ERRORS, WALKS DOOM DRAGONS AGAINST COWLEY
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Defensive errors and walks allowed plagued the Hutchinson Community College baseball team on Tuesday afternoon.
The Blue Dragons committed four errors that led to five unearned Cowley runs as the Tigers defeated Hutchinson 8-5 in a single non-conference game at Hobart-Detter Field.
Hutchinson falls to 14-9 overall as the Blue Dragons prepare to meet Dodge City on Thursday at Cavalier Field and Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field in a Jayhawk West series. Cowley, which is receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division I baseball rankings, improved to 13-6. Hutchinson and Cowley will meet next Tuesday at City Ballpark in Arkansas City for the regular-season rematch.
In the fifth, two errors and a wild pitch led to Cowley plating a pair of unearned runs to take a 6-3 lead. Then trailing 6-4 in the ninth, two walks and a throwing error score two more unearned Tiger runs for an 8-4 lead.
Hutch and Cowley had 10 hits each, but the four errors and nine walks allowed were too much for Hutch to overcome.
Offensively, the Blue Dragons struck out 15 times against six Cowley pitchers. The Dragons also stranded nine runners on base.
Max McGuire led Hutchinson offensively going 2 for 4 with a double and his third home run of the season. McGuire drove in two runs.
Riley Metzger and Ryan Moritz both had two hits each for the Blue Dragons.
L.J. McDonough was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-2 for the season. He worked three innings and allowed five hits and three of the four runs allowed were earned. Dawson Linder struck out five, but walked four in his three innings. He allowed two unearned runs.
Trailing 3-0 before its first at-bat, Hutchinson got on the board in the third when Logan Sartori singles to center to score McGuire to cut Cowley's lead to 4-1.
McGuire hit a two-run home run in the fourth to cut the deficit to one at 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth.
Trailing 6-3 in the sixth, the Dragons loaded the bases with no out. Reetz scored on a double play, which changed the momentum of that inning and pulled Hutch within two.
With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Zane Schmidt struck out but reached on a wild pitch to extend the game. After moving to second, Schmidt scored on a Metzger RBI single for the final run of the game.