The Hays High Indians claimed the championship of the Western Plains Diamond Classic with an 8-4 victory over Life Prep on Saturday.
The Indians scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The first four batters all reached which allowed Cooper Sanders and Johnny Cano to score on a single by Carter Graham. Hays added a third run when Dylan Haselhorst drove in Lex Lummus on a single.
Life Prep scored all four of their runs on one swing in the top of the third inning. The Fire loaded the bases without a hit via two walks and a hit by pitch. A grand slam home run cleared the bases and gave Life Prep a 4-3 advantage.
Hays answered back with four runs of their own in the bottom of the same inning. Lummus scored on a ground out to tie the game. The next three runs occurred with two outs. Tiger Johnson drove in Jack Weimer to take the lead at 5-4. Brett Schumacher provided a single that scored Johnson. Schumacher then scored on a wild pitch for a 7-4 lead.
The Indians added an insurance run in the bottom of the sxith inning when Ian McGuire scored on a ground out for the what ended up being the final score of 8-4.
Tiger Johnson went three and a third innings for the victory. He allowed four runs on four hits. Johnson walked five and struck out three. Johnny Cano earned the multi-inning save with three and two-third innings pitched. He allowed no runs, just one hit, struck out four and walked two.
Hays improves to 15-8 on the season. They will conclude the regular season on Thursday in Salina. Hays will play Buhler at 4:00 and Salina South at 6:00.
Both Hays and Manhattan went 3-1 during the Diamond Classic. Hays beat Manhattan on Friday leaving them as the champions. TMP and Life Prep were each 2-2. Brush, CO finished 0-4. It is the first title for Hays since 2021. This marks their 15th Diamond Classic championship.
Saturday
Manhattan 8 - TMP 5
Manhattan 11 - Brush, CO 2
Life Prep 11 - Brush, CO 5
Hays Hays 8 - Life Prep 4
Friday
Hays High 4 - Manhattan 3 (9 innings)
Manhattan 4 - Life Prep 3
Life Prep 5 - TMP 0
TMP 7 - Brush, CO 0
Hays High 7 - Brush, CO 0
Thursday
TMP 8, Hays High 2