Great Bend Post Sports
Along with higher temperatures, the seventh-ranked Panther baseball team also had to contend with windy conditions in Friday's doubleheader against Liberal at the Sports Complex. Great Bend took game one 8-5, then blanked the Redskins 6-0 in game two to improve to 8-1 on the season.
Liberal scored in each of the first three innings of game one to lead 5-1 after three at bats. Great Bend used some small ball to tied things up in the bottom of the third. That 5-5 tied lasted until the sixth inning. Koehn Ribordy led the Panthers off with a walk, then came around the bases via a home run from Carson Umphres. Ian Premer followed with a single, scoring on a single from Trenton Kern.
Hunter Herrman came on in relief of Ribordy in the sixth, striking out two to get out of a jam. Herrman struck out another in the seventh before the Redskins batted into a double play to end the game. Herrman got the win with three strikeouts in his five outs recorded. Ribordy threw 3.1 innings, allowing no hits, striking out five, and walking four. Umphres pitched two innings, striking out five and giving up four walks. The Redskins managed three earned runs on four hits against Umphres.
Umphres came up a triple shy of the cycle with three hits and a walk, driving in two and scoring three times. Premer had the triple and two singles to finish with three RBIs and two runs. Kern doubled and singled twice, and Owen Kaiser doubled for his one hit.
Daxton Minton got the start in game two, allowing no runs on three hits and striking out four. Peyden Oelger finished out the game with three hitless innings and a strikeout.
The Panther offense, meanwhile, wasted no time getting on the board with three runs in the first and singled runs in each of the next three innings.
Kern and Premer each singled twice. JJ Grove doubled for his lone hit, and Ribordy singled and walked twice.
Great Bend travels to Hays for a pair of games Tuesday.