GREAT BEND – The Ellis Railroaders baseball team earned their second top three state finish in four years Friday with a third place finish at the 2-1A state baseball tournament in Great Bend.
In just the programs second ever state semifinals appearance the Railroaders fell 3-0 to Valley Falls in their first game Friday but they bounced back to win the third-place game 14-4 over Spearville.
In the third-place game Ellis scored in four of five innings and cruised to the win in five innings.
Ellis opened the game with five runs in the bottom of the first inning.
After three straight singles to load the bases, Easton Burton walked with the bases loaded to put Ellis up 1-0. Two batters later, George Crawford walked with the bases loaded making it 2-0.
Ellis added runs on a fielder’s choice and error before Sam Honas made it 5-0 with an RBI single.
The Railers made it 6-0 with a run scored on a wild pitch and 7-0 with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the second inning.
Spearville got a pair of runs back in the top of the third inning to make it 7-2 Ellis.
Ellis scored six more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
They scored on a pair of RBI singles, a pair of errors, a bases loaded hit by pitch and a ground out to making 13-2 Ellis through four innings.
Spearville two more in the top of the fifth before Ellis plated a run on an error in the bottom of the inning giving the Railers the 14-4 run-rule victory.
Seven of the nine Railers in the lineup drove in a run with George Crawford driving in a pair of runs.
Tegan Cain was three-for-three and scored four times. Konnor Pfeifer triple and scored three times.
Easton Burton earned the win for Ellis.
Burton allowed four runs, two earned in five innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Ellis finished the season 21-1.