DRAGONS TAKE FINALE WITH BARTON TO EARN SERIES WIN
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College baseball team earned a key early-season Jayhawk West series victory on Sunday at Hobart-Detter Field.
With two wins over No. 18 Barton under their belt, the Blue Dragons won the series with the defending Region VI champions. Barton won the first game 6-4, but the Blue Dragons answered the challenge in the final game of the series to defeat the Cougars 9-3.
The 3-1 series victory gives Hutchinson a big tiebreaker over the Cougars should the need arise to use it when it comes to Region VI Tournament seeding in May. The Blue Dragons are now 14-8 overall and tied with Barton for second place in the Jayhawk West at 5-3, one game behind Butler.
GAME 2 RECAP
The Blue Dragons scored four runs in the second inning and two more in the third to take charge of Game 2.
Christopher Noble had an RBI single and Zion Bowlin returned to the lineup from injury and delivered a two-run single in Hutch's four-run second. Those two teamed up again in the third as Noble ripped an RBI double and Bowlin singled him home with a single to center to give Hutch a 6-0 lead.
After Barton scored a single run in the top of the fourth, Hutch answered right back when Zane Schmidt launched his seventh homer of the season, hitting a solo shot over the right-field wall, to give Hutch a 7-1 lead after four innings.
The Dragons added two more runs in the sixth on a Logan Sartori RBI double. Sartori then scored on a Dylan Nedved fielder's choice to make it 9-2 Blue Dragons.
Hutchinson out-hit Barton 11-9 in the series finale. Noble went 2 for 3 with a double, two runs scored and two runs driven in. Bowlin was 2 for 4 with a season-high three RBIs.
Ryan Summers came out of the bullpen to work the final 5 2-3 innings to get the win and improve to 3-1. He entered the game in the fourth with Barton building toward a big inning. He got out of that jam with only one inherited runner scoring on a fielder's choice. Summers went on to strikeout a season-high eight. He allowed six hits and two earned runs.
Starter Matt Delcambre, who pitched two solid inning of work against Barton on Friday in Great Bend, went 3 1-3 innings on Sunday with three strikeouts. He allowed one earned run and three hits.
GAME 1 RECAP
The Blue Dragons got off to a great offensive start with four runs in the first inning, but Barton reliever Joe Richter slammed the door as Barton took advantage of two huge errors to rally and defeat Hutch in the first game of the day.
After Barton touched up starting pitcher Dylan Nedved for two runs in the top of the first, the Dragons immediately tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a Schmidt sacrifice fly to score Brian Skillman and an Riley Metzger RBI single to score Sartori. Zach Baxley then hit a two-run home run to center to give Hutch a 4-2 lead.
Richter entered the game with two out in the first inning and shut the Dragons for the remainder of the game. He allowed only four total baserunners and three hits to Hutch over the final 6 1-3 innings. Richter struck out five and walked only one.
The downfall of the Blue Dragons came in the top of the fifth as Barton scored four unearned runs on a pair of Hutch errors to take a 6-4 lead.
Nedved (1-1) was strapped with the loss after working five innings. He allowed five hits and six runs, but only two were earned. Nedved registered sis strikeouts. Zach Firmature worked the final two innings scoreless.
Ryan Moritz led the Dragons' nine-hit attack with two singles in three trips to the plate. Baxley's home run and Schmidt's double in the fifth were Hutchinson's only extra base hits of the game.
The Blue Dragons play host to the Cowley Tigers at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Hobart-Detter Field.