Bats go silent in loss to Southeast

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-While errors doomed Garden City in game three, their offense let them down in the series finale.

Ben Weber and Creighton Silvain surrendered just three hits, former Broncbuster Brenden Anderson added two more knocks and an RBI, and Southeast beat Garden City, 5-0 in game four at Williams Stadium Sunday afternoon.

Looking for some sort of stability on the mound after using eight pitchers in game three, Head Coach Chris Finnegan put the ball in the hands of Blake Mackintosh. In the first, the freshman worked around Andersen's two-out double by striking out Dylan Wagner. In the second, he maneuvered his team out of a bases-loaded jam, striking out Moeller on a breaking ball. But that feel-good story dissipated in the third. Garrett Olsen doubled to leadoff the inning, and Anderson singled him home. In fact, the first six men reach, which eventually resulted in a bases-loaded walk to Braden Sellon. The next batter, Hagen Escoto, ripped a two-run single, and Seth Lucero added an RBI groundout, putting Southeast in front 5-0.

That's all the run support the Storm needed.

Weber kept the Broncbusters off balance all day. He didn't allow a hit until Ibrahim Rodriguez singled in the fourth. In the fifth, after walking Darrian Escobar Winter, Weber got Jean Barreto to bounce into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play. In the end, freshman was outstanding, striking out five over five innings. The guy who replaced him in the sixth, Creighton Sullivan, was just as sharp, fanning four in two frames while scattering just two hits: a Rhett Halstead single and a Kyle Jameson double, both in the sixth.

Mackintosh took the loss for Garden City, allowing five runs on eight hits in just three innings. He walked three.

Andersen finished 2-for-4 at the plate for Southeast, who left Garden City with a split.  Wagner was 2-for-4 with a run scored as was Zach Breeden.

Next up: Garden City vs. McCook-Wednesday, Feb. 12-2 p.m. at Williams Stadium