Buffs’ softball sweeps Liberal, DH win gives GCHS 3-0 season series
Story Credit: GCHS Athletics
The Garden City High School softball team completed its three-game season series sweep of Liberal’s Lady Red on Thursday with a doubleheader domination, winning both games by scores of 13-1 and 10-0 and both in shortened innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Thursday’s sweep at John Ford Field at Tangeman Sports Complex lifted the Buffs above .500 with a 9-8 season record and improved their Western Athletic Conference record to 5-0.
Things will get much more difficult for the Buffs when they return to WAC action next week, hosting Great Bend in a single game on Tuesday (April 28) at 4:30 p.m. at John Ford Field at Tangeman Sports Complex. They then will travel to Great Bend on Thursday (April 30) for a doubleheader that begins at 4 p.m.
Great Bend was slated to play a Thursday doubleheader with Hays and is now 18-1 overall and 9-0 in the WAC before the showdown series next week.
“I’m happy that we got the two wins without a lot of stress,” said head coach Trina Mai afterward. “The girls are slowly improving, and I think we can still play better, but today was a good day.”
In Game 1, the Buffs scored one run in the first, then motored through with four runs in the second, three in the third and topped it off with a five-run fourth. With Liberal unable to score more than the single run (third), the game ended after the top of the fifth.
Of the eight hits, Josslyn George and Ellie Konrade each had two hits. Stella Villarreal had 2 RBIs off her one hit while George, Anabelle Castillo, Elly Ortiz and Zayla Pack had one RBI each.
Brylee Hamblin pitched the full five innings to pick up the victory. She yielded just two hits and the one run (unearned), walked just one and had six strikeouts.
“I thought we did a good job of getting production from the top and bottom of the lineup,” Mai said. “That’s the key for us to score runs. We must have production all the way through the lineup.”
Haiden Lyon absorbed the loss on the mound for the Lady Red. She gave up eight hits, but only two of the 13 Garden City runs were earned. She walked none and had one strikeout.
Hamblin finished with 75 pitches and 54 of those were for strikes.
In Game 2, it was Hamblin again taking the mound for the Buffs, and the freshman right-hander seemingly got stronger and more effective as that game progressed. Only three base runners reached safely, two with singles and one by a hit-batter.
She didn’t walk a batter and finished with 9 strikeouts.
“I thought she did a good job of commanding her pitches,” Mai said of Hamblin. “We’ll continue to work on things, and she’s only going to get better. We’ve got a big week coming up and we need to fine tune some things.”
Of the nine hits for the Buffs, Castillo and Ortiz had two apiece with an RBI each. Konrade, Wilder and Madison Polson each netted an RBI.
The Buffs took the twin bill without the services of their Nos. 1 and 2 hitters in the lineup – sisters Marisol and Yas Angeles – who were home sick. Mai hopes to have them back next week for the Great Bend series.
“We were able to move some people around and they all contributed,” Mai said of the position changes. “It’s nice when you have that flexibility and we were able to get the kids to do different things and with that we can move people like we did today.”
Samantha Wilder took over the shortstop position from Marisol Angeles; Villarreal moved from right field to left field where Yas Angeles is situated and Mia Zarate filled in at right field.
———
Western Athletic Conference
Thursday, April 23
At John Ford Field/Tangeman Sports Complex
Game 1
GARDEN CITY 13, LIBERAL 1 (5 innings)
Liberal…001…00…–…1…2…7
Garden City…143…5x…–…13…8…2
Pitching—Liberal: Lyon and Janko; Garden City: Hamblin (W) and Peck.
———
Game 2
GARDEN CITY 10, LIBERAL 0 (5 innings)
Liberal…000..00…–…0…2…8
Garden City…500…41…–…10…9…0
Pitching—Liberal: Carter, Champion (4) and Lyon; Garden City: Hamblin (W) and Peck. 2B—Garden City (Konrade). 3B—Garden City (Castillo).
