From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Galena moved into the baseball semifinals of the Kansas Class 3A Tournament behind the pitching of Dakota Walker and an 11-hit attack on Friday.
The Bulldogs ousted Hillsboro 6-2 behind senior right-hander Walker’s one-hitter and will face Doniphan County at 12:30 p.m. in a semifinal on Norvell Field at Eisenhower Middle School.
Galena is 20-3. Doniphan (20-2) defeated Douglass 8-5.
Walker, 10-1, struck out seven and walked four. He was reached for a two-run single in the top of the first by losing pitcher Tyler Ediger.
Ediger kept the Bulldogs at bay until uprisings of 2, 3 and 1 tallies in innings 4-6.
Said Galena coach Ken Cook: “We had a solid offensive game. We made some hard outs in addition to the 11 hits. We struck out only two times.
“Walker obviously had a strong overall performance,” Cook said. “He worked out of some trouble and we turned two double plays.”
Galena broke through for two runs in the fourth on a single by Troy Albright, a run-scoring double by Walker and a single by Dillon Katzer.
In the fifth, Grant Thompson singled, moved to third on a wild pickoff attempt and scored on a two-out single by Colton Leet. Albright then doubled in Leet and Walker singled home Albright.
Zach Gougler’s double, a stolen base and Thompson’s single produced the final Galena run in the sixth.
Albright, junior left-hander who’s 4-2, is the probable starting pitcher against Doniphan County, Cook said.
