By Staff

            GREAT BEND – Despite being ranked number one and top seed, the Little River baseball team could not out play eighth seeded Pittsburgh St. Mary’s/Colgan in the first round of the 2023 Class 2-1A state tournament on Thursday and lost 12-5.

            It was the just the second loss of the season for Little River as they ended the 2023 season with a record of 20-2.

            St. Mary’s/Colgan came into the state tournament with a record of just 12-11 but finished at 15-11 and crowned 2023 State Champions Friday after beating fourth seed Onaga, 10-0, in a semi-final matchup and then defeating third seed Marion, 13-3, in the state championship game.

            Little River allowed St. Mary’s/Colgan to gain a 3-0 first inning lead and a 4-0 advantage in the third before the Redskins could push across a pair of runs in the bottom of the third and make it 4-2. St. Mary’s/Colgan poured across four more runs in the top of the fifth and Little River nearly matched it with three more in the bottom of the fifth leaving the deficit at 8-5 before St. Mary’s/Colgan added a pair of runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings to gain the final seven-run win.

            Little River had but four hits in the game, two by Logan Renken and one each from the bats of Dalton Mantz and Grant Stephens. Stephens had a two-run double, Renken knocked across a pair of runs and Mantz scored twice.

            Mantz went the first 4.1 innings on the mound, giving up just four hits and three earned runs while walking five and striking out eight before Renken came on for the final 2.2 innings, giving up four more hits, just two earned runs, walking four and striking out two.

LITTLE RIVER REDSKINS BASEBALL vs. Pittsburgh St. Mary’s/Colgan in Great Bend at Class 2-1A State Tournament

SCORING: St. Mary’s/Colgan > 3-0-1-0-4-2-2 = 12-8-3;  LITTLE RIVER > 0-0-2-0-3-0-0 = 5-4-4.

LITTLE RIVER HITTING (ab-r-h-rbi-bb): Braden Young > 0-2-0-0-4; Dalton Mantz > 3-2-1-0-1; Logan Renken > 4-1-2-2-0; Grant Stephens > 4-01-2-0; Kayston Cox > 3-0-0-0-0; Spencer Strecker > 3-0-0-0-0; Carter Stansbury > 2-0-0-0-0; Corbin Herbst > 2-0-0-0-0; C J Herzog > 3-0-0-0-0.  Team Totals > 24-5-4-4-7.  2B (1) > Stephens – 1.  SB (2) > Young, Mantz – 1. 

LITTLE RIVER PITCHING (ip-p-h-r-er-bb-so): Dalton Mantz > 4.1-105-4-6-3-5-8;  Logan Renken > 2.2-71-4-6-2-4-2.  Team Totals > 7.0-176-8-12-5-9-10.

Pittsburgh St. Mary’s/Colgan Hitting > 32-12-8-8-9, 2-2B.   Pittsburg St. Mary’s/Colgan Pitching > 7.0-127-4-5-5-7-8.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)