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Kelby Tomlinson doesn't get thrown out trying to steal very often. The Liberal shortstop was 11 for 11 in steals when he took off for third base in the third inning of Liberal's 10-2, seven-inning win over Denver on Thursday.
A pitch after stealing second base, Tomlinson was called out at third on a close call. It could have prevented a big inning, as Blake Bergeron hit a triple five pitches after Tomlinson was thrown out. The next two batters were retired, though Bergeron scored on an RBI groundout by Joe Vaskas.
"He was there today, no doubt," Bergeron said. "I thought he was safe."
The out at third prevented an RBI by Bergeron, who has seen Tomlinson steal third many times this summer to give Bergeron an easier RBI opportunity.
"If you think about it, with (Tomlinson on third) I might not have gotten that pitch," Bergeron said. "In reality, he could have been there and I would have had the RBI, but what happened is what happened."
In his next at-bat, Bergeron didn't need a baserunner to pick up an RBI. He hit a towering home run to left field for his third home run of the tournament, breaking a 10-way tie for the tournament lead.
Bergeron could have had an even more impressive accomplishment. He singled, tripled and homered in his first three at-bats, and when he came up in the sixth he needed a double for the cycle. He hit a ball down the left-field line that was well foul before striking out swinging. Thanks to the run-rule, Bergeron didn't get another chance to complete the cycle.
"I knew it, but I was trying not to let it get to me," Bergeron said. "When you start thinking that, you start losing your approach. I knew it was there. Almost."
A good run — Denver finished tied for third, its best finish in the tournament. The Cougars won the Rocky Mountain league's regular season and tournament championships, but with a roster full of new players, it was difficult to guess how they'd play in Wichita.
Injuries forced Denver manager Stefan McGovern to look elsewhere for players. When the Las Cruces (N.M.) Vaqueros of the independent Continental League folded, McGovern picked up six of their players before the end of Denver's regular season. The Cougars also added the allowed five players between the end of the regular season and the start of the NBC.
"As things progressed through our season, we started getting a ton or injuries," McGovern said. "We kind of had to build up, so we used a few resources to get some guys just to help fill our roster."
NBC Director Jerry Taylor was under the impression that McGovern was adding just one Las Cruces player to the roster. He said if he had known the number was actually six, he would have discouraged it, though the Cougars were within the rules to add any number of players during the season.
The Las Cruces players, all between 23 and 28 years old, were most helpful on the Cougars' pitching staff, where four of the six were added. Infielder Brian Ramirez was a part-time player and Mike Olsen often served as the designated hitter.
"This is the best we've ever done," McGovern said. "I'm on Cloud Nine regardless. This is the best tournament in the country. I'm very proud of what we did. We lost our last game, but I'm satisfied with what we did."
Wednesday's quarterfinal — In Wednesday's late game, Santa Barbara advanced to the semifinals with an 8-3 win over Haysville. Santa Barbara provided the first runs with a pair of RBI groundouts in the fourth before Haysville answered with a run in the bottom half.
It stayed 2-1 unitl the seventh, when Santa Barbara broke it open with four runs. Two came on a double by Jeremy Rathjen before Jeff McVaney hit a two-run homer. The Foresters made it 8-1 with a pair of runs in the eighth. Jesse Meaux, who pitches at Cal-Santa Barbara, earned the victory by pitching six innings and allowing one run.
