Three Run Ninth Gives GCCC Split With Indian Hills

Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com) For all that went right in opening up their season Friday for the Garden City Community College Baseball team, that much went wrong Saturday.

The Broncbusters (3-1) saved their best for last with a dramatic three run ninth inning to get a come from behind win against Indian Hills (1-3) 7-6 after losing the first game of the afternoon 7-3. GCCC took three out of four in the series.

Game One Highlights

Sophomore Dalton Shalberg pitched well through the first three innings for Garden City surrendering only one run. He did not make it past the fourth. With the Broncbusters holding a 2-1 lead, Warriors shortstop Joel Fuentes gave his team the lead for good with a two run double and he took third on the throw.

Haroki Yamaguchi added an infield single on a line drive off Shalberg’s arm. Two batters latter Shalberg balks in a run and was relieved by Garrett Bryant who gave up a two run single to Mike Levar.

GCCC added only one more run with a RBI triple from Brooks Benson in the bottom of the 4th off Warriors starter Jesse Anderson. Anderson was relieved with two outs in the fourth. Anderson’s relief Trevor Kiminski struck out six, allowed one hit and walked one through the rest of the seven inning game to pick up the win.

In the loss Garden City struck out nine times, eight of the batters were caught looking.

Game Two Highlights

The Broncbusters had seven errors in the second game including two separate two error innings. In both of those innings Indian Hills scratched for two runs. A critical error from usually steady sophomore catcher Frankie Alvarez allowed two runs to score in the fifth as Indian Hills retook the lead. Alvarez attempted to field catcher Travis Neubeck’s bunt and threw it down the right field line.

Both teams played check the next two innings scoring a run each in the seventh and eight to make it 6-4 Indian Hills heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Garden City started the rally with a single from designated hitter Kyle Lopez. Leftfielder Patrick Mixon doubled to right and a throwing error on the relay brought in Lopez making it 6-5. After rightfielder Brooks Benson struck out against reliever Mike Levar, shortstop Brennan Cascio doubled off the wall in left pushing across Mixon with the tying run.

That set the stage for Angelo Perez to make his first plate appearance of the day. He hit a hard groundball to first baseman Jake Lewis who pulled up on the ball too early in an error that brought home Cascio with the winning run and ended a dramatic win for the Broncbusters.

After the game GCCC Head Coach Chris Finnegan kept the win in perspective.