Busters Take 43-15 Record to Lawrence-Dumont
Region VI Tournament Friday vs Cowley 7:00 PM
Garden City, KS-Chris Finnegan's Busters take an overall record of 43-15 to Wichita Friday at 7:00 PM against Cowley County. The Tigers bring an overall record of 41-16. The Tigers finished second in the Jayhawk East with a record of 25-11 and are the #3 seed overall.
The Busters finished third in the Jayhawk West at 21-11. Colby finished 1st and was eliminated in two games last weekend against Coffeyville. Hutchinson finished 2nd edging Independence in Game III 16-14. The Blue Dragons overcame a 9 run deficit to advance to Wichita in the bottom of the 9th. Garden City and Hutchinson will represent the Jayhawk West.
Garden City, the #6 seed returns to Wichita after a one year absence. The Busters were eliminated last year by the Red Ravens in the 1st Round. Garden City defeated Fort Scott to advance to Wichita this year. The Busters won Game III 8-4. The Busters won Game I 10-8 and fell in Game II 8-10.
The Busters are ranked in the Top 10 Nationally in 6 categories. Garden City is 1st in walks reaching base 332 times. The Busters are 2nd nationally in doubles with 156 and are 3rd in at bats totaling to date 1892. Cowley County is 3rd nationally in walks with 317, 15 less than Garden City.
The Busters are 9th in runs with 533. Garden is also 9th in RBI's with 479. Garden City also cracked the top 10 in extra base hits with 237; they are 10th.
In pitching Garden City is led by Noah Draper. Draper is tied for 15th in NJCAA standings in strikeouts. Draper has recorded 95 and has allowed only three home runs; he has a 3.99 ERA.
Kyle Lopez leads a solid crew of batters. Lopez is tied at 20th in RBI'S with 70, has a .434 batting average and has scored 59 runs.