Great Bend baseball and softball were both in action Wednesday night in the sub-state round with the boys in Andover and the girls hosting.
The baseball team participated in two tight affairs against two local teams. In game 1 against Andover Central, Great Bend was down 1-0 in the sixth inning, when Trent Kern led off reaching second base off an error. He was then doubled home by his brother Kale to tie the game at 1 run apiece. Then on a two-strike count, Cart Dreiling put the ball up the middle for a base hit to drive Kale home, giving Great Bend the lead.
Daxton Minton earned the win, pitching the full seven innings. Game 2 was also a nail biter, but another game where Panther pitching was the story. Playing the host team, Andover, Jackson Wondra and Rafael Chavez combined to throw a no-hit shutout in a 3-0 win. State quarterfinals will be played at either Salina or Emporia, on Tuesday, with the final four teams making it to Wichita State.
Fireworks literal and figurative were the story last night for Great Bend Softball, as the Panthers were the host team as the number 1 team in 5A West. In game 1 against Topeka West, Great Bend allowed 1 run in the top of the first before taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. From there it was all Panthers, as the bats got going and Great Bend settled in defensively.
The story of the game was sophomore Alyssa Prendergast, who entered the game in the third inning in relief of starter Braelyn Turner, making her first appearance of the year. With Panther ace Chayla Prendergast injured and unavailable, her younger sister came on and worked three scoreless innings, including hitting the first home run of her season, as Great Bend won 11-1.
Game 2 was more of the same, as starter Braelyn Turner was once again in the circle for the Panthers, and could only make it into the second inning before exiting while trailing 2-0. Alyssa McCauley, who has pitched just three innings this season, came on in relief. Great Bend tied the game in the bottom of the second, but with runners on second and third, rain and lightning entered the area and stayed for two hours.
After the restart, Great Bend erupted for five more runs in the second, taking a lead they wouldn’t give back. Great Bend walked it off in the fifth, as Alyssa McCauley hit a bases loaded double to walk it off 13-3. The Panthers, as the number 1 seed in the West, will have their choice of quarter final sites, with the options of Salina-South, Topeka, Emporia, or Baker University, before the final four matchups that are also in Wichita.
