Larks suffer loss

By MIKE KESSINGER

Hays Daily News

At times Thursday night, the Hays Larks seemed to be going through the motions. Instead of a team fighting for their NBC World Series life, they seemed to use their nonleague single game against the Salina Blue Jays as an exhibition.

Salina answered the Larks’ play by leaving Larks Park with a 4-2 win. It was originally scheduled to be the final game of the regular season, but Hays (34-17) is tentatively set to play the Blue Jays again at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Larks Park.

“What we’re after right now is a process of staying a little sharp,” Larks manager Frank Leo said. “Today was kind of a day to have some fun. Our pitchers did the pregame infield, they took infield. It was kind of reward for the grind they’ve gone through.”

As a reward for each pitching a shutout this season, pitchers Brock Nehls and Bobby Lewton were the designated hitters for the Larks; the two combined to go 1-for-3.

“Tonight was a reward for a couple of pitchers who threw shutouts,” Leo said of Nehls and Lewton. “We wanted to rest some of our starters.”

The Blue Jays weren’t about to rest though. At least not early, and especially not Steve Adams. Salina’s left fielder, Adams hit a double as the Blue Jays’ second batter of the game, then scored on a Balin Bergman single. Bergman then scored the Blue Jays’ second run of the inning on a wild pitch by Richard Timbrook. Timbrook (3-4) struggled with control before settling down after the second inning.

Adams did the Blue Jays’ final damage in the second inning, as he hit a two-run home run that bounced off the top of the left field fence.

Trailing 4-0 after Adams’ two-run shot, the Larks had chances to respond, Through the first five innings, the Larks left six runners stranded. Twice Salina ended a Larks’ threat with a double play. Hays didn’t put a run on the scoreboard until Adam Muenster singled to score Dusty Washburn. The Larks finished with 13 hits compared to just four for Salina.

“Hitting is contagious, and I think our team is starting to buy into that,” Washburn said. “One guy gets a hit, then someone goes up there and gets another hit.”

After pitching six innings, Timbrook was relieved by Steven Mazur, who pitched one inning, followed by Travis Crow and A.J. Dunn, who both threw one inning each.

The Larks loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth as Sean Finley and Chase Schippers started the inning with singles, then Lewton walked. The only run Hays got out of it was a walk to Clayton Karst that scored Finley. After Eric Morrison popped out to first, Washburn lined out to center field for final out.

In Timbrook’s six innings of work, he gave up four earned runs on four hits, with four walks and six strikeouts.

Washburn finished 2-for-4 for the Larks, which included a double in the sixth.

“You don’t want to be disappointed,” Leo said. “We made a little bit of a run there in the ninth inning. The big thing is, we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. A win would have been nice to bring along with everything else that we do.”

Sports reporter Mike Kessinger can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 127, or by e-mail at

mkessinger@dailynews.net.