Great Bend is 8-2 against Liberal since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Panthers will venture away from home to square off against the Redskins at 4:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Great Bend has three straight victories, Liberal has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Great Bend barely beat Dodge City the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Panthers blew past the Demons 8-0 on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Carson Umphres was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Daxton Minton
| 04/07/25 @ Dodge City | 2 |
| 04/23/24 @ Thomas More Prep-Marian | 1 |
| 04/20/24 @ De Soto | 1 |
| 04/19/24 vs Saint Thomas Aquinas | 1 |
In other batting news, Daxton Minton and Koehn Ribordy did most of the damage at the plate: Minton scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Ribordy went 3-for-4 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one double. The dominant performance also gave Minton a new career-high in doubles (two). Trenton Kern also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Great Bend hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Dodge City struck out 11 times.
Meanwhile, Liberal came up short against Eisenhower on Tuesday, falling 13-2. The contest marked the Redskins' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Great Bend's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Liberal, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.
Great Bend took their win against Liberal in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 6-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
