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On to Wichita: Buster baseball sweeps KCK to advance in Region 6

Published 5/4/2009 in Sports : GCCC

By MIKE KESSINGER

mkessinger@gctelegram.com

Sloan Soulia was just happy to have the first round of the Region 6 tournament over with and a trip to Wichita wrapped up.

Just a year ago, Soulia, the Garden City Community College starting catcher, and his Broncbuster teammates were finishing the season in the first round after being swept by Cowley College. On Saturday, though, Soulia could only smile as the Busters dropped Kansas City, Kan. Community College in two games, 7-4 and 4-3.

"I was so nervous for it," Soulia said of preparing for the weekend series at Williams Stadium that lasted just one day. "I think we were all ready, I think it was all good nerves. It worked out."

The top seed from the Jayhawk Conference Western Division by virtue of winning the program's first outright conference title in 20 years, the Busters will play either Barton County or Neosho on May 9 at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. The No. 4 and 5 seeds' series in Neosho was postponed until today starting at 1 p.m. Whoever the Busters play will be Garden City's first trip to Wichita since 2007 when they finished runner-up.

"This season has been very, very special," GCCC coach Chris Finnegan said. "It's not special for me, it's special for the kids, especially the kids coming back from last year. We had some expectations last year that never got fulfilled. We never even came close."

Considering Garden City was on the bottom of the conference taking the last seed into the 2008 tournament, most anything would look better than how that ended. Starting the year 10-0, then finishing the regular season on a 19-4 run, the Busters accomplished the feat of a better regular season. When Andrew Phelan closed his glove around a Blake Stroth fly ball to left field in the second game Saturday, the painful memory of being eliminated in the first round was also left behind.

"Winning 40 games, winning the regular season conference, then getting your home playoff and sweeping on the first day -- it's special," Finnegan said. "Especially for these kids and I want them to enjoy it."

Garden City (43-15) took it to KCK from the start. In Game 1, the Busters jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a Soulia double that scored Cody Schramm. An inning later the Busters tacked on four more runs. Schramm hit a two RBI single and C.J. Gillman drove in two with a double during the onslaught. Starting pitcher Hayden Daugherty didn't give up a hit to the Blue Devils until the fourth inning when Jarid Renzelman got on with a one-out single. Renzelman scored KCK's first run then in the fourth on a Kyle Koch fielders' choice grounder.

Soulia put the Busters back up by five with a solo home run in the fifth.

"Last year we had high hopes, but I don't really think we had the team last year," Soulia said of comparing the Busters chances from last year to this of winning the first round series. "To be able to come back and do it this year is big."

The Blue Devils (22-24) were able to mount some offense off Daugherty in the seventh, scoring two runs. But Mike Sutton, who relieved Daugherty with two outs in the seventh gave up just one more run.

Daughtery (4-3) picked up the win. He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks, and struck out two.

Soulia and Erik Mattingly each had two hits for the Busters. Soulia also had two RBIs.

In the closing game of the series, the Busters took a one-run lead in the first, then after KCK scored a run in the top of the second, Garden City responded with two. Mattingly, who opened the inning with a double, went home on a botched infield hit by Luke Kordsmeier, then Cass Via scored Kordsmeier with a triple.

The Busters had a small scare when starting pitcher Kyle Oestereicher took a line drive by Stroth off the back of his gloved right hand. Oestereicher fell to the ground and laid there for a minute before GCCC trainer Dan Evans and Finnegan went to check on him. The ball had hit off Oestereicher's pinkie in his glove and he was able to continue.

"I had no idea where it hit him," Finnegan said. "Seeing his reaction I thought it might have hit him in the chest or something like that. He was fine and when I went up there, it was funny because when our trainer asked him if he could throw (Oestereicher) was like 'I'm left handed, not right handed.' So right there I knew he was alright."

Oestereicher (8-1) stayed in the game until the end of the seventh. The sophomore did give up two runs in the seventh, but picked up the win as reliever Jose Cifuentes pitched two scoreless innings.

With the relief efforts of Sutton and Cifuentes in the two games, Garden City proved to not be in need of closer Heath Wyatt who sat out the first round because of team disciplinary reasons.

The Busters had eight hits in the second game with four of them coming from Via.

Hutchinson, the No. 2 seed from the Western Division, and Coffeyville were the only other first-round series to be finished on Saturday. The Blue Dragons shut down Coffeyville in two games winning 8-0 and 10-4. Colby played one game Saturday, beating Independence 8-1, and the series was to conclude today in Colby. The other five series were to start today because of inclement weather Saturday and Sunday.

---

Game 1

GCCC 7, Kansas City Kansas CC 4

KCK	000	100	201	— 4	9	2
GCCC	140	010	01x	— 7	11	1

Etling and Rhoades, Lorson (8); Daugherty, Sutton (7) and Soulia. W -- Daugherty (4-3). L -- Etling. 2B -- KCK, Rezin, Wilder; GCCC, Gillman, Soulia, Sartin. HR - GCCC, Soulia.

Game 2

GCCC 4, Kansas City Kansas CC 3

KCK	010	000	200	— 3	8	3
GCCC	120	001	00x	— 4	8	1

Benton and Lorson, Rhoades (8); Oestereicher, Cifuentes (9) and Soulia. W -- Oestereicher (8-1). L - Benton. 2B -- GCCC, Via, Sartin, Mattingly. 3B -- GCCC, Via.

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