Beaver baseball takes two from Goodland
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Sometimes it takes a little while to get momentum going in your favor. For the Scott City baseball team, it’s been in the past four days. Following doubleheader splits with Ulysses and Hugoton Thursday and Friday, the Beavers wrapped up the regular season at home with Goodland in hopes to keep the positive momentum moving into regional play next Monday. And that they did. Scott City survived a late Cowboy rally to take the first game 9-6, and won in walk-off fashion 9-8 in the finale.
Scott City 9, Goodland 6, Game 1
The Cowboys scored first in the top of the first inning on an RBI field choice by Darby Hays, scoring Nolan Deeds to give them the early 1-0 lead. Scott City responded with two in the bottom of the frame, to take the 2-1 lead through an inning. In the third, the Beavers batted around, and added four runs on three hits, and took advantage of two Cowboy errors to take a 6-1 lead. In the fourth inning, Goodland answered back with a Deeds RBI double to pull to within 6-2. It would be Scott City who opened the game up with three runs, all with two outs. Justin Faurot would triple in Gustavo Gonzalez, Kyle Cure drove in Faurot and Aaron Hoopes doubled in Cure to push the Beaver lead to 9-2. The Cowboys had one more punch left, as they scored four runs on four hits in their last at bat, but it wouldn’t be enough, as Scott City hangs on for the 9-6 win. Todd Morris went 4 2/3 innings, but did not pick up the win. He gave up two runs on three hits and struck out six. Justin Faurot, Aaron Hoopes and Kevin Aguilera drove in two runs each, and Kyle Cure had one hit. Scott City had nine hits and two errors. Kevin Herrman picked up the win in relief, going the final 2 1/3 innings. Nolan Deeds took the loss for the Cowobys, allowing seven runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He also drove in three runs and two hits, including a two-run single in the seventh inning.
Scott City 9, Goodland 8, Game 2
To say things were wild in both teams’ regular season finale would be an understatement. Scott City started off with a four-run first inning on only two hits, taking advantage of four walks. They sent 10 to the plate in that inning. There would be no scoring until the fourth inning, when Goodland rallied with five runs on three hits to take the 5-4 lead. The Cowboys had three hits, highlighted by Marcus Cardona’s two-run triple, as they sent 11 to bat in the inning. Scott City rallied for a run in the bottom of the fourth, as Justin Faurot scored to tie the game at 5. It would be the Cowboys rallying back with two runs in the fifth inning to take the 7-5 lead, on an RBI double by Deeds that scored Wence Hendrich. Not to be outdone, the Beavers tied it up in the bottom of the frame, as they took advantage of two walks to tie the game at seven. In the sixth, Scott City took the lead back. After Chase Rumford was hit by a pitch for the fifth time in the doubleheader, he would score on a wild pitch to take an 8-7 lead. The drama would not be finished after six innings. In the seventh inning, Goodland was down to their final out and their final strike, when Deeds homered over the left field fence on a three-two count to tie the game at eight. In the bottom of the seventh, Scott City would start off with two walks, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Rumford, and an intentional walk of Alex Depperschmidt. With the bases loaded with one out, Todd Morris on a three-one pitch would hit the ball deep enough to center field to score Kyle Cure from third to complete doubleheader sweep in walk-off fashion. Aaron Hoopes went 3-plus innings, giving up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Justin Faurot picked up the win, going 3 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with five strikeouts. The Beavers had just four five hits in the second game, but were walked 18 times, including being hit by a pitch. Gustavo Gonzalez had two hits and drove in three runs, while Aaron Hoopes had two hits. Cade Mayer took the loss, facing just two batters in the seventh. Darby Hays went 4-plus innings, allowing five runs on three hits with three strikeouts. Marcus Cardona had three hits and drove in two runs, while Nolan Deeds had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.
Scott City will finish in third place in GWAC play at 4-6, and finish the regular season at 7-11. It is their highest finish in league play since 2013, and they tied for their most wins in conference play since 2015. Their seven regular season wins are the most since 2013. Goodland closed the regular season dropping seven straight games to fall to 9-11 overall, and they also finished 4-6 in league play.
Scott City will be the number four seed on Monday, May 15 at the Class 4A, Division II Regional at Goodland, while Goodland will be the number three seed. Seeding and pairings will officially be released on Wednesday.
Coach David Dirks Postgame
