By MATTHEW CLARK

Special to The Hays Daily News

PITTSBURG -- Hays Junior Legion coach Mike Jenner had one simple descriptor for the first two innings of the Eagles' game against the Lansing Reds in the first round of the American Legion Class A state baseball tournament at JayCee Ballpark Friday afternoon.

"Nightmare would be a good word," Jenner said.

Eagle starting pitcher Daniel Braun gave up four runs on two hits and Hays had a fielding error that resulted in two of those runs scoring tossed into the mix to allow the Reds to jump to a 4-0 lead after the first half-inning.

"Dan never did that to start a game," Jenner said.

The good news was that Hays (24-13) battled back and scored nine unanswered to claim a 9-4 win amid the triple-digit heat.

For Lansing manager Jake Hanson, watching his team give up those nine runs, in addition to having the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the fourth and not scoring a single run, the experience in the last five innings could be described the same as Jenner's wording for Hays' first two innings.

"With kids this young, you expect to have a bad inning," Hanson said. "When you have a couple of bad innings, it's tough."

After the Reds collected their four runs in the first, they managed just two more hits in the remaining five innings as Braun settled in and threw a complete game for the Eagles.

Hays started its charge in the third when Lansing starter Zac Haller gave up back-to-back doubles to Riley Kaus and Jarrett Sanders -- both of which resulted in runs scored for the Eagles.

There was more damage done by Hays in the fourth after a botched pickoff attempt by Lansing resulted in Trevor Henningsen scoring from third. That capped another four-run inning for the Eagles, putting them ahead 8-4.

"When the pressure is on us, sometimes we make poor decisions," Hanson said.

Braun continued to settle as he allowed just two baserunners in the last three innings of the game.

Hays collected 11 hits in the game compared to Lansing's four.

"Our hitting, all summer, has been our strong point," Jenner said. "We just need to get it going a little sooner than we did today."

Keegan Bednasek led the way for the Eagles, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored while Chase Young was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Hays was scheduled to play Shawnee Mission on Saturday night in a winners' bracket contest.