Sword’s Four RBI Power Garden City to Game 2 Victory

Photo by: Adam Shrimplin/Garden City Athletics

GARDEN CITY, KS – Garden City Community College used a dominant middle-inning surge to complete a doubleheader sweep of Seward County, rolling to a 10-2 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday at home.

The Broncbusters (28-24, 15-15) broke open a tight contest with a five-run fifth inning, backing a steady performance in the circle from Ashlyn Powell to secure the win.

After a scoreless first inning, Garden City struck first in the second. Reagan Sword delivered a two-run home run to left field, scoring Averie Ashford and giving the Broncbusters an early 2-0 advantage.

The Busters added to their lead in the third without recording a hit. Valeria Mandujano came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Maiarangi Waipara, extending the margin to 3-0.

Garden City continued to apply pressure in the fourth. Ashford sparked the inning with a double before Sword drove in another run with a double to left. Later in the frame, Mandujano brought home a run on a groundout, pushing the lead to 5-0.

Seward County answered in the fourth and fifth innings with a pair of solo home runs to trim the deficit to 5-2, but the Broncbusters responded emphatically in the bottom half of the fifth.

Kurene-Iwikau opened the inning with a single, and the Busters capitalized on defensive miscues to load the bases. Ashford lifted a sacrifice fly to plate the first run of the inning before Sword delivered again with an RBI single. Mandujano followed with an RBI walk, and Jade Hendrix capped the rally with a two-run single, extending the lead to 10-2 and ending the game via run rule.

Sword led the offensive effort with a 3-for-3 performance, driving in four runs and scoring three times. Ashford added two hits and two runs, while Hendrix drove in two runs. Mandujano also contributed two RBI in the win.

Powell earned the victory in the circle, tossing a complete game and allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out two.

Key moment
Garden City's five-run fifth inning turned a competitive game into a run-rule victory, highlighted by timely hitting and patient at-bats.

Key stat
The Broncbusters scored 10 runs on eight hits, with Reagan Sword accounting for four RBI, while Seward County managed two runs on seven hits.

Up next
Garden City hits the road for a conference doubleheader at Barton Community College on Saturday, May 2, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.