Pittsburg drops locals into elimination bracket

Fort Scott pitcher Cody McNeil throws to a Pittsburg batter during the first inning of Thursday night's tournament game at Dave Regan Stadium. McNeil had good numbers through four innings before Pittsburg's bats got going in the fifth. The visitors took a 17-3 win in the second round of the Kansas Babe Ruth 13-and-Under Regional Tournament. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

The local boys were making a game of it after four innings but Pittsburg's 8-run fifth inning paved the way for the visitors to defeat Fort Scott, 17-3, in a second-round game of the Kansas Babe Ruth 13-and-Under Region 5 Tournament at Dave Regan Stadium Thursday night.

The six-team tournament began Wednesday night with Frontenac defeating Spring River, 13-3, in the first game and Pittsburg getting by Columbus, 21-11, in the second. Both of Wednesday's winners also prevailed on Thursday as Frontenac downed Independence in the first game, 11-1.

The tournament continues through Sunday. Fort Scott plays Spring River tonight at 6 p.m. followed by an 8 p.m. game between Columbus and Independence. The loser of each game will be eliminated from the tournament. Pittsburg and Frontenac will face each other in Saturday's winner's bracket final at 11 a.m. with elimination games to follow at 1 and 3 p.m.

Fort Scott third baseman C.J. Horton throws out a Pittsburg runner in the top of the second inning Thursday night. Horton was named Fort Scott's WOW player for his defense, especially a running catch near the fence down the third-base line in the top of the first inning. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

On Sunday, the tournament winner and the berth to the State Tournament will be determined. Games are scheduled for 1 p.m. and, if necessary, 3 p.m.

Pittsburg scored first in the top of the first inning. But Fort Scott took the lead in the bottom of the second. Pittsburg pitcher Gayvin Elkamil struggled with his control in the inning, walking the first two batters, Jacob DeLaTorre and Lucas Harryman. DeLaTorre went on to score with the aid of three wild pitches. Harryman scored after stealing second and advancing on two of the wild pitches.

After Elkamil struck out two batters, he walked Rhet Reed and allowed a single to Keenan Guilfoyle. But Elkamil struckout the final batter to get out of the inning.

Elkamil didn't have too many problems after that as he went all seven innings. Guilfoyle's hit was the only one he allowed and although he walked 8 batters, he struck out 15.

Pittsburg tied the score in the top of the second. A grand-slam inside-the-park home run by Bently Boekhout, winner of Pittsburg's MVP Award for the game, contributed to an 8-run noutburst that made it 10-2.

Fort Scott prevented the 10-run rule from stopping the game early. In the bottom of the fifth, closed the gap to 7 runs when Andrew Reed drew a 2-out walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a pair of errors.

Cody McNeil started on the mound for Fort Scott and had four good innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits.

Boekhout was 2 for 4 with 5 runs batted in and scored 4 times for Pittsburg to win the MVP Award. Elkamil's performance earned him the WOW Award, which goes to a player from each team who makes an outstanding play.

C.J. Horton was Fort Scott's WOW Award winner for his play at third base. Rhet Reed was named the MVP for Fort Scott, also for his defense.

The complete tournament schedule can be seen under the "Scoreboard" banner.

Frontenac 11, Independence 1.

Alex Johnson was named Frontenac's MVP after allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks in three of the five innings played. Teammate Willy Jameson was given the WOW Award for a running catch in center field. Jameson also scored 3 runs and had 3 hits, the only Frontenac batter with more than one hit.

Josh Sutton was named Independence's MVP and Wyatt Chism won the WOW Award.

Wednesday: Frontenac 13, Spring River 3.

Jake Beckman had 2 hits and scored 3 runs for Frontenac while Tucker Jessip had 3 hits and scored 3 times.

Spring River, which faces Fort Scott tonight, had 7 hits but no player had more than one.

Spring Rivers is made up of players from the southern part of Cherokee County, particularly Galena and Riverton.

Wednesday, Pittsburg 21, Columbus 11.

Pittsburg scored 14 runs over the final two innings to force the run rule to kick in during the bottom of the sixth inning. They went into the bottom of the fifth trailing 8-7.

Shay Mahnken had 3 hits for Pittsburg, including a triple and a fifth-inning home run. He also scored 3 runs. Bookout also had 3 hits, including the one that ended the game in the sixth.

Wednesday's Games

Frontenac.......................... 424 02x x -- 13 7 2

None out when game ended.

HR -- None.

Columbus......................... 101 603 x -- 11 5 4

Pittsburg........................... 122 259 x -- 21 13 4

Two out when game ended.

HR -- Pittsburg: Mahnken.

Thursday's Games

Independence................. 000 10x x -- 1 4 6

HR -- None.

Pittsburg.......................... 100 182 5 -- 17 13 2

Fort Scott........................... 020 010 0 -- 3 1 7

HR -- Pittsburg: Boekhout.

DISTRICT 5 13-AND-UNDER REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, July 15

Game 1: Frontenac 13, Spring River 3

Game 2: Pittsburg 21, Columbus 11

Thursday, July 16

Game 3: Frontenac 11, Independence 1

Game 4: Pittsburg 17, Fort Scott 3

Friday, July 17

Game 5: Spring River vs. Fort Scott, 6 p.m. (Loser eliminated)

Game 6: Columbus vs. Independence, 8 p.m. (Loser eliminated)

Saturday, July 18

Game 7: Frontenac vs. Pittsburg, 11 a.m. (Winner's bracket final)

Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1 p.m. (Loser fourth)

Game 9: Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 3 p.m. (Loser third)

Sunday, July 19

Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1 p.m. (First championship game)

Game 10: Necessary only if Game 7 winner loses game 9, 3 p.m.