Let’s start with the negative news. The Great Bend Bat Cats can now play league games since the Bee Jays’ July 2 game against them has been canceled. Thus, the Bee Jays will get a couple more days off until their upcoming game on Friday, July 4th, against the Dodge City A’s.
The Bee Jays won back-to-back games this weekend for the first time since June 22 and 25, which is wonderful news. They won by a landslide 14-3 in seven innings on Saturday night. Because they didn’t have to bat in the bottom of the seventh to win by run rule, the Bee Jays scored that 14 runs in just six innings. In a similar vein, the Bee Jays overcame a sluggish start to defeat the Denver Cougars 11-3 in seven innings on Sunday afternoon.
Following a 3-2 loss to the Cougars on Friday night, the Bee Jays bats came alive on Saturday night. On Saturday night, the Bee Jays wasted no time in scoring three runs in the first inning and four more in the second. The Cougars could only generate one score in the second and third innings, and the Bee Jays would lead the entire game. The Bee Jays would score two more runs in the fourth inning after going scoreless in the third. Additionally, the Bee Jays would score five more runs in the sixth inning for a total of 14 runs after both teams failed to score in the fifth inning. The Bee Jays won 14-3 without batting in the seventh inning, despite the Cougars’ best efforts to respond. Their one run would not even be enough to keep the game going past the top of the seventh.
The Bee Jays’ pitching was the only thing hotter than the 94 degree temperature at first pitch. Despite the five Bee Jays errors, starter Ian Reid and reliever Kage Ralstin combined for six strikeouts, allowing three runs on five hits. The Bee Jays’ offense, which scored 14 runs on 10 hits in just six innings, was a far cry from the game the previous evening. J.T. Cox added two runs of his own and a two-run RBI double in the sixth to bring the score into run rule territory after first baseman Justin Hudson had already scored three runs for the evening. The next batter to bat, Matt Bernath, would knock Cox home with his own RBI double.
In a non-league game against the same Denver Cougars on Sunday afternoon, leadoff hitter Todd Baffa would take over just where the Bee Jays left off on Saturday night. He started off quickly as the Bee Jays’ leadoff hitter, hitting a double on the second pitch in the bottom of the first. Regretfully, the Cougars retired the next three Bee Jays in a row, leaving him stranded at second base and the only player to reach base in the first. After catcher Diego Davis reached base on a fielder’s choice, Matt Bernath scored as a pitch runner in the second inning, giving the Bee Jays their first run. The Cougars scored all three of their runs in the top of the second inning before being shut out, leaving the Bee Jays behind 3-1 after that lone run.
following three innings, the Bee Jays would be 3-1 following a scoreless third. In the fourth inning, Baffa produced an RBI single to score Jake Ortega, cutting the Cougar advantage to one. Once again, Bernath would run in place of Davis after he singled in the inning, creating a two-run cushion crossing the plate for the third and final run of the fifth inning. The Bee Jays’ bat would finally cooperate after they took their first lead of the game after Drew Garcia knocked Drew Grego in for the tying run and he would score the game-winning run later in the inning. The Bee Jays would enter the sixth inning with a 5-3 lead. The Bee Jays continued to keep the bats going, scoring an extra six runs in the sixth inning while the Cougars went three up, three down. After finishing 5-5 at the plate with two doubles and three singles, Baffa recorded the first and last hit of the crucial sixth inning. However, he was left stranded in four consecutive innings and would only score one run in the sixth. In the Sunday matinee, the Bee Jays left nine runners on base, increasing their season total to 154. The Bee Jays would win the seven-inning non-league game 11-3 after the Cougars failed to score in the seventh.
The Bee Jays’ tenth run in the season’s last June game puts them back above.500. They are currently 8-9 following the non-league game and have a 10-9 season record. After losing the first game of each three-game homestand and winning the next two in both series, they ended their six-game season series against the Denver Cougars 4-2. The Bee Jays’ next game is against the Dodge City A’s on Friday, July 4. Brock Kappelman, the voice of Bee Jays Baseball, will broadcast that game on Bee Jays Baseball’s home station at 1270 AM and 92.3 FM. The game on July 4th will have the Community Bank as its buyout sponsor.
