Larks-Liberal notes (Friday)
June 28, 2003
By NICK SCHWIEN
Hays Daily News

COX GRAND IN GAME 1
Hays trailed the opener Friday night 5-2 entering the bottom of the fourth inning. But the Larks struck for seven runs on six hits to pull out to a 9-5 lead.
Pete Maropis drove in two runs with a single before Cody Ehlers added an RBI single to knot the game at 5-all.
With the bases loaded, catcher Adam Cox drove a 2-2 pitch from Liberal starter Danny Vais well over the wall in left field for a grand slam home run, giving the Larks the four-run cushion. It proved to be the big blow in the Larks' 10-7 win.
Cox finished the game 2-for-4 with a run scored and four RBIs. Maropis and Ehlers each added two hits, and the Larks got big production from the bottom part of its order.
Mark Lyons, batting in the No. 8 hole, went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a double, and Dan Schwartzbauer -- batting ninth -- went 2-for-3 with a run scored, a double and three RBIs.
Ryan LaMotta (2-0) allowed six earned runs on eight hits in 42/3 innings. He walked three and struck out three.
Jim Miller got the final out of the game by strikeout with runners at first and second to earn his fourth save of the summer.

WHAT GOES AROUND ...
Liberal's Cory Patton made a spectacular running catch at the warning track in the first inning when Aaron Batlle drove a 0-2 pitch deep to right field.
Batlle looked to have an extra-base hit, driving in two runs to tie the game at 2-2. But Patton ran down the ball, reaching up at the last second while running full speed for the third out of the inning.
But when Patton relieved starter Stoney Stone in the sixth, it set the stage for a rematch. And Batlle got the upper hand in the seventh.
His single to left field with two outs pushed across the winning run, securing the Larks 6-5 rally.
"I'd seen Patton before," said Batlle, who was 0-for-3 entering his final at-bat. "Lefty vs. lefty is a little different, especially in that situation. I just tried to swing through the ball and take it through the left side.
"That's baseball. It all evens out. You have to play the odds, and it will all even out eventually."

PRODUCTIVE OFFENSIVELY
The Larks scored in double figures for the seventh game this summer in the 10-7 win in Game 1. Hays' best outing this season was an 18-4 rout of the Topeka Capitals on June 17.
The Larks have reached double figures in hits eight games this season. The best night at the plate was a 19-hit outing on June 16 against the Great Bend Cardinals. Hays won that game, 10-2.
After Friday's doubleheader, Hays has out-hit its opponents 171-121 this season and out-scored its opponents 138-60.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Through Jayhawk League games Thursday night, Elkhart's Ben Jones led the league with a .433 average. Hays' Aaron Batlle was second at .424 in league outings, followed by Cody Ehlers at .324.
Battle paces the league in runs scored with 10 and has a league-high 14 hits and five doubles. His 11 RBIs are tied with Jones for best in league games.
Ehlers three home runs ties him with Jones for the top spot.
Pitcher Chris Ofat had the fourth-best earned-run average in league games at 1.10. Liberal's Russell Reinchenbach and Robert Ray, along with El Dorado's Rusty Jones, each had a 0.00 ERA.
Hays' Tom Hottovy and El Dorado's Dave Haehnel each had three wins in league play to pace the field.