Liberal run-rules Cyclones to advance at NBC World Series

Liberal didn’t play in the NBC World Series last summer. Most of its players lost their desire over the summer and by the end it made more sense to fold up the season than make the 211-mile trip to Wichita.

That signaled changes for one of the NBC’s proudest franchises, one that won its first title in 1968 and its fifth in 2010. Since then, however, the Bee Jays haven’t finished higher than seventh and bottomed out with last summer’s no-show.

“It was really disappointing not to get to experience that,” said third baseman Brady Cox, one of two returners from 2014. “We have more team chemistry. From the get-go, we set it down that we were here to play and if you’re not here to play, get out of here.”

The Bee Jays are all-in on the NBC this summer after Thursday’s 11-1 run-rule win over the Colorado Cyclones in five innings at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. They join Wellington as the two qualifers who advanced out of the tournament’s first week into championship week, matched with 14 teams that qualified by winning league or tournament titles. Liberal plays the San Diego Waves at 1 p.m., Saturday.

Coach Adam Anderson wanted Cox and pitcher Tyler Wiendenfeld back from last summer and recruiting coordinator Roy Allen set out to find more players who wanted to stick out an entire season. They lessened their reliance on recommendations from coaches. They targeted players, mined different schools and, although turnover is always a part of summer baseball, built a roster with more stability.

“When we recruited we really tried to make sure we had the right pieces,” Anderson said. “We basically started fresh and when we did that we were able to find a good group of players that were committed to being here.”

So on Thursday it seemed fitting that Liberal and its distinctive power-blue uniforms and white caps with the blue bills celebrated at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Bee Jays (5-1 in the first week) are a long way from a sixth title, but they enter championship week 0-0 like the 15 other teams.

“These organizations — it’s what they live for in the summer leagues, the NBC,” Cox said.

Liberal routed Colorado with three runs in the first inning and five more in the second. The Cyclones (3-2) lost to Wellington 1-0 on Wednesday, allowing a ninth-inning run. The emotion of that effort left the Cyclones on empty in their first appearance in the NBC.

“We used about all we had,” Cyclones coach J.L. Buchanan said. “No excuses, we just didn’t have it today. It was a quick one.”

Colorado starter Greg Gaudsen, down 3-0, got two outs in the second inning. He didn’t record the third and by the time he walked off the mound Colorado sunk into deep trouble. Gaudsen gave up a run-scoring single to Madison Foster and walked the next two batters before exiting with the bases loaded.

Cox reached on an infield single that drove in Foster for a 5-0 lead. Brody Miller’s double to left field eluded Nick Porreco and bounced to the wall to score three runs and give Liberal an 8-0 lead.

“I was looking for a pitch up that I could drive,” Miller said.

Wiendenfeld protected the lead with a series of fastballs. He gave up four hits and struck out five in four innings. Matt Hape preserved the run-rule victory with a scoreless inning in relief.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Liberal run-rules Cyclones to advance at NBC World Series."