Chase County’s baseball team split a doubleheader at Herington on Monday and has sealed the No. 1 seed in its Class 2-1A regional.
Defensive problems for the Bulldogs were the key in a 10-5 loss in the opening game. Chase County got off to a fast start, with Shawn Talkington hitting a three-run homer in the top of the first, but eight Bulldog errors helped out Herington, which scored every time up. Chase County fell behind 4-3, then tied the game in the top of the third on Jace Francka’s RBI single. A hit batter, a walk and two errors allowed the Railers to retake the lead in their half of the third, and an error and three consecutive walks by Bulldog starter Brandon Line allowed another run to score in the fourth. Chase County added its last run in the top of the sixth with a Johnny Lang RBI single. Lang, Talkington, Francka and Jim Lauer each had two hits for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs won Game Two by an 8-7 score, scoring six of their runs in the final three innings to overcome a five-run inning for the Railers in the bottom of the sixth. In the fifth, Lang had an RBI double, Line was hit by a pitch and both then scored on Lauer’s two-run single. After Herington’s five-run sixth, Chase County tied the game on Line’s RBI single, and Line moved to third after two wild pitches. Two popups followed, making it look as though the Bulldogs might waste the opportunity to take the lead. But Dylan Kelsheimer then reached on an error by the third baseman, scoring what would be the winning run.
“This was a really odd game,” Chase County coach Jay Talkington said. “We dominated early, gave them a little life and they almost came back to beat us. That is one thing about baseball that coaches both love and hate: there is no clock, so you are never really out of a game or have it sewn up.”
Chase County (13-5) will host Northern Heights (4-12) on Friday in a makeup doubleheader to conclude the regular season for both teams. After that, the Bulldogs will head to the Little River regional, where they’ll be the top seed. They’ll play at 2 p.m. Tuesday against the winner between Little River and Moundridge.