Liberal routs Capahas 23-2 in NBC World Series

It was payback night for the Liberal Bee Jays on Sunday night at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas.

The last time Liberal faced the Capahas -- in 2013 -- the Bee Jays were sent home in the double-elimination tournament by the Cape Girardeau team.

On Sunday, Liberal sent the Capahas into the loser's bracket with a 23-2 shellacking that was stopped by the 10-run rule after five innings.

Liberal scored in every inning, including 13 runs in the a fourth inning where it sent 16 batters to the plate and banged out nine hits.

The Bee Jays, who play in the elite Jayhawk League, brought in a 23-2 record. They pounded out 18 hits against four Capaha pitchers.

Bolen had cited Liberal as the pre-tournament favorite after his team's first-round win against the Jasper (Indiana) Reds.

"It's not like we've never beaten this team before," Capahas manager Jess Bolen said. "We've beaten them three of the last four games, but it's one of those things where over years ballplayers change, rosters change."

The Capahas (16-5), who had five hits, will face the Wichita Alumni in an elimination game at 7 p.m. today.

Bolen said he tried to hold back his best pitching after starter Lance Young yielded seven runs over the first 2 1/3 innings.

Drew Dowd, Riley Calvert and Ross James followed Young to the mound.

"Really, the five innings really helped us," Bolen said. "There's no reason for us go out and throw more pitching to get through a nine-inning game knowing you have a game tomorrow."

Bolen said the 13-run fourth was the biggest inning his team ever yielded in Wichita.

"We scored 28 runs out here one time, so it's not like it always goes one way," Bolen said.

Liberal's Kaden Simmons struck out three batters and walked one in holding the Capahas in check.

"You get pounded every once in a while," Bolen said. "I learned that a long time ago. You can't coach a team for 2,000 games and not take it on the chin once in a while."

After Liberal scored a run in the top of the first, the Capahas pulled even on a two-out single by Adam Connor, which scored Cody Gilbert.

The Bee Jays moved ahead for good with four runs in the second and added two runs in the third for a 7-1 lead. They then blew the game open with the 13-run fourth.

The Capahas scored their other run on an RBI double by Cody Heisserer in the fourth inning.

In addition to posting a 23-2 record, Bolen said he was told Bee Jays, the top team in the Jayhawk League, added five all-star players for the tournament.

In contrast, the Capahas were without two bats in the middle of their lineup.

"You take a very good team and give them a whole bunch of errors, walks and hit batters, and stuff like, and that 's what happens to the score," Bolen said. "They're just too good. The only way we could beat that team is to play errorless ball and get good pitching and timely hitting. We can't match up to them in any type of slugging game."

Adam Pennington will get the start on the mound for the Capahas today.