Broncbuster baseball earns series split with Colby

The Garden City Community College Broncbusters split Sunday’s doubleheader against Colby, falling 6-5 in extra innings in game one and winning game two 9-1 to salvage a four-game split against the Trojans.

In Sunday’s opener, the Broncbusters jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, powered by a two-run homer from Sean Kennedy. In the 3rd, Aeneas Roberson led off with a double, stole third and came home on a passed ball to make it 4-0. But the Trojans got 2 runs back in the 4th on a walk and two hits and then tied it in the 5th on a walk and a home run. Leading off the bottom of the 6th, Mason Brown walked, went to third on a Kyle Lopez double and scored on a wild pitch to give the Busters the lead back, 5-4. Ray Monje came on in the top of the 7th for the save, but Colby’s Austin Ihle led off with a triple and Brian Granton drove him with a single to send the game to extra innings. A walk and an error led to the Trojans’ go-ahead run in the 9th and the Bronbusters could muster only a walk, falling 6-5. Phillip Muldrow was the losing pitcher.

In the nightcap, Brendan Pietsmeyer fired a 7-inning complete game for his 6th win of the year. Garden City jumped out early again, scoring two 1st-inning runs on 3 walks and 2 singles. After Colby’s Reed Fritzke belted a solo home run in the top of the 2nd, the Broncbusters got that run back on a hit batter, a balk, a wild pitch and a passed ball to lead 3-1. GCCC added 2 more in the 4th on 3 walks, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly and capped it off with a 4-run 5th that included 2 walks, 2 hit batters, a single and a double. With his fourth complete game of the season, Pietsmeyer is now 6-0.

The Broncbusters are now 19-6, 5-3 in the Jayhawk Conference, and return to action next Saturday at Cloud County.