Trinidad State wins slugfest over Garden City

By Mike Pilosof

Garden City, KS-There is one certainty above all else: February is not softball weather. Sunday's bitter cold definitely proved that. It also stymied Garden City in their series opener.

Gianna De Luca-Paape drove in five runs including a grand slam, Trinidad State smashed four long balls, and the Trojans outlasted the Broncbusters 14-8 in game one at Tangeman Sports Complex.

Trinidad State wasted no time in putting a charge in the ball. In the top of the first, Bailey Griego crushed a run-scoring double to the gap in right-center before De Luca-Paape's RBI single made it 2-0.

The Broncbusters countered in a big way in the bottom half when Nya Chacon took Griego deep for a two-run shot that tied the game. But it was all Trojans from there.

In the second, Jayden Gandert doubled home a pair. An inning later, Gabriella Montoya drilled a solo homer to left, putting the road team up 5-2. The Trojans eventually stretched that to an eight-run cushion on De Luca-Paape's grand slam in the fourth, Sydney Stewart also jacked a two-run dinger in the fifth, and Trinidad State had a 13-2 advantage.

But facing the run rule in the bottom of the fifth, Garden City never crumbled. Elycia Johnson and Chacon provided RBI knocks, Carly Powley smacked a two-run homer, and the brown and gold was within six. Later in the frame, Lacey Kearsley came around when McKenzie Moore's hot shot was booted by Anna Palomar at third.

But that's as close as the Broncbusters got. Griego answered for Trinidad State with a homer in the sixth; then proceeded to shut down the Garden City offense, retiring the final six batters she faced.  

Griego picked up the win in the circle for the Trojans, giving up eight runs on nine hits in seven innings. Meantime, Kearsley struggled from the start for the Broncbusters, yielding 12 runs on 14 hits in 4 1/3. It was all part of a day that saw Trinidad State collect 20 hits and score in every inning but the seventh.