An unexpected five-day break from competition hasn’t seemed to have affected the El Dorado Broncos at all if you consider how the team came out in its first game after the hiatus.
Kirk Walker and Travis Whipple knocked in four runs apiece and the Broncos gave up only one earned run Tuesday night on the way to an 11-4 Jayhawk League victory over the Liberal BeeJays at McDonald Stadium.
“We had a little time off, but we came out ready to play,” Walker said. “We had a little bit of practice over the weekend and came out ready to go.
“It’s a testament to our coaches. They got us ready to go and they told us we’re not going to use rust as an excuse for (not being ready after) time off.”
Walker (Oklahoma City) went 3 for 3 — a single, double and home run — and reached base every time he went up to the plate, scoring four runs.
Whipple (Louisiana-Lafayette) went 2 for 5 on the day, but knocked in runs in three of his plate appearances.
The Broncos (11-3, 9-3) as a whole recorded 12 hits in their first game back since their two-game sweep of Derby last week. The Broncos are 6-1 in their seven games at McDonald this season.
The team has also come up with a new motto that catcher David Allbritton (Emporia State-Barton County) taped on the dugout wall just above the lineup card: “Work 2 Win.”
Head coach Andrew Schatzley said a five-day layoff can be unpredictable for teams, but was pleased with the way the Broncos handled their time away from game action.
“We’ve had some workouts the last couple of days and guys have done a good job of working on their own,” Schatzley said. “I think that was a big part of (Tuesday night) was that we had guys who worked during our layoff.”
As for the new slogan, Schatzley said: “I didn’t have anything to do with it. These guys already have a personality without me having to add to it. We have been really happy with the way our guys have been working. We’re glad that we’ve had some success, but we’re especially proud of the way the guys have worked at the plate and have carried themselves.”
The Broncos opened up the scoring with a two-run double by Whipple in the first inning. El Dorado could have scored more, but the inning ended on an infield fly and a double play.
