Jimenez homers twice; Garden City splits with Lamar

By Mike Pilosof

Garden City, KS-The Garden City softball team finished off a split with Lamar on Thursday, winning game one 8-5 and losing the finale 8-0 in six innings.

Angel Jimenez was the story in game one. The sophomore helped the Broncbusters dig out of an early 2-0 hole when she blasted a two-run bomb over the leftfield wall in the bottom of the first. Sprinkle in Ariel Denny's RBI double and Bailee Muxlow-Volk's RBI double, and Garden City was up 4-2.

Lamar tied the game in the third on Alyvia Woosley's two-run bomb off of Samantha Akers; then took the lead in the fifth when Woosley singled home a run.

In the bottom of the inning, Jimenez struck again, belting a two-run home run to left that put Garden City (22-26, 10-16) up 6-5. She added a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Muxlow-Volk doubled home a run to give the Broncbusters a three-run cushion.

Lamar (35-16, 24-6) threatened in the seventh, getting the tying run to the plate with one out. That's when Akers did damage control, striking out Woosley and getting Nonica Rivera to pop out to end the game.

Akers picked up the win for Garden City, surrendering five earned runs on eight hits in seven innings. She struck out four and walked five. Jimenez knocked in five runs, and Muxlow-Volk was 2-for-4.

Lauren Reed took the loss for Lamar, allowing three runs on five hits in four innings.

The Lopes took full command in game two.

Lamar scored their first run in the third; then followed that up an inning later when Mercedes Salazar and Larissa Royer hit back-to-back home runs off of Denney to make it 3-0. In the fifth, Caitlin McCarthy doubled home a run, and Salazar drilled her second long ball of the day: a three-run blast that put Lamar on top 7-0. They added one more run in the sixth.

Denney took the loss for Garden City, allowing seven runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. She struck out seven but gave up seven home runs.

Emily Womeldorff picked up the victory for Lamar, limiting the Broncbusters to just two hits: a Denney single in the fourth, and a Devin Hernandez base hit in the fifth. She fanned six and walked three, while Salazar drove in four runs.

Next up: Garden City at Barton County-Tuesday, April 24-1 p.m. and 3 p.m.