GCHS girls take pair from Liberal in home opener
There’s nothing like getting a chance to end a losing streak by finally playing at home.
That’s part of the big picture takeaway by Garden City High School Lady Buffaloes’ softball coach Trina Mai after she watched her team sweep a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader from Liberal, 7-3 in the opener, and 14-4 in a 5-inning run-rule shortened nightcap on Thursday at John Ford Field/Tangeman Sports Complex.
“We’ve been on the road so much and we’ve struggled early, but today was a lot of confidence building for the girls,” said Mai, who had a nearly complete turnover of starters from her 2023 team. “Today, it felt like the girls were figuring things out. It’s taken some time to process what all happens during a game.”
The Lady Buffs used a combination of timely hitting, strong pitching from junior Kyleigh Whitehurst, and steady fielding (just 2 errors in 12 innings) in both games.
“This was huge for us and our confidence,” said Mai, who has been hugely successful in her more than a decade of heading the program.
The doubleheader sweep also ended a six-game losing streak, the longest in Mai’s coaching career, in which they played some of the top teams in the Wichita area last weekend in Dodge City (Derby, Wichita Northwest, Maize South and Goddard-Eisenhower). Those four games came after losing a road test at defending WAC champion Hays and a shutout against Goodland, again on the road.
“We are beginning to know that if there is a bad play, we just reset and not taking it onto the next play,” Mai said of her young and relatively inexperienced varsity squad. “Ky (Whitehurst) pitched well today and had great control of her pitches (only 1 walk in 12 innings along with 15 strikeouts).”
In Thursday’s opener, the Lady Buffs struck first with two runs in the third only to see the Lady Red answer with three runs in the top of the fourth.
But this time, the Buffs responded with a four-run fourth and tacked on an extra insurance run in the bottom of the sixth for the 7-3 triumph. They had 7 hits and just one error in the field. Liberal, meanwhile, was limited to 4 hits by Whitehurst and had 7 miscues.
Five of the seven GCHS hits came from freshman centerfielder Yas Angeles (2-for-3, 3 runs scored) and junior shortstop Piper Harris (3-for-4, 2 runs, 3 RBIs), who has moved from her first base position that she played both her freshman and sophom*ore seasons.
Of Harris’ three hits, two were run-scoring doubles.
“It was exciting to be at home, but there were some nerves at the beginning,” Harris said afterward. “Our bats finally came alive. That’s been a big obstacle so today I just tried to go out and have fun.”
Harris’ role has changed dramatically she said, from having been under the mentorship of graduated standout pitcher Brie Manwarren, who also was the team’s energy leader.
“I have to be a bigger voice like Brie was,” Harris said. “I’m learning my new role and trying to become the “new” Brie. We need that enthusiasm and positive energy.”
Whitehurst, who is trying to fill the big shoes on the mound for the Buffs, was rock solid in both games. In the opener, she gave up just four hits, and of the 3 runs yielded, none were earned. She didn’t walk a batter and recorded 10 strikeouts. In the 7 innings, she threw 90 pitches, of which 61 were strikes.
“She spotted her pitches very well,” Mai said. “We’re getting better and better with each game to know what pitches we want and then seeing her throw to those spots.”
In Game 2, Liberal got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the first only to see the Buffs come right back with two runs. It was the second and third frames, however, where the Lady Buffs blew the game open with four runs in each of those two innings.
“I liked the fact that we had a lot of different people swinging the bat better,” Mai said.
The offensive output was encouraging as the team had struggled in all six of its losses.
Angeles went 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored; Harris was 2-for-3 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs while Yaz Almanza went 2-for-2 with 3 runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Whitehurst helped her cause by going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and sophom*ore catcher Elly Ortiz belted out a 3-for-4 day with 1 run scored and 4 RBIs.
Ortiz, Whitehurst and Almanza had doubles while Harris and Angeles had triples for the extra base hit bonanza.
Whitehurst came back out for her 5-inning stint on the mound, giving up 6 hits including a home run but two of the four runs given up were unearned. She walked only one and had five strikeouts while throwing 54 pitches, of which 43 were strikes.
The confidence-building wins sets up an upcoming week that will be critical for the season as the Lady Buffs have five WAC games in four days against defending champ Hays and the other top team in the conference in Great Bend.
They will host Hays in a Monday (April 22) doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. at John FordField/Tangeman Sports Complex. They will follow on Tuesday (April 23) with a single home game against Great Bend at 3 o’clock. On Thursday (April 25) they head to Great Bend for a doubleheader against the Lady Panthers (starting at 4 p.m.).
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Western Athletic Conference
Thursday, April 18, 2024
At John Ford Field/Tangeman Sports Complex
Game 1
GARDEN CITY 7, LIBERAL 3
Liberal…000…300…0…–…3…4…7
Garden City…002…401…x...–…7…7…1
Pitching—Liberal: Torres (L) and Mannel; Garden City: Whitehurst (W, 4-6) and Ortiz. 2B—Garden City (Harris 2)
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Game 2
GARDEN CITY 14, LIBERAL 4 (5 Innings)
Liberal…201…01…–…4…6…6
Garden City…244…04…14…12…2
Pitching—Liberal: Harding (L), Torres (3) and Mannel; Garden City: Whitehurst (W, 5-6) and Ortiz. 2B—Liberal (Janko); Garden City (Ortiz, Whitehurst, Almanza). 3B—Garden City (Harris, Angeles). HR—Liberal (Torres).
