Broncbusters look sharp-take 3 of 4 from Northeastern
By Mike Pilosof
Sterling, CO-Corbin Truslow hit two home runs and knocked in seven, Dakota Finley went 4-for-5 at the plate, and Garden City split the final two games of their opening series with Northeastern, Colo., taking game three 14-3 before dropping the finale 6-5 on Saturday afternoon at Plainsmen Park.
In game four, the Broncbusters took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately, that didn't stick. The Plainsmen put two on with two out, and Ben Newton drilled a three-run bomb off of Emanuel Nunez that tied the game.
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the 11th when Northeastern loaded the bases. After Matthew Armedariz fouled off consecutive pitches, Darrian Escobar-Winter threw a fastball too far inside that hit him, allowing the winning run to cross.
Jacob Douglas started the game for Garden City, allowing just two runs on seven hits in five innings. He struck out four. Rhett Halstead pitched an inning of scoreless relief as did Luis Padilla and Ryan Nason.
In the first game of the day, Garden City wasted little time in taking charge.
Finley knocked in the game's first run with two outs in the first, fighting off Cameron Spaeth's curveball for an infield single that scored Sean Klein from third. In the fourth, Griff Brunson roped an RBI triple and Turner McDonald added a sacrifice fly that made it 3-0. Truslow's line-drive double, and Finley and Escobar-Winter's RBI singles in the fifth plated three more before Truslow struck with the fatal blow in the sixth: a three-run blast that fueled a six-run-inning that put the game out of reach.
Malachi Crone settled in nicely on the bump, allowing just one earned run in four innings while fanning six. Andrew Sumner and Steve Ramos combined to throw three scoreless frames, and the Broncbusters took three of four from the Plainsmen.
Garden City took the first two games on Friday. Escobar-Winter connected on his first homer, and the Broncbusters scored eight runs in the third for a 14-4 victory in the opener. In the second game, Both Truslow and Klein went deep, Brock Johnson drove in a pair of runs, and Garden City scored five in the fourth and fifth frames to edge the Plainsmen 12-9.