Larned baseball sweeps Vikings
BY JIM MISUNAS
LARNED – The Larned Indians parlayed 23 walks for a Central Kansas League baseball doubleheader sweep over Smoky Valley 15-9 and 11-1. The Indians scored runs in all 11 innings.
Larned (6-4, 4-4 CKL) plays Haven (6-2, 4-2 CKL) Tuesday at home and Smoky Valley (1-9, 1-7 CKL) travels to Lyons (1-7, 1-7 CKL).
LARNED 15, SMOKY VALLEY 9 (G1) — Larned broke open a tight game with a six-run sixth inning for a hard-earned victory. Aidan Smyth drove home three runs.
Viking Ty Miller scored on a first-inning error. Smyth singled home Jack Stelter and Logan Erway for a 2-1 lead. Stelter and Mason Perez drove home second-inning runs for a 4-1 lead.
Viking Chris Mullen doubled home Bruster Bengston in the third inning. Larned’s Brandon Ceniceros scored on a groundout for a 5-2 lead. Smoky Valley’s Haven Lysell scored on a fourth-inning error for a 5-3 score.
Larned’s Stelter scored on a groundout and Perez scored on a wild pitch for a 7-3 lead. Mello Bryant scored on a groundout and Brayden Rupp scored on a fifth-inning error for a 9-3 lead.
Vikings’ Brandon Malm hit a two-run double and Chris Mullen ripped a two-run homer over reliever Layton Pleasant in a four-run sixth inning.
Larned scored six runs off reliever Ty Miller. Aidan Smyth, Dillan Smith and Mello Bryant delivered RBIs and Rupp, Bryant and Tristen Burger scored on errors for a 15-7 lead. The Vikings’ Malm and Bengston added seventh-inning RBIs.
LARNED 11, SMOKY VALLEY 1 (G2) – Pitcher Brayden Lemuz (1-0) struck out six batters and yielded two hits in four innings. Dillan Smith drove home three runs.
Stelter’s double keyed a three-run first inning that had a pair of bases-loaded walks. Perez tripled home Stelter and Pleasant and Smith delivered RBI doubles in a four-run second inning for a 7-0 lead.
Five more walks led to a bases-loaded walk and Dillan Smith’s RBI groundout for a 9-0 lead after three innings. George Moore’s RBI single broke up Lemuz’s shutout. Stelter’s double scored Burger for a 10-1 lead. Smith scored the game-ending run on an error for an 11-1 win.
Smoky Valley 101 104 2 – 9 12 3
Larned 221 226 x – 15 11 3
Malm, Ty Miller (3), Kearn (6) and Moore. Murray, Pleasant (4) and Stelter. W—Murray, 2-0; L—Malm. 2B—SV—Mullen, T. Miller. HR—SV—Mullen. 3B—L—Stelter.
Smoky Valley 000 10 – 1 4 2
Larned 342 11 – 11 6 4
Bengston, Kearn (2), Lysell (2), Osowski (3), Lindquist (5) and Moore. W—Lemuz, 1-0. L— Bengston. 2B—L—Stelter 2, Dillan Smith, Pleasant’ SV—Mullen. 3B—L—Perez.
CKL BASEBALL
Nickerson 7-1 7-1
Hoisington 6-2 6-2
Haven 4-2 6-2
Pratt 5-3 5-3
Larned 4-4 6-4
Hesston 4-4 6-4
Hillsboro 3-3 3-3
Halstead 3-5 3-5
Lyons 1-7 1-7
Smoky Valley 1-7 1-9
FRIDAY—Nickerson 16-4, 19-2 Halstead; Hoisington 8, Haven 6; Haven 8, Hoisington 5; Hillsboro 11-6, 9-3 Hesston; Pratt 15-2, 20-1 Lyons; Larned 15-9, 10-1 Smoky Valley
