Porter and Kearsley lead Broncbusters past Alvin
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 7 |
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0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 1 |
Galveston, TX-Keely Porter had herself an opening day.
The sophomore collected two hits and knocked in three runs, Lacey Kearsley struck out four, and Garden City held on to beat Alvin, 11-8 Friday afternoon.
Porter smacked a pair of singles including the season's first RBI in the top of the first that gave the Broncbusters the early edge. She also scored twice.
Kearsley, who began her final season playing for the coach who recruited her out of Utah, notched the win, allowing four runs on 11 hits in five innings. She gave way to CJ Sherman in the sixth after throwing 81 pitches.
Garden City jumped all over Alvin starter Hayley Calhoun in the first. Following Porter's RBI hit, Gracie Bishop drew a bases-loaded walk, and Cadence Mallet ripped a two-run double to make it 4-0. An inning later, Porter started another scoring rally with a line-drive RBI base hit. Alanna Neilsen, who drove in 53 runs during a freshman campaign that saw her hit .342, plated Shiloh Johnson, and Bishop snuck a ball past third baseman Tavery Ortiz. Moments later, Porter and Neilsen scored on a passed ball to make it 9-0.
After Alvin sliced into the lead with a four-run second, Garden City extended the advantage with two more in the fifth. But the Dolphins made things a little too close for comfort after that. Neilsen booted a ball at short that allowed one run to score in the sixth before two more crossed in the seventh including Kasen Morkisch's inside-the-park home run that cut the Broncbuster lead to 11-8. Sherman though, who allowed seven hits in relief, finally ended the game when she got Liberty Herrera to fly out to center.
The Broncbusters chased Calhoun, who was pulled after a 27-pitch first-inning where she allowed six earned runs on four hits.
Kearsley helped her own cause at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. She followed Johnson's season-opening single in the first with a double to left-center that eventually setup the first score of the 2023 campaign.