The Garden City Telegram
Email this story | Add Your Comment
| Read (0) Comments
GCCC Softball vs Pratt
Published 4/16/2008 in Sports : GCCC
By MIKE KESSINGER
mkessinger@gctelegram.com
At one in the bottom of the sixth inning in the second game, the home plate umpire raised his right hand stopping play as a hard wind blew through Tangeman Sports Complex on Tuesday. He waited about a minute before allowing Pratt Community College pitcher Krisyn Kness to throw.
It wasn't that the wind had come from out of no where during Garden City's doubleheader against Pratt, but it was strong enough to hold off play. For the most part the strong wind blowing outward was the story of the day. Especially in the first game when Pratt used plenty of it in a 13-12 come from behind win. In the second game though, even with the wind blowing as strong as before, the scoring didn't come as much. And in the end, Garden City had used just enough of it to pull out a 5-3 win, earning the Jayhawk Conference split. All of the Busters runs came with one big offensive push in the bottom of the fourth.
"Every play is a little interesting when the wind is blowing like that," Garden City coach Phil Terpstra said. "It's not easy, and you saw both mess up a few. It's tough and not a whole not of fun."
In the first game, fun was key word. At least from the offensive standpoint. The Busters and Beavers combined to hit five home runs. The Busters had three of them, including a grand slam by Becky Diehl, who helped Garden City (21-12, 4-6) build a 9-1 lead in the first two innings. Pratt answered the Busters home runs with two from Jennifer Reifschneider. Her second one being all the damage Pratt needed. Down against Garden City pitcher Joni Stegman with an 0-2 count, Reifschneider blasted a grand slam over center field in the top half of the fifth. The shot gave Pratt its 13-12 and Reifschneider was the first batter Stegman had faced after relieving starter Taylor Cange. Even with Reifschneider being the only runner to count as an earned run against Stegman, the hit gave the Garden City pitcher the loss.
"We jumped on that first pitcher early and I don't know if we relaxed or what," Terpstra said of the opener. "I kept telling them when we were up 9-1 that (Pratt) is going to keep hitting it and score runs. They just did a better job of doing it late than we did."
Garden City's last two runs of the first game came in the fourth inning as Stegman and Kayla Jeanjaquet hit back-to-back solo home runs.
The Busters and Beavers combined for 32 hits in the first game. Garden City shortstop Megan Hamilton went 4-for-4 and had two RBIs. Five other Busters had two hits apiece.
In the nightcap, Stegman bounced back from her first game loss and gave up just three runs, with the Pratt runs coming in the second and fourth innings. The only problem to Stegman and Buster defense holding off a Beaver run barrage was that Kness kept Garden City from scoring in the first three innings. But that was as far as she could hold them off. With a Diehl double that scored Kirsten Bahr for the first run, the Busters tacked on four more. Marie Zoglman completed the string of runs with a two-RBI single.
"Those two pitchers in the second game threw a lot better than Taylor and (Pratt pitcher Yessica Gutierrez)," Terpstra said.
Stegman (13-5) gave up 10 hits in the win and she struck out just one, while giving up just one walk.
Garden City was to be back at home today for a non-conference doubleheader against Lamar (Colo.). The first game starts at 3 p.m.
------------
Game 1
Pratt 13, Garden City 12
Pratt 012 640 0 -- 13 16 1
Garden City 541 200 0 -- 12 16 1
Guitierrez and Bell; Cange, Stegman (5), Zoglman (6) and Jeanjaquet, Stefanski (5). W -- Guitierrez. L -- Stegman (12-5). 2B -- Pratt, Bell, Reifschneider (2); GCCC, LePrey (2), Hamilton, Stefanski, Stegman. HR -- Pratt, Reifschneider (2); GCCC, Diehl, Stegman, Jeanjaquet.
Game 2
Garden City 5, Pratt 3
Pratt 010 200 0 -- 3 10 1
Garden City 000 500 x -- 5 10 3
Kness and Bell; Stegman and Stefanski. W -- Stegman (13-5). L -- Kness. 2B -- GCCC, Diehl.
Found 0 comment(s)!
Twitter Updates
