The big inning costs Garden City in Enid

By Mike Pilosof

Enid, OK-All it took was one inning in each of Garden City's games on Saturday to put a damper on their road trip to the Sooner State.

Northern Oklahoma-Enid used a seven-run second in game one and an eight-run third in the finale to finish off a sweep of the Broncbusters 11-1 and 13-1. And it was all fueled by sophomore Kailee King, who drilled four home runs on the day.

In game one, the Jets plated two in the bottom of the first. Hunter Strickland scored on pitcher Samantha Akers error, and Tori Danielson came around on a passed ball. In the second, King drilled her first long ball of the day: a line drive over the center-field wall that gave NOC-Enid a 7-0 lead. Two batters later, Madi Powell roped a two-run single to make it 9-0.

King added to her RBI count in the fourth, when she launched Akers offering beyond the right-field wall for a two-run shot and an 11-0 advantage.

Garden City (10-6) scored their lone run in the fifth on Leisha Nakagawa's solo home run to center. But any other scoring chance was quickly doused when Bailee Muxlow-Volk bounced into a game-ending double play.

Brooklyn Sparkman improved to 6-3 on the season, allowing just one earned run while scattering three hits. She struck out six. Akers dropped to 3-3 after allowing two earned runs (11 in total) on nine hits in four innings.

In game two, the Broncbusters struck first. Erica Vessels sacrifice fly in the top of the first scored Nakagawa from third, and Garden City had a 1-0 advantage. But the lead was short lived. NOC-Enid (12-5) answered back in the bottom half, thanks to Brooke Rains, whose two-run single gave the Jets the lead for good.

NOC-Enid added three in the second before the avalanche hit in the third. King and Allison Wells each hit two-run homers, while the Jets sent 12 batters to the plate, recorded eight hits and took advantage of one costly error by second baseman Hannah Adams that allowed Cassadie Ray to score from third.

Wells, who also got the start in the circle in game two, silenced the Broncbuster bats the rest of the way, yielding only a one-out walk to Micaela Martinez in the fourth as she retired six out of the final seven batters she faced.  

Desiree Perea lost for the first time this season, allowing 13 runs (only four earned) on 14 hits. She dropped to 4-1.

Next up: Garden City at Clarendon-Monday, Feb. 27-1 p.m. and 3 p.m.