By LIONEL TIPTON
LEON, Kansas – Bluestem and Flinthills each had plenty of motivation to win Thursday’s doubleheader, in addition to the fact that their campuses are just 16 miles apart.
The Lions wanted to get some home victories before beginning a brutal stretch that has them playing six of their next seven games on the road. The Mustangs were in search of their first victory of the season and were coming off being swept at Cedar Vale-Dexter, in which they were outscored 25-0.
After a 10-4 Bluestem victory in the opener, Flinthills rallied and clung to a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
But the Lions posted three runs in their half of the sixth, then held on for a 5-4 triumph that wasn’t assured until freshman first baseman Gabe Oltman snagged a linter off the bat of Kolter Flores and doubled off Talon Scribner, who had just singled in a run that cut the deficit to one run.
Bluestem used four-run innings in the first and fourth and cruised in the opener. Junior Miles Highbarger reached base three times, scoring each time. He also had a two-run single in the first. Highbarger’s two RBI were matched by senior Grady Rider, who had a first-inning double that scored junior Hunter Thompson.
Flinthills committed four errors in the opener, and three of them led to Lions runs.
The sweep of the Mustangs gave Bluestem a 3-1 record after an opening doubleheader split at Douglass.
The second game was more competitive, thanks to both teams’ pitching.
In the nightcap, senior right-hander Carson Taylor struck out 10 in 4 1/3 innings but left trailing 3-2. Senior Tristan Highbarger went the rest of the way, giving up the one run in the seventh and benefited from the Lions’ sixth-inning rally.
Mustangs starter Garrett Jackson stymied the Lions with off-speed pitches for the first four innings before giving way to Talon Scribner in the fifth.
Scribner doubled in Jackson for a 1-0 lead in the Flinthills third, but Bluestem with two runs in the bottom of the inning off Jackson, scoring on a wild pitch and sophomore Aiden Worrell’s RBI single.
The Mustangs retook the lead in the fourth on Charles Farris’ RBI single and a Lions error.
The score remained that way until the Bluestem sixth. Taylor reached on an error and scored the tying run on Miles Highbarger’s opposite-field single. Highbarger moved up on Thompson’s fielder’s choice and Rider’s walk, and he scored the go-ahead run on Oltman’s infield hit. A wild pitch scored Thompson with an insurance run.
Jackson was hit by a pitch to open the Flinthills seventh, stole second and scored on Scribner’s single to center.
Flores worked the count to 3-2, then hit a screaming liner that was stabbed by Oltman, who doubled Scribner off first. Highbarger then retired Corbin Araiza to end the game.
Making the catch on Flores’ line drive was mostly a defensive act, Oltman said.
“I saw that ball coming at me (and) I thought it was going to hit me in the face,” he said. “I had to make sure I made that double play, which was a big momentum switch for us as a team.”
Oltman said he’s making his way getting used to being on varsity.
“There’s a lot of learning curves,” he said. “I got put in a few games where I didn’t do very good at the plate, but I made sure I played good defense. (Defense) is the best part of my game, but I love playing with these guys out here. It’s a blast.”
Beating Flinthills is special, Oltman said.
“It’s been a blast,” he said. “I live three miles away from there (Rosalia), so it’s a little bit of a hometown rival. I live right there, so it’s nice to get a win against them and good to keep the tradition of beating them (on the Lions’ home field).”
Corey Carrell, in his first year at Bluestem after coming over from Wichita Southeast, noted the complete team effort in the sweep, but especially noted that the Lions had contributions from both a freshmen and seniors.
The sixth-inning double play was big, Carrell said.
“I’m still not he knows he caught it,” Carrell joked. “That’s a big play by a freshman that we’ve asked a lot of. (I’ve) kind of put him in a position where he has to play a lot. He’s getting there – he still makes his mistakes – but … when that ball is first hit, I’m hoping he just knocks it down.
“It’s a big win for our program, actually. We took it pretty bad in the first game at Douglass (15-0), then we put it on them (12-4).”
Getting a comfortable victory in the opener was critical, Carrell said.
“It was a big win for our program, especially when we’ve got two freshmen playing,” he said. “Great senior leadership; they stay positive. We’re just trying to make them understand that they’re never out of it – but it won’t always be that easy, either.”
With road doubleheaders at Humboldt, Neodesha and Fredonia coming up, and only a single game against the Wichita Homeschool Warriors next Friday to break it up only underscores the importance of Thursday’s sweep, Carrell said.
“We just burned one of our best pitchers to make sure we stayed on pace and got the (second-game) win,” he said. “We’ll have to have some other people step up if we’re going to get it done on Monday (at Humboldt).”
Carrell said he likes what he has seen thus far from his players.
“I love this group of boys,” he said. “So far, they’ve stayed positive. It’s hard – 15 kids (and) we’re trying to get them in the game. They’ve all come and worked hard. They have a great attitude and stay pretty positive (and) talk a lot during the game.”
Coming from a Class 6A to a Class 2-1A means accepting the numbers who come out, Carrell said.
“The big difference is you get the kids you get,” he said. “The others coming up, you hope they can get there and be on the field when they’re juniors and seniors.”
With Southeast being in the largest classification, players were there in abundance, Carrell said. However, Bluestem did have a good returning nucleus, with eight players being juniors or seniors. Plus, sophomores such as Worrell and left-hander Emmett Brice, who started the first game, are contributing as well.
The players also like what they’ve seen from Carrell as well.
“He’s a good dude; I like him a lot,” Taylor said.
Communication and focus in the game have been good as well, Taylor said.
“If someone’s up to bat, we’re loud; we’re rowdy; we’re in the game,” he said. “Our middle infield is insane; they can make good plays at any time.”
Flinthills coach Daniel Scribner saw his Mustangs get close to their first victory, only to see Bluestem’s rally and Oltman’s double play deny them again.
“Our kid (Flores) hit the ball as hard as you could hope to hit it,” he said. “If that ball gets through, it probably scores the runner on first to tie it and we probably have a guy standing on third with one out.
“We’ve been keeping our energy up, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that, of still competing with yourself.”
The Mustangs have played well enough to win but haven’t quite broken through.
“We’ve actually pitched decent on the year,” said Scribner, who coached baseball at Bluestem before going to Flinthills, where he is also the athletic director and girls basketball coach. “Not dominating by any means, but we’ve pitched OK on the year.”
Jackson’s pitching in the nightcap was a positive, Scribner said.
“He’s a really nice freshman,” he said. “He can change speeds and hit spots, and he does a really good job of just being in charge on the field – keeping runners close so they don’t get big leads, give up extra bases. He does a nice job of that, because he’s got a nice baseball IQ.”
Returning to play at a school where he once taught and coached is always nice, Scribner said.
“It’s always fun to come back here,” he said. “I have good memories from here.”
Game 1: Bluestem 10, Flinthills 4
Flinthills 200 020 0 – 4 6 4
Bluestem 000 100 0 – 10 7 2
W – Brice. L – Farris. 2B – Rider (B).
Game 2: Bluestem 5, Flinthills 4
Flinthills 001 200 1 – 4 5 2
Bluestem 002 003 x – 5 7 3
W – M. Highbarger. L – Scribner. 2B – Scribner (F)
