The Liberal Rattlers put it together in their final game in Weatherford Saturday afternoon. Landon Martinez hammered a home run to left center as the Rattlers topped the Burkburnett 16u team 15-7. That’s after a long and hot day Friday as they lost 19-5 to the Oklahoma City Mudcats and 15-5 t0 the Burkburnett 15u team. The Rattlers walked a combined 28 batters in those two games.
The wind gusted out 30-40 miles per hour all weekend. And Friday the Rattler pitching staff wilted in the heat and wind. In the 2pm game against the Mudcats, the Rattlers allowed 10 in the first on the way to the loss. Rattler pitching walked 12. The Mudcats only out-hit Liberal 12-9. Both teams had one error. Bentlee Betts and Blayden Betts both went 2-3. Bentlee drove home two runs and Blayden had a double. Alex Schwindt, Bren Kappelmann, and Manny Mendoza added RBI base hits.
The Rattlers played game two Friday against Burkburnett 15u. The Rattlers came out swinging scoring five in the first. But the Black Socks also scored five in the first. Burkburnett scored eight in the fourth to end the game. Liberal walked an astonishing 16 batters in four innings. The Rattles out-hit the Black Sox 9-6. Blayden Betts was 2-2 with an RBI. Jackson Stanfield was 2-2 with an RBI. Bren Kappelmann and Manny Mendoza added RBI hits.
The Rattlers grabbed an elusive win Saturday afternoon at Rader Park in Weatherford. The Rattlers scored three in the first and two in the second while Burkburnett scored two in the first and three in the second for a 5-5 tie. The Rattlers broke the game open with a six run third to lead 11-5. Liberal tacked on one more in the fourth and three in the fifth. Liberal out-hit Burk 10-9. The Black Sox had three errors and Liberal had two. Bren Kappelmann was 2-2 with three RBI’s. Calvin Shackelford was 2-4. Blayden Betts was 1-2 with a double and three RBI’s. Landon Martinez was 1-2 with a home run and three RBI’s. Bentlee Betts was 1-3 with a triple, three runs, and two RBI’s. Manny Mendoza was 1-2 with an RBI and two runs. Alex Schwindt was 1-2 with a double and three runs. Bren Kappelmann pitched three innings with four strikeouts for the win. Jackson Stanfield pitched two innings allowing one run.
Liberal is 3-8 and plays at Goddard July 5 and 6.
