BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
It's finally a green light for the Great Bend Bat Cats summer baseball team and the Sunflower Collegiate League. The Bat Cats will start a 41-game schedule June 11 against Liberal.
The Sunflower Collegiate League finalized schedules after the NBC Tournament announced it will start in early August. The NBC will likely be played at Wichita's Riverfront Stadium, home of the Wichita Wind Surge.
“I’m excited,” said Roger Ward, Bat Cats coach. “This roster is what I’d been hoping for. We have all the pieces and versatility.”
Great Bend's Brady Michel and Brayden Smith will join six Barton Community College baseball players, including Jarrett Seaton (Emporia State).
“I wanted Brady Michel back. He’s playing another year at Emporia State,” Ward said. “We’re excited for Brady to play a third season.”
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s shutdown orders concerning the coronavirus placed summer baseball on hold for three months from March until June.
Prospective Bat Cats players will start arriving after June 3 with the season to start June 11. The Bat Cats Fitch Pitch banquet is scheduled for June 5 at the Knights of Columbus building. An auction and 50/50 raffle will be staged
"We still need a few host families," Ward said. "Any help is greatly appreciated. We want to let the players know their host families by Friday. My housing director and myself have used social media, phone calls, and radio trying to get this done."
For information, call Ward, (620) 282-8159; or email gbbatcats@yahoo.com.
Casey Walkup, Sunflower League commissioner, said the league will do whatever it takes to play baseball in a safe environment. Walkup has served as Sunflower Collegiate League commissioner since 2016. The league will follow safety guidelines suggested by local and state health officials.
“We’re follow everyone’s orders and won’t put anyone at risk,” Walkup said. “Safety is more important than baseball. We’ll monitor how things are going and make sure everyone is safe."
NCAA, NJCAA and NAIA baseball canceled their spring seasons. The rival Kansas Collegiate League Baseball also canceled its summer season.
2020 GREAT BEND BAT CATS
Coaches—Roger Ward, Tim Nolan
2—Chance Ragsdale, IF, Washburn, Weatherford, Texas
3—Chandler Bloomer, C-OF, Barton CC, Ottawa
4—Alex Rodgers, OF, Barton CC, Omaha, Neb.
6—Brady Michel, OF, Emporia State, Great Bend
7—Seth Kenagy, IF, Kansas City CC, Agency, No.
8—Collin Meinert, IF-RP, Upper Iowa, Deerbrook, Wis.
9—Brayden Smith, LP, Fort Hays, Great Bend
10—Hunter Murray, RP, Sam Houston, Lovelady, Texas
11—Ryan Thompson, IF, Cisco College, Frisco, Texas
12—Adrian Talavera, RP, New Mexico Military, El Paso, Texas
13—Joe Richter, RP, Barton CC, Lincoln, Neb.
14—Dylan Blomquist, OF-LP, Temple College, Belton, Texas
15—Trent Touchet, C, Sam Houston, Shreveport, La.
16—Christian Oliver, OF, McMurry, Atlanta, Texas
17—Travis Gilbert, RP, Bossier Parrish CC, Cypress, Texas
18—Jayden Saylor, RP, Bossier Parrish CC, Garland, Texas
19—Ryan Peters, RP, Sam Houston, Cypress, Texas
20—Jake Baker, IB-OF, Kansas, Lawrence
23—Mitch Carnahan, C-UT, McMurry, Hereford, Texas
24—Ben Brown, C-IF, Redlands CC, Wichita
25—Tyler Henry, OF, Kansas City CC, Gardner
26—Marty Carnahan, RP, UT, McMurry, Hereford, Texas
28—Ian Henricks, RP, Barton CC, Lawrence
29—Brian Shadrick, RP, Temple College, Belton, Texas
30—Grant Thompson, RP, Barton CC, Osawkie
34—John Zerr, RP, Dakota Wesleyan, Oakley
39—Jarrett Seaton, LP, Emporia State, Omaha, Neb.
2020 BAT CATS SCHEDULE
6-11—Bats Cats vs. Liberal BeeJays, 7
6-12—Bats Cats vs. Liberal BeeJays, 7
6-13—Bats Cats vs. Liberal BeeJays, 6
6-15—Bats Cats vs. Mulvane Patriots, 7
6-16— Bats Cats at Mulvane Patriots, 7
6-17— Bats Cats vs. Mulvane Patriots, 7
6-19— Bats Cats at Mulvane Patriots, 7
6-20— Bats Cats vs. Rose Hill Sluggers, 6
6-21— Bats Cats at Rose Hill Sluggers, 6
6-22— Bats Cats at Rose Hill Sluggers, 7
6-23— Bats Cats at Rose Hill Sluggers at Wichita, 5
6-25— Bats Cats vs. Sunflower Seeds at Cheney
6-26— Bats Cats vs. Sunflower Seeds, 7
6-27— Bats Cats vs. Sunflower Seeds at Cheney, 5
6-28—Bats Cats vs. Sunflower Collegiate League at Cheney, 3
6-30—Bats Cats vs. Cheney D-Dawgs, 7
7-1—Bats Cats vs. Cheney D-Dawgs, 7
7-2—Bats Cats at Cheney D-Dawgs, 7
7-3—Bats Cats at Cheney D-Dawgs, 3
7-5—Bats Cats vs. Haysville Aviators, 3
7-6—Bats Cats vs. Haysville Aviators, 7
7-7—Bats Cats at Haysville Aviators, 7
7-8—Bats Cats at Haysville Aviators, 7
7-9—Bats Cats vs. Liberal BeeJays, 7
7-10—Bats Cats vs. Hutchinson Monarchs, 7
7-11—Bats Cats at Hutchinson Monarchs, 7
7-12—Bats Cats at Hutchinson Monarchs, 6
7-14—Bats Cats vs. Hutchinson Monarchs at Wichita, 5
7-15—Bats Cats vs. Derby Twins, 7
7-16—Bats Cats at Derby Twins, 7
7-17—Bats Cats vs. Derby Twins, 6
7-18—Bats Cats vs. Derby Twins, 7
7-20—Bats Cats vs. Newton Rebels, 7
7-21—Bats Cats at Newton Rebels, 7
7-22—Bats Cats vs. Newton Rebels, 7
7-23—Bats Cats at Newton Rebels, 7
7-24—Bats Cats at Liberal Beejays, 7
7-27—Bats Cats vs. Liberal Beejays, 7
7-28—Bats Cats vs. Liberal Beejays, 7
7-29—Bats Cats at Liberal Beejays, 7
7-30—Bats Cats at Liberal Beejays, 7
