DRAGONS DROP PAIR TO CLOUD COUNTY

Cooper Wesslund get a force out at second base with a diving tag after a great stop up the middle in Game 2 against Cloud County on Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field. (Billy Watson/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

April 6, 2023

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons fell to .500 in league play after a pair of home Jayhawk West losses to Cloud County on Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field.

The Blue Dragons were limited to four singles in a 4-1 loss in Game 1 of the series. The Dragons had a pair of leads in Game 2, but the Thunderbirds outscored Hutchinson 6-1 over the final three innings as Cloud County won the second game 9-5.

The Blue Dragons drop to 19-18 overall and are 9-9 in the Jayhawk West. Cloud County is 19-14 overall and 8-6 in the Jayhawk West. Games 3 and 4 of the series will be Saturday at Doyen Field in Concordia beginning at 1 p.m.

GAME 1 RECAP
Hits were at a premium in the first game, but Cloud County scored single unearned runs in the first and fifth innings and plated two runs in the third.

Trailing 4-0 after five innings, the Blue Dragons got on the board in the sixth. After Will Edmunson singles and went to third on an error off the bat of Cody Gunderson, he scored on a high-chopper to second by A.J. Mustow to cut the Dragon deficit to three runs.

Hutchinson had singles from Edmunson, Ryan Henderson, Colin Cymbalista and Christian Powell. Hutchinson had multiple hits in only the second inning and rolled into two double plays.

Making his fourth start, Reed Scott (3-3) took the loss, going only three innings with three runs, three hits and three walks allowed. Scott struck out three.

Justin Smith gave up an unearned run in three innings of work. Bradley Neill worked a scoreless inning.

GAME 2 RECAP
The Blue Dragons took a 1-0 lead in the second when Henderson scored in an error off the bat of Cooper Wesslund.

The Dragons made it 3-0 after an RBI triple by Mustow and a Cymbalista sacrifice fly in the third inning.

After three strong innings by Dragon starter Sam Ojeda, the Thunderbirds quickly tied the game in the fourth with an RBI triple, balk and solo home run.

Hutchinson took a 4-3 lead on Blake Bradford's sacrifice fly that scored Wesslund in the sixth. Cloud County rallied and scored three runs in each of the seventh and ninth innings.

East team had 10 hits. The Blue Dragons stranded nine runners on base.

Edmunson, Mustow and Henderson had two hits each. Mustow had a triple and RBI. Henderson hit his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to left field in the seventh.

Ojeda went four innings in his start. He tied a season high with eight strikeouts and he allowed six hits and three earned runs. Michael Uhler (0-1) worked two scoreless innings before giving up three runs in the seventh. Kaden Wickersham worked two-thirds of an inning. Derick Johnson tossed the final two innings.