ANDALE, Kan. — The Andale/Garden Plain softball team entered Thursday’s doubleheader as the No. 4 seed in the 4A west standings, facing Pratt, which entered at No. 3.
In a doubleheader with regional hosting duties on the line, Andale/Garden Plain rallied in both games to end the regular season on a six-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory in the opener and a 13-3 victory in the finale.
Game 1: Andale/Garden Plain 4, Pratt 1
Runs were a premium in the opener with the Lady Greenbacks striking first in the third innings before Andale/Garden Plain tied it on a sacrifice fly by Bella Cates. Rose Molitor had a sacrifice fly in the fourth for a 2-1 advantage. In her next at-bat in the sixth, Molitor gave Andale/Garden Plain two insurance runs with a 2-run home run. Molitor went 1-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs. Ryin Gibbins went the distance in the circle, allowing one run on three hits, and had one strikeout.
Game 2: Andale/Garden Plain 13, Pratt 3 / 6 innings
Pratt jumped out early against Andale/Garden Plain pitcher Clare Krier in the first, scoring two runs. Andale/Garden Plain tied the game with Coti Hiner’s RBI single and a Pratt error. In the second, Andale/Garden Plain scored five runs and never relinquished the lead after that. Hiner’s RBI single made it 3-2, followed by an RBI single by Brooklyn Sele, a 2-run triple by Emily Eck, and Eck stealing home. Pratt scored its final run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Sele added an RBI single, Molitor a 2-run single, and an error made it 11-3. Taylor Grimes made it 12-3 in the sixth with an RBI single, and Josie Harp ended the game with a walk-off RBI double.
Krier went six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and striking out three. Hiner, Eck, and Harp each went 3-for-4 at the plate. The trio combined for three doubles, two triples, and four RBIs.
Andale/Garden Plain (17-5) will be the No. 3 seed in regionals and host on Tuesday at the Andale High School Sports Complex. Projected teams in the 4-team pod as of Friday morning, with Andale/Garden Plain will be Pratt as the No. 6, Clay Center as the No. 11, and Ulysses as the No. 14. Official pairings and game times will be announced by KSHSAA on Saturday.
