Pitcher Nick Ward was a starter during his time with the Butler Grizzlies in the spring, but says he feels more like his style is more like a closer at the end of the games.
It's hard to argue if Ward's future is as a closer after recording his eighth save of the season Tuesday night as the El Dorado Broncos rallied to beat the Liberal BeeJays 4-3 to take a tighter grip of first place in the Jayhawk League.
Ward said he pitched the closer idea to the Broncos' coaches, and they went along with it. He closed some games for El Dorado last year, and wanted to be the guy who shut the door on opponents in the final innings. He has responded by picking up saves in all but one of his games pitched this season (he won the one game where he blew a save opportunity).
Ward struck out two of the three BeeJay batters he faced Tuesday night. On the season, he is 1-1 with a 0.64 earned run average on the season.
"I love it," Ward said. "It is good to know that I'm the guy they count on and go to late in the ballgame. It's really a rush and it's something I can really enjoy. I was a little apprehensive about it (last year), but I gave it a chance and things are working out for me so far."
Another former Butler player stepped up in Tuesday night's win for the Broncos (20-7, 14-7 league).
Leftfielder Dorain Williams had a RBI single in the sixth and knocked in a run on a fielders choice in the seventh to push El Dorado ahead 3-2 after seven innings. Williams continues to thrive in the No. 9 hole in the order, batting .342 on the season with 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts and 11 runs batted in.
"On the first (RBI), I closed my stance down a little bit and he left a change-up up and everything just felt normal to me," Williams said. "The second one, I didn't get all of it for a pitch that was right down the middle, but it got the job done. We got the win and that's the most important."
Wes Cunningham (Murray State) manufactured the game-winning run for El Dorado in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cunningham singled, stole second and went to third on the wild throw by catcher Chad Comer (Texas-Arlington) on the steal attempt, and scored on a wild pitch as he beat both Comer and pitcher Diego Soto (Emporia State) to the plate.
The BeeJays (16-15, 9-12) scored two runs off Broncos' starter Justin Lindsey (Kansas State) in the fourth inning. Steven Tucker (Lamar) hit a RBI single, and Mitch Caster (Wichita State) scored on a delayed double steal.
That was the only damage done to Lindsey on the night. The righthander allowed two hits and two walks while striking out seven in his six innings of work.
Besides Williams' at-bats, Matt Giller (Kansas State) drew a bases-loaded walk to help the Broncos take the lead, but it was short-lived as Aaron Mees (Chandler-Gilbert CC) opened up the eighth inning with a solo home run.
The BeeJays got their next runner on base, but Randal Builliard (the first out) and Mike Nixon (the final two outs) shut the door; setting up Cunningham's heroics in the bottom of the inning. Nixon recorded the decision on the mound for the Broncos, his first of the season.
El Dorado has a 1 1/2-game lead over the Derby Twins (15-9, 12-8) in the league standings, with the two teams scheduled to battle each other at 7:05 p.m. tonight at McDonald Stadium.
EL DORADO 4, LIBERAL 3
Liberal 000 200 010 — 3 3 2
El Dorado 000 001 21x — 4 5 2
Davis, Reyes, Soto (8) and Comer; Lindsey, Guy (7), Builliard (8), Nixon (8), Ward (9) and Welch. WP — Nixon. LP — Soto. HR — Liberal, Mees (eighth inning, none on, none out). Multiple hits — El Dorado, Whipple 2. Multiple RBIs — El Dorado, Williams 2. Records — Liberal 16-15 (9-12), El Dorado 20-7 (14-7).
