![Broncbusters run-rule Miles; earn series split](/sports/sball/2020-21/GCCC_softball_vs._Miles_3_8_21-5.jpg)
Broncbusters run-rule Miles; earn series split
By Mike Pilosof
Garden City, KS-Things definitely calmed down a lot in the series finale on Monday.
Alexis Maestretti mashed two home runs, Micaela Mirabal went deep as well, and Garden City avenged a wild 27-26 loss to Miles in game three by taking the finale 13-4 in a six-inning run-rule.
And for some reason, Amy Schmeckpeper's team thrives on adversity because for the fourth time in the series, the Broncbusters fell behind early.
Olivia Cook's three-run blast in the first put the Pioneers up 3-0. But that was short lived once Nya Chacon, who's been on an absolute tear to begin the year, drilled a two-run shot to tie the game in the bottom half. An inning later, Mirabel joined the party, crushing a leadoff homer off of Kelealani Waiau to put Garden City in front for good. Four batters later, Lacey Kearsley's line-out double play allowed Mckayla Encinias to score from third to make it 5-3. Then, in the third, after Tara Reid's double to center, Maestretti cranked a two-run jack for a 7-3 cushion.
Miles got a run back in the 4th on Tessa Silva's RBI single, but that's the last time the Pioneers threatened, and in the 5th, Garden City tacked on three more including McKenzie Moore's hot-shot triple to left and Chacon's free pass with the bases loaded. That was the prelude to the Broncbuster 6th when Maestretti ended the game with a three-run walk-off blast.
Maestretti drove in five runs for Garden City, which earned a series split. Chacon walked three times, and Reid finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Kearsley picked up the win in the circle, allowing three earned runs on six hits in six innings.
Next up: Garden City vs. Seward-Thursday, March 11-2 p.m. and 4 p.m.