Big fourth inning propels A’s past Liberal

Dodge City, KS(westernkansasnews.com) The Dodge City A’s fell behind 4-0 Thursday night before a six run fourth inning pushed them to a 6-5 win over the Liberal Bee Jays.

The Bee Jays jumped out to an early lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Jack Krauel and a walk to Jonathan Tapia made it 2-0. Liberal added two more runs in the second inning with a two-run homer from Sean Arnold to make it 4-0.

The bats woke up for the A’s in the fourth inning. Daylan Nanny and Carlos Arrellano delivered back-to-back RBI singles to cut the lead to 4-2. Then Dylan Johnson brought in a run on fielders choice and a second run scored on the play on an error by the second baseman Tapia to tie the game at 4. Kyle Cullen then followed with a two RBI single to put Dodge City on top 6-4.

It was another strong night for the A’s bullpen as their four relievers allowed one run and three hits over the final five innings. That one run came in the sixth on an RBI sac-fly by Krauel to cut the Bee Jays(13-10) deficit to 6-5.

Robert Gonzalez(1-0) overcame a shaky start to get the win. He threw four innings and allowed four runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. Brock Knoten picked up his third save of the season pitching a three up, three down ninth inning.

The A’s(10-9) have won four of five meeting with Liberal so far this season. Dodge City is currently in fifth place in the Jayhawk League standings a half game behind Derby and El Dorado and a game behind the Bee Jays. The A’s are on the road Friday night at Derby to open up a three game series. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:45 p.m. on 95.5 FM and swksradio.com