Cloud County wins game three

Garden City, KS-Demeitri Shakotko homered twice and drove in five as Cloud County beat Garden City, 10-5 in game three Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium. The Broncbusters dropped their ninth straight game, falling to 7-36 overall and 3-20 in conference. 

Kaden Shirley took the loss for Garden City, giving up eight earned runs on eight hits in five innings. John DeCoste tossed two innings of relief, surrendering one earned run while fanning two and walking one.  

Cal Walsh notched the win for Cloud County, punching out four and allowing four runs on nine hits in five mostly uneventful frames.  

Shakotko got the offense going early for the Thunderbirds, hammering a 1-0 fastball over the wall in right and onto campus avenue for a 2-0 lead. 

The Broncbusters came back in the third to tie it. Kaelen Bing ripped an RBI triple to right and Quinn Gundelfinger hit a sacrifice fly. 

But the Thunderbirds answered quickly with a seven-run fourth. Kolden Howerton tripled home one, Alexander Diaz followed with a sac fly, and Shakotko blasted his second long ball of the day: a three-run bomb to right to give the visitors a 9-2 advantage. 

PJ Alvarez went deep for Garden City in their half of the fourth, and Brett Barber added an RBI single in the fifth to cut the deficit to 9-4. 

Cloud County though scored an insurance run in the sixth.