Hays High made their 13th appearance at the Kansas High School State Baseball Tournament on Thursday. Eck Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University played host to the 5A tournament.
The Indians opened with the champion of the two most recent state tournaments Topeka Seaman. The Vikings won the 5A title in 2018 and 2019 before COVID-19 stopped the 2020 season.
Hays High took advantage of two Topeka Seaman errors to score four runs in the first two innings for a 4-1 lead. Dylan Dreiling and Garrett Wellbrock scored an a throwing error for the game's first two runs in the first. Dalyn Schwarz and Ben Krannawitter scored on the same passed ball and error play in the second.
Garrett Wellbrock drove in Dawson VonFeldt on a single for a 5-1 advantage after two innings.
Highlights
The Indians added to the lead following a thirty minute rain delay in fifth when Krannawitter scored on a single from Dreiling. The Vikings got a single tally back in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch.
Dylan Dreiling had thrown 104 pitches through six innings, allowing him to come back for one more hitter in the seventh. He retired the leadoff batter and ended his outing allowing two runs on five hits. Dreiling struck out six and walked four for the victory. The win is Dreiling ninth of the season tying Jay Koerner (1982) and Jason Goetz (1991) for the most wins in a single season.
Dalton Dale walked the first batter he faced in relief, then retired the final two. The first on a diving play in right field from Krannawitter. The second on a ground ball to end the game.
Coach Dustin Dreher
Hays improves to 18-3 on the year and advances out of the first round of the state baseball tournament for the first time since 2000. Topeka Seaman falls to 19-4.
The Indians will face the top overall seed Andover Central (22-1) in the semifinals at 11:00. The Jaguars won 6-0 over St. James Academy (9-14). The game can be heard on 96.9 KFIX, the KFIX app, or by telling your smart speaker to "Tune Into KFIX." The Hertz Rent-a-Car pregame show will begin at 10:45.