BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Garden City High School pitcher Abbie Dart dominated Great Bend — the defending Western Athletic Conference softball champions.
Dart struck out 12 batters in both games to spark the Buffaloes to a 6-2 and 8-3 doubleheader sweep at the Great Bend Sports Complex. The Buffaloes (11-1, 2-0 WAC) handed the Panthers (10-4, 4-2 WAC) their first league losses after they won the title last year. The Panthers were scheduled to play at Dodge City Friday, but the rain postponed the games until May 5.
Great Bend pitcher Hunter Marcum was the losing pitcher in both games.
• HAYS HIGH 6, GREAT BEND 2 — The bottom of the Indians’ order delivered eight hits, three runs and three RBIs.
Garden City pitcher Abbie Dart struck out 12 batters to earn the first-game victory. Dart’s first eight outs were strikeouts.
The Buffaloes roughed up Panther pitcher Hunter Marcum for 14 hits, including timely base hits. Kaci Finch and Rylee Crawford each delivered three hits. Crawford singled home Finch after a second-inning double for a 1-0 lead.
The Buffaloes bunched five hits in a three-run fourth inning. Finch singled home after Shai Cartmill tripled. Crawford singled and Jordan Terrones’ single scored Finch for a 3-0 lead. Alyssa Long’s single scored Crawford for a 4-0 lead.
Garden City scored two insurance runs in the seventh inning. Abbie Dart singled and Laura Farmer doubled her home. Farmer scored when Finch singled and bumped into first baseman Hannah Honomichl.
The Panthers scored runs in the fourth and seventh innings. Hannah Honomichl singled and moved to second base on a passed ball. Mikayla Bownes singled home Honomichl. In the seventh inning, Emma Cape singled and scored the Panthers’ second run on Kendal Sell’s double-play groundball.
Shortstop Carly Dreiling delivered the defensive highlight by turning a double play.
• HAYS HIGH 8, GREAT BEND 3 — Abbie Dart finished what she started when she pitched the seventh inning after the Panthers rallied for two runs in the sixth inning. Great Bend showed some offensive life with three hits and two runs scored by Hannah Honomichl and two hits by Lauren Welsch.
The Buffaloes led 2-0 after three innings. Laura Farmer singled home Alyssa Long in the first. Long singled and scored on a third-inning error. Garden City scored five runs on six fourth-inning hits. Long delivered a two-run double and Rylee Crawford, Jordan Terrones and Abbie Dart drove in runs. Shai Cartmill’s single drove home Abbie Dart in the seventh inning for an 8-2 lead.
The Panthers scored a run off Dart in the fourth inning when Emma Cape’s single drove home Honomichl after Welsch also singled. Brooklyn Burkhart and Cape drove in runs in the sixth inning. Honomichl and Welsch both singled to start the mini-rally. Burkhart’s single drove home Honomichl. Cape’s groundball scored Welsch.
HAYS HIGH 6, GREAT BEND 2
GARDEN CITY AB R H BI
Alyssa Long 3 0 1 1
Jenna Greenlee 3 0 0 0
Abbie Dart 4 1 1 0
Laura Farmer 4 1 2 1
Shai Cartmill 4 1 2 0
Morgan Cabral 4 0 0 0
Kaci Finch 4 2 3 1
Rylee Crawford 4 1 3 1
Jordan Terrones 4 0 2 1
TOTALS 38 6 14 5
GREAT BEND AB R H BI
Morgan Kottas 3 0 1 0
Carly Dreiling 3 0 1 0
Kaylee Unruh 3 0 0 0
Hannah Honomichl 2 1 1 0
Lauren Welsch 2 0 0 0
Mikayla Bownes 2 0 1 1
Emma Cape 3 1 1 0
Baylee Beck 3 0 0 0
Kendal Sell 3 0 1 0
TOTALS 24 2 6 1
Garden City 010 300 2 — 6 14 1
Great Bend 000 100 1 — 2 6 3
2B—Long, Farmer, Finch. 3B—Cartmill.
LOB—HH 9, GB 6.
Hays
Abbie Dart 6 5 1 1 2 12
Hayley Dart 1 1 1 0 0 0
Great Bend IP H R ER BB SO
Hunter Marcum 7 14 6 5 0 7
HAYS HIGH 8, GREAT BEND 3
GARDEN CITY AB R H BI
Alyssa Long 4 3 3 2
Jenna Greenlee 3 0 1 0
Abbie Dart 3 1 1 1
Laura Farmer 4 0 2 1
Shai Cartmill 4 1 1 1
Morgan Cabral 4 1 3 0
Kaci Finch 3 1 1 0
Rylee Crawford 3 0 0 1
Jordan Terrones 3 1 1 1
TOTALS 31 8 13 7
GREAT BEND AB R H BI
Morgan Kottas 4 0 0 0
Carly Dreiling 4 0 1 0
Kaylee Unruh 4 0 0 0
Hannah Honomichl 4 2 3 0
Lauren Welsch 4 1 2 0
Brooklyn Burkhart 3 0 1 1
Emma Cape 3 0 1 1
Allison Neeland 3 0 1 0
Kendal Sell 3 0 0 0
TOTALS 32 3 9 2
Garden City 101 500 1 — 8 13 3
Great Bend 000 102 0 — 3 9 0
2B—Cabral, Long, Terrones. S—Greenlee. SF—Abbie Dart.
Hays IP H R ER BB SO
Abbie Dart 6 5 1 1 2 12
Kylie Hipp 1 4 2 2 0 0
Great Bend IP H R ER BB SO
Hunter Marcum 7 13 8 6 0 3
Garden City sweeps Panther softball for first place
Defending champions drop pair