The Bee Jays’ 10-5 loss against the Colorado Rough Riders was the result of a battle that swiftly escalated from an early pitching duel. After five full innings, it was 1-1 going into the sixth inning after two scoreless innings were followed by one run each in the third inning. Alex Lora, the starter for the Bee Jays, allowed the lone run on three hits, four walks, and three strikeouts in five full innings of work.
The Bee Jays were unable to generate any offense and gave up five runs on defense in the sixth inning, which proved to be too much. Drew Grego’s solo shot over the left field fence in the seventh inning would put them behind 6-1, but the Rough Riders would strikeout two of the next three batters to keep the advantage at 6-2 going into the eighth inning.
After that, the bats took off, and the Rough Riders increased their advantage to 10-2 in the eighth inning with four runs of their own. In the eighth inning, the Bee Jays would also establish their offensive rhythm, scoring three runs off of three solo home runs in four batters. The celebration began when designated hitter Carson Willis took a 1-0 pitch to deep left field. Jack Ryan and Kyle Sandner blasted consecutive home runs after a strikeout, and then the Rough Riders retired the next two batters.
The Bee Jays had momentum going into the top of the ninth and dismissed three of the first four batters, leaving the top of the ninth unscaled. The Rough Riders managed to retire three of the four batters in the middle of the Bee Jay lineup to win, meaning the 10-5 deficit would remain. The Bee Jays’ pitching struck three hitters and had just seven strikeouts while allowing those 10 runs on 11 hits and six walks. In the nine innings, the Rough Riders had no crucial defensive errors, but the Bee Jays made two.
The Rough Riders drop to 3-6 on this early season, while the Bee Jays go to 6-4 on the season and 5-4 in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League. Before the Rough Riders depart Liberal, the two teams will play three more games against each other. Game two of the four-game series will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at Brent Gould Field. KSCB broadcasts that game at 1270 AM and 92.3 FM. The Friday game’s buyout sponsor is Crystal Kinsinger, an agent of State Farm.
