HAYS – Great Bend scored five runs in the third inning but it was a Sage Koelch three-run homer in the fifth that proved to be the difference in the Panthers 8-6 win over Hays High in the opening game of the Diamond Classic Thursday night.
The Indians (9-6) rallied with a run in the fifth and six in the sixth and had the tying runs on base in the seventh before a strikeout ended the comeback and the game.
Great Bend (12-3) used three straight singles followed by two walks and a hit batter to score all five of their runs in the third with two outs.
It looked like the Indians might avoid any damage in the fifth when Brad Beck was thrown out at the plate on a perfect relay throw from Dalton Dale followong a Carter Coombs double, but a two-out walk followed by Koelsch’s line drive homer to left put the Panthers up 8-0.
The Indians struck back with a run in the bottom of the fifth then took advantage of back-to-back errors and singles from Carson Spray and Jack Fields to score their first two runs in the sixth. Spray scored on a passed ball to make it an 8-4 game. After an intentional walk to Dylan Dreiling, the Indians tacked on two more runs on an error but a strikeout ended the inning.
The Indians got two on in the seventh with a single and an error but failed to score.
Starting pitcher Garrett Wellbrock (4-1) struggled with the light rain that fell through most of the contest. The senior allowed all eight runs on nine hits with five walks and one strikeout. Keatyn Barnett pitched two scoreless innings of relief, allowing only one hit.
Stef Spray picked up the win for the Panthers allowing one earned run on five hits with one strikeout and four walks.
The Panthers have won six-straight while the Indians drop their second in-a-row. Hays will play Manhattan Friday at 11:00 a.m. then take on Wichita Trinity at 7:15 p.m. They close out the classic against Word of Life out of Wichita at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday.