Buffalo baseball falls on the road to Liberal

Liberal, KS-The Buffaloes had ample opportunity to add a statement win to their 2018 resume. But in the end, it was the Redskins claiming another Western Athletic Conference title.

Elijah McCarter drove in two runs, Braxton Hyde allowed just one earned run over seven strong, and Liberal completed a season sweep of Garden City with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday.

“We had some fundamental mistakes,” Garden City Coach Justin Reich said. “But we had a chance to beat a really good club.”

The Redskins scored first on a two-out, RBI single by Francisco Terrazas in the bottom of the first. They added two more runs in the second on McCarter’s two RBI single to left.

Garden City cut into the deficit in the third. Andrew Kreutzer and David Artega led off the frame with back-to-back singles. After Cooper Thayer grounded out and Auston Waetzig struck out, the Buffaloes needed some two-out magic. They got it when Elier Arreola laced a run-scoring single to center followed by a Redskin error that allowed another base runner to cross home plate, making it a 3-2 game.

But the Buffaloes could not muster any offense after that, and Liberal added an insurance run in the sixth when Syris Dunlap scored on a passed ball.

Thayer started the game for Garden City and did not allow an earned run while scattering four hits in three innings. Jayden Escamilla pitched three innings of relief, yielding one run on three hits. He struck out three and walked three. Kreutzer was 3-for-3 at the plate for the Buffaloes, who are currently sitting in the 12th seed in the region standings.

Garden City closes the season Thursday vs. Wichita West-2:45 p.m. pregame; 3 p.m. first pitch on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app