April 18, 2024

Buffalo softball lassos Goodland; baseball splits with Great Bend

Goodland, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Garden City avoided having to make a 120-mile round trip to finish off a blowout win over Ulysses. That was eventually called because of rain and a win awarded to the Buffaloes. 

That made Tuesday’s long trip to Goodland that much more tolerable. 

The Buffaloes made easy work of the Cowgirls with 12-1 and 17-3 victories. 

“We made sure not to swing at bad pitches,” Alyssa Long said afterwards. “Defensively we were sound.”

In game one, Garden City pummeled Goodland in the first two innings, building an 11-0 lead. Shai Cartmill led the charge, going 2-for-4 at the dish and driving in three. 

In game two, the top three batters in the order Long, Cartmill and Dart combined to go 8-for-10 with 11 RBIs. Seven of those belong to Dart, who was, once again dominant in the circle, allowing just two hits while striking out seven. 

Baseball splits with Great Bend

Great Bend, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Garden City Coach Bill Wilson had seen the story unfold too many times last season. 

His team would build a lead, only to find a way to lose it over the final six outs. 

Tuesday was no exception. 

The Buffaloes split their two games with conference-rival Great Bend on Tuesday, winning the first game 10-6 before losing the first finale 8-4. 

But it was the way they lost game two that was particularly frustrating.

The Buffaloes had a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth before two singles, a double and a walk, all with two outs put the Panthers on top 8-4. 

Zach Hopkins kept hopes alive for the Buffaloes in the seventh with a leadoff single. But Garden City was retired in order after that. 

In game one, the Buffaloes flipped the script. 

After Great Bend built an early 2-0 lead, Garden City exploded for six runs in the fourth. The first 10 batters reached base in the frame. 

Syrus Schwartz run-scoring double and Eden Arreola’s sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 8-6. The Buffaloes added two insurance runs in the seventh.