2022 Garden City Wind Season Recap - A 36-10 Regular Season Ends With Another Playoff Loss to Roswell
The 2022 Garden City Wind produced one of the greatest regular seasons in franchise history. Garden City finished the regular season with an outstanding 36-10 record, dominating long stretches of the summer and establishing itself as one of the strongest teams in the Pecos League. The Wind could hit, pitch and win close games, and for much of the season they appeared capable of finally bringing a Pecos League Championship to Clint Lightner Field. Unfortunately, the ending was painfully familiar. After another outstanding summer in Garden City, the Wind's championship run ended in the playoffs against the Roswell Invaders.
Garden City entered 2022 with considerably different expectations than the franchise had carried during its early years. By this point, simply having a competitive professional baseball team in western Kansas was no longer enough. The Wind had already established Clint Lightner Field as one of the league's strongest markets and had experienced several successful seasons. The 2019 club had produced a record-setting regular season before losing to Roswell in the playoffs, and the 2022 Wind were determined to make another serious run at the championship.
From the beginning, it was obvious that Garden City had assembled a special team. The Wind opened the season with eight consecutive victories, winning 5-4, 12-6, 7-6, 11-5, 10-3, 5-4, 23-10 and 7-5. The variety of those victories was almost as impressive as the streak itself. Garden City could win a one-run game, survive a slugfest or simply overwhelm an opponent with offense. After eight games, the Wind were 8-0 and had already demonstrated the balance that would define their season.
The first loss finally came in a 6-4 road game, but Garden City immediately responded with victories of 13-6 and 13-8. That ability to recover quickly became one of the defining characteristics of the 2022 Wind. Losing streaks were almost nonexistent. When Garden City lost, the club generally came back the next night and started winning again.
The offense was loaded with players who could reach base and create runs. Taylor Barber returned as one of the central figures in the lineup and produced another outstanding season. Barber appeared in 43 games and hit .381, collecting 61 hits in 160 at-bats. He scored 65 runs, hit 10 doubles and six home runs and drove in 45. He also drew 40 walks and stole 33 bases. Barber could beat opponents in almost every possible way, providing power, patience and speed at the top of the Garden City offense.
Koki Matsuda was one of the most explosive hitters on the roster. In only 28 games, Matsuda hit .476 with 59 hits in 124 at-bats. He scored 41 runs, hit eight doubles, four triples and five home runs while driving in 28. He also stole 22 bases. His combination of contact, extra-base power and speed made him an enormous problem for opposing pitchers during his time with Garden City.
Devon Zielke also delivered a tremendous season. Zielke appeared in 43 games and hit .388, collecting 57 hits while scoring 47 runs. He hit 14 doubles and six home runs, drove in 40 and drew 47 walks. His ability to reach base consistently gave Garden City another dependable offensive weapon throughout the summer.
Leo Gallegos added power and patience to the lineup, hitting six home runs and driving in 33 runs in 32 games. Brandon Pugh scored 48 runs in only 30 games and stole 19 bases, while Preston Rackley hit .313 and continued to provide speed with 14 stolen bases. Jaisel Perez hit .313 in 40 games and helped stabilize the lineup with consistent production.
Syam Lafi became one of the team's leading power threats, hitting 10 home runs in only 96 at-bats and driving in 36 runs. Neil Taylor led the Wind with 52 RBIs while hitting eight home runs, scoring 42 runs and stealing 17 bases. McCain Mason played 40 games, scored 41 runs and drove in 29 while stealing 15 bases. Garden City didn't have to depend on one superstar because the lineup was capable of producing runs from top to bottom.
Alex Nielson was spectacular during his shorter stint with the team, hitting .479 in 12 games with 23 hits in 48 at-bats. He scored 17 runs and drove in 20. Najay King hit .382 in 14 games with three home runs and 19 RBIs. The depth of the roster meant Garden City continued getting production even as players moved in and out of the lineup during the season.
The Wind also received offensive production from an unusual source in Antonio Henrickson. Listed as a pitcher, Henrickson received 66 at-bats and collected 26 hits with seven home runs and 26 RBIs. His ability to contribute offensively gave Garden City yet another weapon on an already deep roster.
As good as the offense was, the 2022 Wind separated themselves from many Pecos League teams because of their pitching. Garden City had legitimate starting pitching capable of controlling games, and no pitcher was more important than Keisy Portorreal.
Portorreal produced one of the best seasons on the Garden City staff, finishing a perfect 6-0 with a 2.59 ERA. He started nine games and threw 59 innings, allowing only 17 earned runs while striking out 75 and walking just nine. In a league known for high-scoring games and difficult pitching conditions, those numbers were exceptional. Portorreal gave Garden City a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter who could shut down opposing lineups.
Ted Broxterman also gave the Wind outstanding starting pitching, finishing 5-1 with a 4.95 ERA over 49 innings. He struck out 54 hitters in eight starts and completed one game. Jordan Izzo became another major part of the rotation, finishing 7-2 in nine starts while throwing 55 innings and striking out 64. Marty Carnahan won four games and Sean Townsend won three, giving Garden City a rotation with several pitchers capable of taking the ball and winning.
The bullpen gave the Wind additional depth. Sage Holderfield was excellent, posting a 1.97 ERA over 27.1 innings in 22 appearances. He allowed only six earned runs all season. Devin Malone handled the late innings and recorded seven saves in 20 appearances, while Jackson Rutledge appeared in 24 games, won three games and recorded two saves while striking out 30 hitters in 23.2 innings. Garden City had enough arms to protect leads, which became especially important in the many close games the Wind played during the season.
After the tremendous opening stretch, Garden City continued rolling through June. The Wind won 13-8 before suffering a 17-7 loss, then immediately answered with an 18-6 victory. They followed that with an 11-7 win and then delivered one of the most dominant performances of the entire Pecos League season, winning 27-1.
The 27-1 victory demonstrated just how overwhelming Garden City could be when everything was working. The Wind followed it with victories of 7-5, 8-7 and 14-4. By that point, Garden City had established itself as much more than a team enjoying a good start. The Wind were playing championship-level baseball.
Even when the club finally encountered a difficult stretch at the end of June, it didn't last long. Garden City lost 13-4 and 6-4 on consecutive days, one of the rare occasions all season when the Wind dropped back-to-back games. The response was immediate. Garden City won 16-3 on June 30 and opened July with a 2-0 shutout.
That 2-0 victory was another example of what made the 2022 Wind different. Garden City had already shown it could win 27-1 or 23-10, but the club could also win a game in which two runs were enough. With pitchers such as Portorreal, Broxterman and Holderfield, Garden City didn't have to rely exclusively on the offense.
After a 7-2 loss, Garden City won 7-2, 9-5 and then exploded for a 23-2 victory. A 16-5 loss followed, but once again the Wind immediately recovered with an 11-8 victory. The pattern continued throughout the season: Garden City would occasionally lose a game, but opponents had enormous difficulty turning one Wind loss into two or three.
Garden City then entered another dominant stretch in the middle of July. The Wind won 19-0 on the road, followed several days later with victories of 14-1 and 9-8 in a doubleheader. They won 17-6 the following day and then 10-2. In a matter of days, Garden City had victories by scores of 19-0, 14-1, 17-6 and 10-2. When the Wind were playing their best baseball, there was very little opponents could do to slow them down.
There were still reminders that nothing came easily in the Pecos League. Garden City lost consecutive road games 9-8 and 8-7, both by a single run, and later lost 8-5. The Wind answered with a 7-6 victory before losing 8-3. Even during one of the more difficult stretches of the season, Garden City remained in games and rarely allowed a loss to develop into an extended collapse.
The Wind responded again with victories of 18-15 and 11-8 before closing July with another impressive winning streak. Garden City won 17-3, 5-4, 15-7, 18-15 and 8-3. The five-game streak carried the Wind into the postseason with momentum and completed one of the finest regular seasons the franchise had ever played.
Garden City's 36-10 regular-season record told the story. The Wind had won more than three-quarters of their games. They had opened the season 8-0, repeatedly put together winning streaks and almost never allowed a bad game to turn into a prolonged slump. The offense could score 20 runs, the starting rotation had quality arms and the bullpen could finish games.
The 2022 Wind appeared to have everything necessary to make a serious championship run.
But once again, Roswell stood in the way.
The Roswell Invaders had become an increasingly frustrating postseason opponent for Garden City. The Wind's outstanding 2019 season had ended with a playoff loss to Roswell, and in 2022 Garden City again found itself trying to get past the Invaders with a championship opportunity on the line.
The postseason began on August 3, and Garden City's regular-season dominance suddenly didn't matter. Roswell defeated the Wind 13-8, immediately putting Garden City in a difficult position. The team that had lost only 10 regular-season games was now one defeat away from seeing its season end.
Garden City responded exactly the way it had throughout the regular season. Facing elimination on August 4, the Wind won 5-4. It wasn't a 23-run offensive explosion or a dominant shutout. It was a one-run playoff victory with the season on the line, and it forced a deciding game.
The entire season came down to August 5.
Roswell won 6-3.
Just like that, Garden City's remarkable season was over. The Wind had gone 36-10 during the regular season, had opened the year with eight consecutive victories, had produced one of the deepest offenses in the league and had received outstanding pitching performances throughout the summer. None of it could change the final result. Roswell had once again eliminated Garden City from the Pecos League playoffs.
The disappointment was enormous because the 2022 Wind had legitimate championship talent. This wasn't a team that had simply slipped into the postseason and hoped to get hot. Garden City had spent the regular season proving it belonged among the best teams in the league. A 36-10 record wasn't an accident. The Wind had dominated opponents for two months.
Portorreal had gone 6-0 with a 2.59 ERA. Izzo had won seven games. Broxterman had gone 5-1. Holderfield had posted a 1.97 ERA out of the bullpen. Barber had hit .381 while scoring 65 runs and stealing 33 bases. Matsuda had hit .476. Zielke had hit .388. Lafi had supplied 10 home runs, and Neil Taylor had driven in 52 runs. Garden City had received contributions from nearly every part of the roster.
Yet baseball seasons are ultimately remembered by how they end, and Garden City's ending was another painful one. The Wind had built a team capable of winning a championship but couldn't get through Roswell when the games mattered most.
There was an unmistakable similarity to 2019. That season had also produced one of the greatest regular seasons in Garden City history before Roswell ended the Wind's championship hopes. Three years later, Garden City had put together another extraordinary regular season and found itself dealing with the same opponent and the same disappointing result.
The playoff loss, however, shouldn't diminish what the 2022 Garden City Wind accomplished during the regular season. Going 36-10 in the Pecos League required more than simply having a few talented players. Rosters changed, travel was difficult, pitching staffs were tested and high-scoring games could turn quickly. Garden City remained remarkably consistent through all of it.
The season also demonstrated how far the franchise had progressed since the uncertain inaugural summer of 2015. Garden City was no longer simply one of the Pecos League's good markets. The Wind had become an organization where winning was expected. Clint Lightner Field had seen division-winning teams, record-setting teams and now another club that spent an entire summer playing championship-caliber baseball.
The 2022 Garden City Wind were outstanding from Opening Day. They began 8-0, finished 36-10 and produced dominant victories such as 27-1, 23-2, 19-0, 17-3 and 14-1. They also won the close games, earning victories of 5-4, 7-6, 8-7 and 9-8. They could beat opponents with offense, pitching, speed or bullpen depth.
For nearly the entire summer, the Wind looked like a team destined to play for the Pecos League Championship. Instead, their season ended in three playoff games against the Roswell Invaders.
Garden City lost Game 1, fought back to win Game 2 and then saw everything end with a 6-3 loss in the deciding game.
Another great Garden City regular season had ended with another playoff loss to Roswell.
