WICHITA, Kan.- After losing to the Liberal, KS Bee Jays in the opening round of the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy, the Houston, TX Express got its revenge on Friday night at Eck Stadium with a 5-4 victory.
Julian Garcia led the Express on the mound with seven strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched and Tanner King led the Bee Jays with seven strikeouts in the final four innings. Myles Jefferson guided the Express on offense with a 2-for-3 outing at the plate with an RBI while Kade Brewer and Nate White led the Bee Jays’ offense with two hits each.
The Express got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning, scoring two runs off a double by DeVaughn Gales. Gales scored later in the inning following a stolen base and an RBI single, giving the Express a 3-0 lead.
Liberal responded in the top of the fifth inning, with Kade Brewer coming up with an RBI double and Bryce Donovan bringing in the second run with a single to cut the Bee Jays’ deficit to one. Two consecutive hits to start the bottom of the fifth inning allowed the Express to score another run off a single, extending their lead 5-2 following a fielding error.
A walk and a wild pitch in the top of the ninth inning allowed the Bee Jays to stay alive with a run following an RBI single, later cutting the deficit to one run after a sacrifice fly to left field. The Bee Jays managed to get two runners in scoring position with two outs, but pitcher Brad Wilcott forced a 6-3 putout to secure the win for the Express.
The Express advance in the loser’s bracket and will play the winner between the Hays, KS Larks and the Hutchinson, KS Monarchs at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday at Eck Stadium in Wichita.