By EARL WATT

• Daily Leader

After an impressive win over Wellington Saturday, the Bulldogs dropped two games on Sunday to bow out of the state tournament in third place.

Liberal dominated Wellington Saturday, 18-7.

Liberal was tough defensively, and a home run by Austen Pitts and three-RBI triple form Jose Pando highlighted the scoring.

But the bats fell silent Sunday afternoon against Independence in a 10-0 loss.

Liberal had a rematch with Wellington Sunday evening, but a 1-1 game in the fifth got away from the Bulldogs with three errors that led to a 5-1Wellington lead. The Bulldogs added two more runs and had the winning run at the plate in the fifth before a double play ended Liberal’s season, 5-3.

“We started off well, we just ran out of gas,” Liberal coach Eric Olmstead said. “We were one pitch away form keeping at at 3-1 in the fifth, but they found a hole, unlike us. We were hitting it right at them.”

Wellington and Independence faced off for the State championship at 11 a.m.