Desmond Roberts hit a towering home run to right field in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Hays Larks to an 8-7 win over the El Dorado Broncos Friday night at Larks Park. The homer came one pitch after Broncos manager Chad Gerwick was ejected for arguing with the home plate umpire.
The Larks trailed 7-5 entering the bottom of the ninth before rallying with two runs to force extra innings. Mackenzie Handel tied the game with a blooper to left field over a drawn in infield.
The Larks have now won three straight and improve to 6-1 and 2-1 in the Jayhawk League. The Broncos lose for the first time and fall to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the league.
The two teams play again Saturday and Sunday at 7pm. Y0u can hear Sunday’s game on 14-KAYS beginning at 6:45pm.
The Hays Larks offense continued its hot start to the summer as the Larks picked up an 8-5 win over Denver Wednesday night at Larks Park.
The Larks offense did most of their damage in the 2nd inning, scoring five runs. Hays took advantage of five walks and a hit batter in the inning. Clayton Garland and Desmond Roberts drew bases loaded walks to drive in the first two runs of the game. Tyler Petersen singled in the third run of the inning and MacKenzie Handel singled in two more runs giving the Larks a 5-0 lead.
Leading 5-1 Hays tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the 5th on a Desmond Roberts ground out and a Petersen double giving the Larks a 7-1 lead.
Colorado scored four in the top of the 6th but the Larks added one more in the bottom of the inning and held on for the 8-5 win.
Larks starter Jeff Chesnut worked four innings and allowed just one run on three hits to pick up the win. Taylor Petersen was 2-for-4 with two RBI and MacKenzie Handel and Desmond Roberts also drove in two runs in the win.
Hays is now 5-1 on the summer and they return to Jayhawk League play Friday night with the first of three games against El Dorado at Larks Park.
The Hays Larks opened Jayhawk League play Tuesday night by splitting a doubleheader in Liberal.
Game 1 – Liberal 7, Hays 6
In the first game the Larks got on the board in the first on an RBI single by Tyler Peterson and in the top half of the second Hays added another run on a Jake Placzek RBI single.
The Larks Cody Dailey led off the fourth with a double and came around to score on a Ty Gilmore single giving Hays a 3-0 lead.
Zair Koeiman led off the Larks half of the 5th with a triple, Tyler Peterson doubled to drive in Koeiman. Dailey doubled home Koeiman and Placzek followed that with an RBI single that scored Peterson giving the Larks a 6-1 lead.
Liberal answered the Larks three-run fifth with five runs tying the game at 6. The game remained tied into the bottom of the seven Liberal scored the game winner on an RBI single.
Viner Dalton suffered the loss for the Larks, he allowed one unearned run in 2.2 innings.
Game 2 – Hays 6 Liberal 1
Larks starter Chandler Hawkins allowed just one runs on four hits and struck out seven over six innings as the Larks picked up the 6-1 win.
The Larks scored two runs in the second on a Clayton Garland double, Garland was 3-for-5 with 4 RBI in the game.
The Larks put the game away with a four-run fifth inning. Ty Gilmore and Jake Placzek both drove in a run in the inning and Clayton Garland added a 2-RBI single giving the Larks the 6-1 lead and they would hold on to win by that score.
The Larks are now 4-1 on season and they return Wednesday for a non-league game against the Denver Cougars at Larks Park and 7 p.m.
The Hays Eagles American Legion baseball team dropped two games in Dodge City yesterday.
Game 1 – Dodge City 4, Hays Eagles 3
The Eagles opened the first game with one run in three of the first four innings and led 3-0 after 6 innings.
Dodge City tied the game with three runs, on four Eagles errors, in the bottom half of the 7th. In the bottom of the 9th Dodge City got a runner on after error by the second basemen and the runner scored on a walk-off single giving Dodge City the 4-3 win.
Layne Downing allowed four runs, none of them earned in 8.1 innings while striking out seven but picked up the loss for Hays. Clayton Basgall and Downing were both 2-for-4 with an RBI in the loss.
Game 2 – Dodge City 6, Hays Eagles 3
The Eagles got an RBI single by Chandler Rule, to open game two, giving the Eagles 1-0 lead. Dodge City answered with one in their half of the 1st inning tying the game at 1.
In the Eagles half of the 4th inning Dan Bittel drew a bases loaded walk to put Hays up 2-1 but the Eagles left the bases loaded to end the inning.
Dodge City plated four runs in their half of the 4th taking a 5-2 lead and added one more in the 5th. Hays plated one run in the 7th as Dodge City picked up the 6-3 win.
Chandler Rule suffered the loss for the Eagles. Rule walked seven and allowed five runs over 3.2 innings. Dan Bittel was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored
Hays is 4-4 on the season and they are scheduled to play a tournament in North Platte, Nebraska this weekend.
Click here to take a closer look at the State’s 4A schools and enrollment #s from 2012-13
In Accordance with the memo and ballot mailed April 30, 2013, the voting on Class 4A post-season competition in two separate enrollment divisions as proposed by the Big Seven League has now been completed. Forty Two (42) schools voted in favor of two divisions, twenty two (22) schools voted in opposition.
Based on sixty four (64) Class 4A member schools the proposal needed 33 votes to pass. That requirement has been met and the proposal as been adopted. Accordingly, the change to Classification of Senior High Schools Rule 5 Section 2, Article 1, approved by the Board of Directors last April by a vote of 35-27, will become effective in the 2013-2014 school year in volleyball, basketball, softball, and football in 2014.
KSHSAA Handbook Rule 5, Section 2, Article 1 will be modified by adding the following exception.
Class 4A Exception: Class 4A schools shall compete in two separate divisions for postseason and KSHSAA state basketball championship competition in the following activities: football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball.
Following the annual classifications and determination of schools assigned to class 4A, the half of the schools with the larger enrollments will be assigned to Division I and the half of the schools with the smaller enrollment will be assigned to Division II. If class 4A has an odd number of schools, Division I will be assigned one more school then Division II.
Since the origin of this proposal, KSHSAA staff have been working to identify host sites necessary to facilitate this new Class 4A format. That process is ongoing.
The Hays Eagles American Legion baseball team finished 3-2 at the Manhattan Tournament of Champions.
In the final game on Sunday Manhattan scored four runs in the 6th inning on their way to a 5-2 win over the Eagles.
In the Eagles half of the 4th inning Hayden Hutchison led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a Cameron Klaus single. Then with the bases loaded Jake Sedbrook walked and scored Lane Downing, who reached on an error.
Manhattan scored a run in the fifth and four more in the 6th on their way to the 5-2 win.
Eagles starter Brady Bieker allowed five runs, one earned over 5.1 innings and Cameron Klaus pitched 1.2 innings allowing just two hits.
Klaus was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk, Clayton Basgall was 2-for-4 and Hayden Hutchison was 1-for-3 with a run.
The Eagles are 4-2 on the season and they will play at Dodge City Tuesday night.
Tyler Peterson’s two-run homer in the fifth inning broke a 2-2 tie and helped the Hays Larks to a 9-3 win over the Colorado Sox Sunday night at Larks Park. Peterson’s homer was the Larks fifth of the series which they sweep to move to 3-0.
Mackenzie Handel’s two-run single highlighted a three-run sixth. Assistant coach Dusty Washburn drove home a run in the eighth with a pinch hit single. Catcher Josh White also knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly to round out the scoring.
Alex Frey picks up the win in relief despite walking four over three innings but allowed just one run on one hit. Starter Jeff Chestnut allowed two runs over the first three innings. DJ Carr pitched the final three innings of scoreless relief.
The Larks begin defense of their Jayhawk League title when they open league play at Liberal Monday and Tuesday night.
The Hays Larks hit four home runs to sweep the Colorado Sox in their season opening doubleheader Saturday at Larks Park. Hays hit three homers in their 14-5 win in the first game. Zair Koieman hit a grand slam in their 8-0 win in game two. The two wrap up the three game series with a 6pm game Sunday.
Game 1: Hays 14, Colorado 5 The Larks score seven in the fourth inning to take a 9-3 lead and never trailed again the rest of the night. Clayton Garland hit a two-run homer and Mackenzie Handel added a solo shot an inning later. Elvin Rodriguez it a solo homer in the sixth.
The Larks outhit the Sox 16-5 and win despite committing four errors.
Game 2: Hays 8, Colorado 0 Zair Koeiman highlighted a six-run first inning with a grand slam. Brandon Anderson pitched three scoreless innings to start the game. Logan DeRosier and Ian Bentley combined for four scoreless innings of relief.
After suffering through financial difficulties and low attendance the last several years, the National Baseball Congress has announced major changes to their annual postseason tournament.
The changes include dividing the event into two, one-week week tournaments that will be played consecutively from July 26th through August 10th.
Champions from leagues that haven’t been as successful at the tournament over the past decade, as well as second and third place teams from leagues with automatic bids, will make up the first 16-team double-elimination bracket.
The top two teams from the first week advance to a 16-team “championship week” double-elimination tournament where they will be joined by representatives from the 10 leagues that have had the most success at the NBC World Series over the last decade. Two at-large teams, determined by NBC officials, as well as the previous year’s champion and runner-up make up the final bracket.
NBC officials are hopeful the change will make it more affordable for traditional powers to return to Wichita. Last summer the Alaska Baseball League champ did not make the trip due to financial concerns.
Ticket prices are also being reduced and buyouts from local businesses offering complimentary tickets will be offered for both weeks.
A recent audit showed the tournament, which is owned by the city of Wichita but operated by the Wichita Wingnuts organization, owes the city about a quarter of a million dollars.
It’s not the roster he had started with but manager Frank Leo feels good about the latest edition of the Hays Larks who are set to open their season Saturday night with a six o’clock doubleheader at Larks Park against the Colorado Sox.
Click below to hear manager Frank Leo’s preview of the Larks 2013 season. Frank Leo
Leo has been busy working the phones, trying to replace several players who will not be playing this summer due to late season injuries during their college season.
After relying on a veteran pitching staff a year ago which helped them to the Jayhawk League title and a third-place finish at the NBC World Series, this year’s staff has just one player with more than two years of college experience.
The Larks do return several veterans form last season led by Aaron Cornell, who hit .316 and lead the team with 21 stolen bases. Cornell will not be with the team until his season ends at Oklahoma State. Brett Lang, who hit .312 a year ago, is also scheduled to return but will miss the first several weeks while he recovers from a thigh injury.
Zair Koeiman, who led the team in home runs a year ago, is set to return at second base. MacKenzie Handel, who hit .280 in 43 starts, also returns. Shortstop Elvin Rodriguez, who has played in Hays the last three summers, returns for at least the first part of the season.
The Larks open with a 6pm doubleheader Saturday sponsored by the Dreiling/Schmidt Cancer Institute. In connection with Hays Med, they will provide free skin cancer screenings from 5:30-8pm.
Sunday is Little League night with all area youth in uniform going onto the field with the player introductions.
The Larks begin defense of the Jayhawk League title Monday with the first of a two-game series in Liberal.
The Salina Falcons rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat the Hays Eagles Senior American Legion baseball team 10-9 in their opener at the Manhattan Tournament of Champions Thursday at Norvell Field. The Eagles commit seven errors which resulted in five unearned runs. The Eagles are now 1-1 on the young season. They play Great Bend at 4pm and a team from St. Joseph, Missouri at 8:30pm Friday.
The Eagles had rallied from an early 4-0 deficit, taking the lead on Clayton Basgall’s two-run homer in the seventh. Hays scored two in the third, three in the fourth then two in the sixth and seventh to grab a 9-7 lead entering the bottom of the seventh.
The Falcons used a walk, an error and a hit batter to load the bases in the final frame. They scored the first run on a passed ball then tied the game with a bases loaded walk. After a strikeout and a flyout, a Cameron Klaus wild pitch allowed the game winning run to score.
Basgall had three hits and drove in five to lead the Eagles 10-hit attack. Chandler Rule added two hits and knocked in three. He also took the loss in relief after giving up two earned runs in one inning of relief. Starter Hayden Hutchison gave up seven runs, three earned on seven hits over five innings.
Hall of Famer George Brett is returning to the dugout as the Royals’ interim hitting coach, with Pedro Grifol also joining Kansas City’s coaching staff as a special assignment coach, the club announced on Thursday.
Former hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David have been reassigned to the Minor Leagues.
“Obviously things have not gone as we would have expected, and in light of the downturn in offensive production and poor results, we’ve decided to make a change,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a statement.
The Royals enter Thursday night’s game against the Cardinals on an eight-game losing streak and winners in only four of their last 23 games. The Royals rank eighth in batting average and 10th in on-base percentage in the American League, and their power has been lacking. Kansas City ranks near the bottom of the league in runs (13th) and has hit the fewest home runs (28), which is 14 fewer than the Twins, who have the second fewest.
Brett, 60, is the Royals’ all-time hit leader with 3,154 during his career from 1973-93. He is the only player in Major League history to win batting titles in three decades, winning the AL crown in 1976, ’80 and ’90. His No. 5 was retired by the organization on May 14, 1994, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Brett has served as a vice president of baseball operations since his retirement and has worked on the field in Spring Training, but this is his first in-season coaching role.
“I’m thankful that this organization has one of the greatest hitters and, more importantly, one of the greatest competitors our game has ever seen in George Brett, and he has accepted our offer to join the coaching staff on an interim basis,” Moore said.
Layne Downing and Kyler Niernberger both had two hits to lead the Hays Eagles Senior American Legion to a 5-3 win over the Hays Monarchs in the season opener for both Wednesday night at Larks Park.
The Eagles built a 4-0 lead after five innings, scoring single runs in the first and second then two in the fourth. Downing drove in the first run with an RBI single in the first inning. They scored their second run on a error on Monarch first baseman Ryan Schippers. Their two runs in the fourth came without a hit, scoring on a groundout and an error.
The Monarchs rallied with two in the sixth on a bases loaded walk by Schippers and then scored on a double play off the bat of Jordan Gottschalk.
Hays got one run back in the bottom of the inning on Daniel Bittel’s RBI single.
The Monarchs scored in the seventh on a double play and had the tying run aboard when Cameron Klaus got a ground out to get out of the jam.
Klaus would retire all seven that he faced for the save. Brady Bieker didn’t allow a run on one hit over three innings for the win.
The Senior Legion is back in action this weekend at a tournament in Manhattan. The Monarchs are off until June 9th when they travel to Ellis for a doubleheader.
