The first games of the season, a new coach and a new pitcher were the contributing factors to the Indians’ 6-4 win over Liberal on March 29.

The score was tied at 3-3 going into the fourth inning, but the Indians were able to rally for two runs while having two outs. They held Liberal to only one run in the seventh.

Freshman Riley Dreher made her high school career debut on the mound for the Indians, with solid pitching throughout the whole game, but she was able to capture her sixth strikeout to end the game.

Dreher went three for three, with two triples and a double, and sophomore Dezarae Schmidt was able to drive in two runs of her own.

The second game of the season for the Indians was against the reigning Western Athletic Conference champions, the Garden City Buffaloes, and Hays lost 3-1.

The Buffaloes were able to capture a single run in the first inning, pushing the score to 1-0 in Garden City’s favor, but after an RBI from sophomore Lakyn Zimmerman, the score would be 1-1.

The bottom of the sixth inning brought in two runs for the Buffaloes, after a foul homerun was hit and called fair. This was a controversial call and determined the outcome for the lady Indians on their first day of play.

Dreher had two of the Indians six hits, and sophomore returning pitcher Aubree Thomas was able to capture ten strikeouts of her own.

They Indians will play Abilene in Hays on March 30, hosting them at the newly turfed Bickle Schmidt Sports Complex Fields.

22bschwien@usd489.com