2018 Northeast Kansas Legion Baseball Standings – click here

2018 KNZA “McDonalds Player of the Game” selections – click here

2018 KNZA 103.9 FM Legion Baseball Broadcast Schedule – click here

2018 Legion Baseball Zone Tournament Bracket –
     AA Zone (at Wathena), AA Zone (at Russell), AAA Zone (at Topeka)

The AA Zone Tournament came to a close last night in Wathena, as Sabetha picked up two elimination bracket wins over Corning 9-1 and Doniphan County 12-2.

There was originally scheduled to be a zone tournament championship game Thursday night, but because Sabetha gets an automatic bid as the host of the state tournament there was not a need to play the championship contest.

Sabetha Scores Early, Knocks Out Corning

After a slow start the Sabetha Raptors used two big innings to advance in the elimination bracket of the AA Zone at Wathena with a 9-1 win over Corning.

Sabetha scored first on a Braden Argabright RBI-triple in the top of the first inning, but Corning came right back in the bottom half of the inning and tied the game on an Evan Slater RBI-single.

After a scoreless second inning Sabetha took control, as the Raptors plated four runs in the third on three hits, a walk and a hit batsman. Joe Gruber picked up two RBIs on a double, while Brett Stallbaumer followed with an RBI-single.

The 5-1 score held until the sixth, as Sabetha tacked on a run after Ryan Stapleton doubled and scored on an error.

The Raptors put the game out of reach with a three-run top of the seventh, as Stallbaumer and Stapleton each collected hits and RBIs in the inning.

Stallbaumer was named the McDonald’s “Player of the Game” on 103.9 KNZA, as he tossed a complete game on the mound allowing just one run on four hits, while at the plate going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Joe Gruber and Stapleton each collected two RBIs as well, while Braden Argabright racked up two hits.

Sabetha Uses Two Big Innings to Run-Rule Doniphan County

Behind two crooked numbers, the Sabetha Raptors officially punched their ticket to the AA State Tournament next week with a 14-2 win over Doniphan County Wednesday night.

Sabetha wasted no time jumping out in front of Doniphan County plating five runs in the first inning.

Blake Frey got the inning started with a single, stole second and came around to score on a Brandon Brownlee RBI-single. Braden Argabright then doubled, before Seth Burdick reached on a dropped third strike. Joe Gruber capped off the inning with some fireworks, as he blasted a three-run home run to give Sabetha a 5-0 lead after one.

The Raptors pushed their lead out to 7-0 after plating two runs in the second, as Blake Frey walked, stole second and scored on a Brandon Brownlee single before Joe Gruber picked up a sacrifice fly.

After a scoreless third inning Sabetha broke the game open in the fourth, as the Raptors plated seven runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batsman.

Blake Frey, Brandon Brownlee and Brett Stallbaumer each collected RBIs in the inning, as Sabetha sent 11 batters to the plate.

The seven-run forced the game to end early via run-rule, as Doniphan County was only able to plate a run in the third on a solo home run by Clayton Ridout before scoring their second run on an error in the fourth.

Joe Gruber and Blake Frey were named co-McDonald’s “Player of the Game” on 103.9 KNZA, as Gruber tossed all four innings allowing just one run on two hits while striking out five. Frey earned his Player of the Game honors going 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored, while also being on base four times.

Sabetha improved to 29-10 on the year with the two wins, and now awaits seeding in next week’s AA State Tournament next week in Sabetha.

Marysville Advances to Russell Zone Tournament Winner’s Bracket Championship

Behind a fast start, Marysville Post 163 advanced to the Russell Zone Tournament winner’s bracket championship Friday night with an 11-1 run-rule victory over Bennington Wednesday night.

Marysville wasted no time jumping all over Bennington, as Post 163 scored three runs in the first inning on a triple by Jacob Latta, a triple by Hunter Warnick and a sacrifice fly by Adam Lindhorst.

Latta then hit a long ball in the second inning as Marysville plated three more runs, but the big blow came in the fifth as Post 163 scored five runs to put the game out of reach.

Derek Roever, Brennan Wetter, Warnick and Lindhorst each had RBIs in the inning, while Owen Nietfeld earned the win for Marysville as he allowed four hits and one run over four innings while striking out five.

The win improved Marysville to 22-6 on the season, as Post 163 now awaits Smith Center in the winners bracket championship Friday at 6:00 in Russell.