion rallied from a nine run deficit to beat the Great Bend Chiefs 13-12 in eight innings Sunday at the Great Bend Sports Complex and have been declared champions of the Great Bend American Legion AAA Zone 1 Tournament.

Since the Eagles (30-6) are hosting next week’s AAA State Tournament and already have a spot in the eight-team field, and since they made it through the winners bradket 2-0 and a win or loss would have no bearing on seeding at the state tournament, Hays has been declared the winner of the Zone and will not have to play Monday’s night’s scheduled title game.

Great Bend (24-14) will play Nickerson Monday evening with the winner securing the second spot out of Zone 1 to state.

The Chiefs scored eight runs in the first inning Sunday, and led 11-2 after three but Hays (30-6) rallied with three in the fourth, three in the fifth then four in the sixth.

After Great Bend tied the game with a run in bottom of the sixth, the Eagles took the lead back for good on a Colby Dreiling fielders choice, scoring Brady Kreutzer in the eighth.

Cody Petersen worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth, catching a line drive back to the mound to end the game. He pitched the final 1 1/3 innings and picked up the win.

Brady Kreutzer had four of the Eagles 18 hits and drove in three runs. Petersen had three hits and Brock Lummus two. Both drove in two runs as the Eagles win their eighth straight.

The Eagles will play either Great Bend or Nickerson for the Zone title Monday night around 8 o’clock. The Chiefs and Panthers play their elimination game at 6 p.m.