Griffons fall in El Dorado, struggling to hold third

Nevada Daily Mail

A poor start led to a road loss, softening the Nevada Griffons' grip on third place in the Jayhawk League standings Tuesday.

The Griffons fell behind the El Dorado Broncos 3-0, then lost 8-1, bringing the Broncos within a half game of third place in the league.

Nevada (21-12 overall, 14-11 in the Jayhawk League) is now in a dogfight with the Broncos (15-13 in the league) and Liberal BeeJays (13-13) for the important third spot in the league.

The third spot is important because the Jayhawk League gets two automatic bids to the NBC World Series in August.

Since the Derby Twins finished second in the Series last year, they already have an automatic bid, meaning that as long as they are in first or second place, the third place team from the Jayhawk League will get a bid.

Currently Derby is leading the league with a 20-7 record. Hays is in second with a 17-7 mark.

Nevada's half-game lead over El Dorado will be tested today as they host the Broncos in a single nine-inning game at Lyons Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The Griffons lead the BeeJays by 1 1/2 games. Liberal is in Joplin for a doubleheader with the Slashers today. Joplin is fighting to stay out of the league cellar with a 6-19 mark.

The Griffons begin a seven-game homestand today. They host Derby in a doubleheader Thursday, then have a four-game series with Liberal beginning Friday. The Liberal series will feature one game Friday, two games Saturday and one game Sunday.

Today is the last game between the Griffons and Broncos. El Dorado leads the season series 5-2.

Nevada and Liberal have split four games so far this season.