Garden City holds of McCook rally; completes the sweep

By Mike Pilosof

McCook, Neb-After steamrolling McCook in game one, the Broncbusters overcame a little adversity to complete the sweep.

Elisabeth McGill hit two triples and drove in two, Megan Walz tossed two innings of scoreless relief, and Garden City edged McCook 10-9 at Jaycees Sports Complex.

It looked like the Broncbusters were going to run away with it again. They scored three runs in the top of the first; one on an error and the other two on RBI doubles by Madison Biller and Carly Powley. Then in the second, Garden City extended the lead when McGill scored on a passed ball and Kenzie Moore came around on Jade Hollands' error at third, making it 5-0.

But McCook stormed back in the their half of the second. A walk, two singles and an RBI ground out by Megan Blood-Smyth, sliced the Broncbusters' lead to 5-4. An inning later, McCook tied things up. Kristen Mogan walked, then took second and third on passed balls before Camryn Laird brought her around with an RBI groundout.

The Broncbusters answered in the fourth. Encinias powered a one-out single to left, and Gaby Hernandez tripled her home. After an error, Biller's run-scoring groundout put Garden City up 7-5.

But again in the bottom half, the Indians were game, scoring a pair of runs on bases-loaded walks issued by Audrey Graf to knot the score at 7.

In the fifth, Garden City went back on top. Powley walked, and McGill blasted a triple down the right-field line to make it 9-7.

However, that lead was short lived. With two outs in the McCook fifth, Kaitlyn Lord hit a two-run single to even things up. The Broncbusters though had the last laugh, scratching across an unearned run when Biller's sharp grounder was misplayed by Blood-Smyth in center, allowing Graf to score all the way from first.

That's when Walz slammed the door shut.

The freshman set down McCook in order in the sixth and seventh, giving the Broncbusters a season-opening sweep.

Graf finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Garden City. Biller knocked in two runs, and Walz fanned two in two innings of relief. Starter, Taylor Hill, gave up five earned runs on two hits in two innings. She walked four.

Karleigh Kleinknecht took the loss for McCook, allowing two runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings.