Falcons Grab Three Wins at Junction City Tournament

The Salina Falcons are saving their best baseball for last.

Before playing in the postseason tournament at Buhler later in the week, Salina went 3-1 at the second annual Turf War tournament in Junction City over the weekend. The Falcons improved to 11-9 on the season.

Salina opened the tournament with a dominating 9-0 victory over Junction City in five innings. Jonas Baughman limited the JC bats on the mound, giving up a pair of hits. Connor Anglin and Loren Vincent combined for four RBIs.

The finale of day one featured the Falcons fending off the Newton Knights in a 5-3 win. One swing from Kade Barber delivered three runs as he cleared the bags in the first with a double. Newton trimmed the margin to one, but the Falcons were able to get two runs back on a two-RBI double by Jovan Suarez.

Salina’s dream of an undefeated weekend was squandered following a 3-1 defeat to Ottawa. Four errors plagued the Falcons, although Salina hung around for the majority of the contest. Colton Bell scored on a wild pitch to tie up the score at 1-1. However, the Arrows plated two runs in the fifth and held off the Falcons over the last two frames.

The sting of a loss didn’t last long as Salina closed the tournament with an impressive 9-1 win over the Kansas Senators. Nolton Puckett kicked things off with an RBI in the first after a run was scored via an error. Salina put five runs on the board in the sixth with four coming on three errors. Starter Josh Weiser pitched six strong innings, who allowed on run on five hits and struck out four.

Salina drew the five seed for the postseason tournament in Buhler. The Falcons face three-seeded Newton on Friday at 4 pm. The winner plays the No. 2 seed Great Bend.

The Salina Hawks are the top seed in the 17U bracket. The Hawks face the winner of the 4-6 matchup, featuring Buhler and Ottawa. Salina opens the tournament at 6 pm Friday.