Timely offense and stout defense propel Garden City Softball in a two-game sweep of Great Bend
Garden City, Kan – 401 and counting is how many wins Garden City Softball has as a program since its inception in 1994 after a two-game sweep of WAC foe Great Bend on Thursday night at John Ford Field.
The venue is a fitting reminder of the man who started the Garden City Softball program back in 1994 and has known nothing but success between former coach John Ford and current coach Trina Mai. As the Buffaloes play into their 30th season, they have had a .500 record or better in 24 out of 29 completed seasons so far. Trina Mai holds a 76% winning percentage in her now 11-year tenure at the helm of the Lady Buffs.
Tuesday night went exactly as planned with Garden City taking game one from Great Bend 7-4 and winning game two 11-2. The Buffaloes were led by timely hitting and great overall defense in the field to keep them firmly on pace to host a regional in the middle of May.
Game One | Garden City 7 Great Bend 4
Kamy Foster continued to swing the hottest bat on the team with a 2 run home run to straightaway center to start the scoring for the home team in the bottom of the 1st.
The Panthers would answer with a big swing of their own as DeShawna Bryant crushed a 3-run blast to put the Panthers up in the 3rd inning 3-2. In the bottom of the third Emma Davis grabbed her first RBI of the season tying the game at 3 apiece heading into the 4th.
It wouldn’t be until the top of the fifth that the next run was scored and it was Great Bend taking a lead from an RBI fielders choice by Halle Post. Garden City would go cold in the home half of the 5th setting up a pivotal 6th inning.
With one out in the bottom of the 6th head coach Trina Mai would ask Angel Serrano to pinch hit who coming into the at-bat was 0-9 in her last 4 games. Serrano would deliver a single that initiated the 6th-inning rally. The Lady Buffs drew two walks before Brie Manwarren tied the game at 4 runs each with an RBI single. At that point, GC was happy with the tie and after an infield fly, Yaz Alamanza delivered the biggest hit of the game with a 2 out 2 run single to give Garden City the lead they wouldn’t let go. Gabby Ortiz added an RBI fielders choice to make it 7-4.
Brie Manwarren would straight out the side in the top of the seventh finishing the game with 13 strikeouts making it 5 games in a row with at least 10 Ks. Manwarren also went over 500 career strikeouts in the game putting her 3rd all-time in Lady Buff history for most career strikeouts
Highlight performances at the plate for Garden City included a two-hit game for Yaz Almanza and a two-hit game for Emma Davis. Foster’s home run in the first was her 2nd of the season and just the team’s 4th.
Game Two | Garden City 11 Great Bend 2
This game never felt as close as the first one. Great Bend started with a lead in the top of the first after Paige Thexton doubled home Halle Post but Garden City would answer with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a Brie Manwarren RBI double and a Kamy Foster RBI sacrifice fly. The Buffaloes would bring in more in the 2nd with a bases-loaded walk by Emma Davis but the damage didn’t happen until the 5th.
Fast forward to the 5th after a few stalemate innings, The Lady Buffs started the inning with the bases loaded and no outs. Then Emma Davis grounded in a run followed by an Aleeya Cruz single to score another. That was the 3rd hit for Aleeya in-game and her first 3-hit game this season. Then another bases-loaded opportunity allowed Emma Ortiz to single in a run making it 6-2 Garden City. Brie Manwarren would blow the game open with a bases-clearing single to turn the game to 9-2 in favor of Garden City.
The Buffaloes would tack on two more before Brie Manwarren shut down Great Bend completing a span of 21 innings pitched against the Panthers getting the win in every single game this season.
Highlight performances at the plate for Garden City in game two came from Piper Harris who finished 1-1 with 4 walks, Emma Ortiz with 2 hits and 2 RBIs with Brie Manwarren who had 2 hits and drove in 3 runs.
The Buffaloes now sit at 11-2 overall and 4th in 6A West giving them a chance to host a regional. They are back in action on Tuesday, May 2nd with a doubleheader vs. rival Dodge City. You can listen to that game on 99.9 The Rock with the first pitch slated for 3 pm.
