Broncbusters use the long ball to knock out Hutch

By Mike Pilosof

Garden City, KS-Hutchinson literally didn't know what hit them.

Samarah Bailey and Miquela Guajardo surrendered four first-inning home runs, McKayla Encinias accounted for two of those, and Garden City annihilated the Blue Dragons 16-3 on Saturday afternoon at Tangeman Sports Complex. 

But Saturday was just different.

With wind gusts in excess of 40 mph, perfect softball weather, the Broncbusters went to work. Encinias led off the first with a solo shot, Elycia Johnson followed suit with a blast to left, Nya Chacon delivered a two-run bomb to center, and Mackenzie Moore pulled a line-drive shot over the wall in left putting Garden City up 8-0. Alexis Maestretti then added to the lead in the third with an RBI double, Carley Powley homered to begin the bottom of the fourth, and Encinias hit one out again later in the inning. Three batters later, Chacon mashed a double to the gap that scored Johnson to make it 16-0.

The only drama in this one came in the seventh, when Hutchinson ended the shut out on the heels of Alexis Way's two-run homer. They scratched out another run later in the inning on Monet Martinez's error in right. But other than that, Tara Reid was terrific, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits despite Mother Nature and all her fury. She improved to 5-2 in the circle.

Seven Broncbusters recorded multi-hit games, Encinias drove in four runs, and Moore knocked in three.

Miquela Guajardo was tagged for 12 runs on 13 hits in 3.1 innings for Hutchinson, which lost for the fourth time in their last six games.