DRAGONS, T-BIRDS SPLIT FIRST TWO GAMES OF KJCCC SERIES
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
CONCORDIA – Pitcher Sammy Sanchez earned his sixth victory of the season and outfielder Jack Torosian had a four-hit day to lead the Hutchinson Community College baseball team to a Jayhawk West split with the Cloud County Thunderbirds on Thursday at Doyen Field.
After dropping the series opener 6-2, Sanchez and Torosian played key roles in a 6-4 victory in Game 2.
The Blue Dragons, now receiving votes in the NJCAA Division I National Rankings, are 24-10 overall and maintained their hold on first place in the Jayhawk West at 18-4. Cloud County is 21-13 overall and 11-7 in the league.
Games 3 and 4 of the series will be played on Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field beginning at 1 p.m.
GAME 2 RECAP
The Thunderbirds had Sanchez (6-1) on the ropes throughout his five innings of work, but the Blue Dragon starter never allowed a big inning to occur. Only once, the third inning, did Sanchez retire Cloud County in order.
Cloud County started the game by loading the bases with no out. Sanchez responded with a pair of strikeouts and a pop-up to get out of the inning. Sanchez got some defensive help in the second when Cloud's Adler Pierson – he was trying to score from first on a double to right field - was thrown out at the plate by the relay throw of Drew Reetz.
Staked to a 5-0 lead after three innings, Sanchez announced two unearned runs in the fourth and a single run in the fifth.
For the game, Sanchez worked five innings with six hits and three runs allowed, only one was earned. He struck out four and walked none.
Josh Mitchell allowed a run in the sixth. Tyler Delong worked the final three innings for his fourth save of the season. He gave up two hits and hit a batter.
Offensively, the Blue Dragons had just seven hits in Game 2. Three of those hits belonged to Torosian, who returned to the starting lineup after missing extended time with an injury.
Tororsian went 3 for 3 with two doubles and was on base all four times in Game 2. His two-out RBI double scored Ben McLaughlin and capped a three-run first inning. Torosian walked in the third, led off the fifth with a single and delivered with two out again in the seventh with an RBI double to score Austin Callahan with a big insurance run for a 6-4 Blue Dragon lead.
Callahan went 2 for 5 with a triple and three runs scored. Jenner Steele and McLaughlin had the only other Hutchinson hits off four Cloud County pitchers. The Blue Dragons struck out 10 times in the game.
GAME 1 RECAP
Hutchinson had its eight-game winning streak snapped in Game 1 as the Blue Dragons mustered only four hits against Cloud County starter Kolby Dougan, who struck out eight in a seven-inning complete-game performance.
Hutch's only offense in Game 1 came from a third-inning solo home run by Cole Cosman and a Drew Reetz RBI single in the fourth that plated Will Reetz. That Drew Reetz hit was the last hit of the game for the Dragons. The only baserunners in the fifth through seventh innings were walked to Cosman and Sterling Sutcliffe in the seventh.
Cloud County touched Blue Dragon starter Zach Firmature for four runs in the second inning. The big hit was the three-run double by Pierson. Cloud followed with single runs in the third and fourth innings.
Firmature (6-3) had his personal four-game winning streak snapped with six earned runs and five hits allowed over five innings. He struck out one and walked four. Zane Covey pitched a scoreless sixth for the Blue Dragons.
Mason Lowe had a career-long 10-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday.