By EARL WATT

• Leader & Times

It was a tale of two games for the Liberal Bulldogs Tuesday in Scott City.

The Bulldogs were pounded by the River Rats 10-0 in Game 1, but the Bulldogs responded with a 9-2 win in Games 2.

“We had very little emotion in the first game,” Liberal coach Eric Olmstead said. The Bulldogs did not get a hit in the four-inning game that was shortened due to the rune rule.

Kaiden Long took the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs, but he shared the debacle with his defense that committed four errors.

The River Rats used a six-run second inning to put the game out of reach.

”We couldn’t make plays,” Olmstead said. “Everything was out of our reach.”

In Game 2, the Bulldogs bounced back with a  five-run first inning en route to a 9-2 win.

After being no hit in the opener, Liberal had 11 hits and did not commit an error.

Angel Archuletta was able to toss five innings of no-hit baseball, and Timothy Fitzgerald came in relief for the final two innings to protect the lead.

Scott City committed six errors in the loss.

Stevie Lira went 2-4, and hit an RBI  single in the first inning. Lorenzo Pando hit a two-RBI double in the first to start the scoring. Lorenza Avila went 2-3 with a double and scored a run.

“They turned it around and didn’t take another whipping,” Olmstead said.

Liberal will travel to Hugoton Friday and will return home for a three-game homestand Monday, Tuesday and Thursday next week.

Blast Ball and T-Ball teams will be running bases during the Bulldog game June 27.