By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend High School baseball team earned a share of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship Friday night as they knocked off Dodge City on the road 7-2.
The Panthers (11-3) trailed 1-0 after three innings, but were able to tie the game in the 4th inning with an RBI from Jade Poe.
Great Bend gained their first lead of the game by scoring two in the 5th inning and then opened it up by plating four in the 6th. With the bases loaded in the sixth, Chayse Gruber brought in a run by earning a walk. Gavin Haberman eventually followed that with a three-RBI triple to give the Panthers a 7-1 lead.
Great Bend outhit the Red Demons 10 to 4 and won their fifth straight game. The Panthers conclude WAC play 6-2 and won a share of the conference championship along with Hays.
Chayse Gruber pitched all seven innings to get the win. Gruber (5-1) gave up four hits while striking out a season-high eight batters.
Tyler Stuhlsatz, Sage Koelsch, Paco Hernandez and Gruber all had multiple hits for the Panthers, led by Stuhlsatz's 3-for-4 performance.
Great Bend is off until Thursday, May 5 when they begin the Diamond Classic tournament in Hays. The Panthers open against the Hays Indians at 6 p.m. Thursday.