Saints baseball falls to Fort Scott in Region VI playoffs

FORT SCOTT, Kan. – The Seward County Community College baseball team ended its season after falling to Fort Scott Community College, 8-0 and 6-5, in the best-of-three series of the first round of the Region VI playoffs on Saturday. The Saints finished 17-15 in the Jayhawk West and 26-27 overall.

GAME ONE

Seward could not overcome a four-run inning and strong pitching by Fort Scott in the game one loss.

The Saints managed to get two runners on in the first two innings and in four of the nine innings, but always came up empty. Seward left 11 men on base.

While Seward struggled to drive in runs, Fort Scott scored single runs in the second and third innings and put the game away in the fifth with four runs on a grand slam to take a 6-0 lead. The Greyhounds added single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to cap the scoring at 8-0.

Starter Tanner King took the loss, allowing seven runs, six earned, on 13 hits, striking out six, walking one and yielding a homer, over 6 1/3 innings. Cory Didier finished up, giving up one run on three hits over 1 2/3 innings.

Benny Ayala went 2-for-4 and KP Werner, Cayde Ward, Zane Alexander and Owen Martin each had a hit for the Saints, who had six hits in the game.

GAME TWO

Seward rallied to take the lead but could not hold on late in the game two loss.

After the Saints took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Benny Ayala's run-scoring single, the Greyhounds answered back with two runs in the second inning to take a 2-1 advantage.

Seward scored four times in the fifth inning to retake the lead at 5-2. KP Werner led off the inning with a single and Joe Kuhn followed with a walk. After a sacrifice to put runners on second and third, an error allowed Cruz Shope to reach first and Werner and Kuhn to score. Zane Alexander drove in Shope with a double and then Cayde Ward singled to put runners at first and third. Ayala drove in Alexander with the fourth run of the inning on a ground out.  

The Saints could not hold on as Fort Scott scored twice in the bottom of the fifth and sixth to open a 6-5 margin.

Seward had one final chance in the ninth inning. Wyatt Grant was hit by a pitch to start the inning and went to second on a Richard Armijo sacrifice. But Grant was left stranded as the Saints made the final two outs to end the game.

Ben Tsui had a pair of singles and Alexander, Ward, Ayala and Werner each had a hit to account for the Seward offense.

Cole Evans took the loss, surrendering six runs on five hits, striking out nine, walking three and yielding two homers over 5 2/3 innings. Braeden Gould relieved Evans, allowing two hits over 2 1/3 scoreless innings.