​Eagles outlast Liberty to split doubleheader

by Michael Smith

      The Grain Valley baseball team had two opportunities to close the game out.
     After falling to Liberty 8-3 in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Eagles had a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning and a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the tenth in the nightcap.
     They surrendered both leads due to miscues and errors, allowing the Blue Jays to come back to tie the score in both frames. However, they did not allow the winning run to cross in either inning and eventually ended a the marathon of a contest with a four-run 13th inning to close out a 10-7 victory at Liberty High School to split the double header.
     “We kept the energy up the whole game,” Grain Valley junior catcher Brody Baker said. “When we were down, we were making stupid errors. That ball in center field, Shane catches that ball 99 times out of 100. We were making simple mistakes but we kept fighting and kept the energy up.”
     Head coach Brian Driskell echoed similar sentiments.
     “It’s an outstanding job by our guys,” Driskell said. “It’s weird to say that after giving up seven runs. We learned a lot about our team tonight and I am excited to share that with them.”
     “We got a split against a good team. We’ll take it. It was a team win.”
     Liberty lead Grain Valley 3-0 going into the top of the fourth, but an RBI groundout from senior Blake Prewitt and a two-run single on a ground ball up the middle from sophomore Max Snyder, allowed the Eagles to tie the game at 3-all.
     Three innings later, Grain Valley took the lead when junior Brek Sloan hit a ground ball to shortstop Kayden Cook. Grain Valley senior Michael Montgomery got such a good jump from first base, that he beat Cook’s toss to second base and was called safe. Sloan was thrown out at first, but junior Shane Barnett, who was on second base to start the play, was hustling the whole time and beat first baseman Jackson Tankesley’s throw home to score and make it 4-3.
     Up until that point, starting pitcher Dennis Leonard, a sophomore, tossed a gem. He went six innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits, walked one and struck out 10.
     “Once Dennis gets rolling, he gets in a mood,” Baker said. “He doesn’t talk when he’s in the dugout.”
     He was in line to get the win as junior lefty Ian Kamstra came in to close the game. He struck out the first two batters he faced, but walked Addison Smith on a 3-2 count to give the Blue Jays a little bit of life. Third baseman Nathan Spengler then followed with a pop fly to shallow right field.
     Montgomery called off all the other fielders to let them know he had the catch, but he appeared to lose the ball in the lights and it dropped for an RBI triple to allow Liberty to tie it. Kamstra struck out Dane Moberly to send the same into extra innings.
     After leaving the bases loaded in the eighth and going down 1-2-3 in the ninth, the Eagles had runners at second and third base with two outs against relief pitcher Tanner Warner. Barnett hit a soft ground ball to second baseman Christian Kutcha. His throw to first was low and was dropped by Tankesley, that allowed both Kamstra and Snyder to score to put the Eagles ahead 6-4.
     But just as Grain Valley appeared to have the same in hand, an error caused the same to extend. With Kamstra still pitching, Tankesley hit a sacrifice fly to score Chase Litrell from third base to narrow the gap to 6-5. Litrell reached earlier in the inning on a dropped fly ball to center field.
     With two outs Cook singled and scored all the way from first base after Jack Questschenbach hit a flare that dropped into shallow left field for a single.
     A throw from the outfield to third baseman Brek Sloan went side as a Liberty pinch runner broke for home. The junior got the throw to Baker on time, but the ball popped out of his glove, allowing the tying run to score, making it 6-all. With the winning run at third base, Kamstra struck out Warner to end the threat.
     Kamstra helped Grain Valley keep the game close as he tossed five innings and allowed two runs (one unearned) on two hits, walked four and struck out 10.
     “I was excited to come out to pitch and help the team win,” Kamstra said. “The energy we brought in the second game was way better than the first.”
     The Eagles (4-2) left the bases loaded in the 12th inning but finally broke the game open in the 13th as Baker drilled a RBI single to left field with no outs.
     “We probably should have sac bunted but Avery (Garmon), asked Coach to let me swing away,” Baker said. “That was my first hit of the day and it happened at a great time.”
     Kamstra got a ground ball to the right side to go through for a run-scoring single on the next at bat; Snyder brought home another run with a double to deep left field that got over the head of Moberly; and Barnett floated a single to shallow right field to cap a four-run inning for his team.
     “I felt good swinging the bat,” said Snyder, who also contributed with two sacrifice bunts and three RBIs. “It felt really nice to hit the ball.”
     Montgomery finally closed the game for the Eagles on the mound as he tossed two innings and just allowed one run in the bottom of the 13th.

​Grain Valley right fielder Trent Melton goes for a ball on a line drive.
Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley sophomore Max Snyder hands his batting gloves to assistant coach Austin Graham after hitting a 2-run single.
Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley starting pitcher Dennis Leonard tossed six innings and had 10 strikeouts during a 10-7, 13-inning win over Liberty in Game 2 in a doubleheader. 
Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley senior Michael Montgomery squares to bunt.
Photo credit: Michael Smith