Garden City erases nine-run deficit to beat Lamar

By Mike Pilosof

Photos by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-On more than one occasion, things looked bleak for Garden City. And just for the record, falling down by nine runs is not exactly what Becky Gundy had in mind. But there her team was when it was all over, celebrating their third win of the season, a moment that was captured with assistant coach and former player Erin Jankiewicz jumping for joy down the first-base line.  

Audrey Graf crushed her first homer of the season, Gaby Hernandez drove in three runs, and Garden erased a nine-run deficit, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Lamar 16-15 at Tangeman Sports Complex.

And the way it ended was, well, nuts.

After starting pitcher Madison Biller was tagged for seven runs on nine hits in two innings of work, Gundy replaced her with Kaylee Rogers. But the sophomore had her own struggles, especially in the top of the seventh. The first six lopes reached base: walk, double, single, double and two errors. Three batters later, Morgan Reed scored a run on a fielder's choice, and Lamar appeared to have what looked like an insurmountable 15-9 lead.

But on a cold, dreary day, anything was possible. Even when your top two arms didn't have their best stuff. Even when the opposing team sent 10 players to the plate in the seventh, a scenario that could have broken Garden City's back.

It didn't.

Ironically, Vivian Lopez started things off by reaching first on an error. Two batters later, Hernandez was hit by a pitch. Graf followed with a single, pinch hitter Kenzie Moore clubbed a two-run double, and Carley Powely capped off an eight-pitch at bat with an RBI single to left to pull Garden City to within two. Then, following another Lamar error, Elisabeth McGill hammered a fastball for a bases-clearing triple that tied the game. That setup Lopez, who strolled to the plate for her second at bat of the inning with a chance to win it.

And she did.

The Sophomore blooped a towering shot into shallow left, one that shortstop Alayna Georgio misplayed, allowing McGill to score the winning from the third. Ball game over! And to think, the rally started with an error and ended with one.

The leadup to the finish though almost tempered the moment.

Lamar jumped all over Garden City in the first, scoring three runs. Then in the third, Sheridan Wayne hit a solo, line-drive blast over the wall in right to make it 4-0. Eventually, the Lopes stretched that advantage to 9-0 after Ellie Walters error at third cost the Broncbusters three more runs.

But Garden City rallied back, and Graf's two-run homer in the bottom half, breathed life back into the cause. Biller ripped a run-scoring triple in the fourth, and Hernandez tattooed a breaking ball into center in the fifth, plating three runs, and closing the deficit to 10-9.

Rogers picked up the win in relief, giving up eight runs on five hits in 4 and 2/3 innings. She struck out six and walked four. Graf was 2-for-5 with three runs scored, and Lopez came around three times as well.

Beverly Rehfeldt took the loss for Lamar, giving up seven runs on four hits.