DRAGONS OPEN KJCCC PLAY WITH SWEEP OF COLBY
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Getting offensive contributions throughout the batting order, Hutchinson Community College pitchers Emily Munson, Morgan Pennycuff and Riley Wertz kept the Colby offense silent in a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader sweep on Wednesday at Fun Valley.
Grace Sykora had a career-high three RBIs while Munson and Wertz scattered one run and eight hits in Hutchinson's 9-1 victory in five innings in Game 1. The Blue Dragons scored five runs in the fourth inning and Pennycuff and Wertz made that stand in a 5-1 victory in Game 2.
The No. 20-ranked Blue Dragons improve to 14-3 overall and 2-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons play host to No. 17 Butler at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Fun Valley.
The Colby games on Wednesday were originally to have been played in Colby, but field conditions in Colby forced Blue Dragons and Trojans to flip home dates. The rematch will be played on April 1 in Colby.
GAME 1 RECAP
Six different Blue Dragons had RBIs as Hutchinson exploded for nine runs in its final two at-bats to earn the run-rule victory.
Sykora went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. She had an RBI single in the Dragons' four-run fourth and drove in two runs with a single in a three-run fifth inning.
Ella Dougherty was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs and a two-run double in the fourth inning.
The Dragons had 10 total hits. Madison Grimes, Aspen Goetz, Alexis Mastin and Preslee Irwin also drove in runs. Irwin's fifth-inning double scored pinch-runner Korri Lies with the game-ending run.
Munson (2-0) started and earned the victory, going 4 2-3 innings. She scattered one earned run and eight hits with no walks or strikeouts.
Munson was the beneficiary of a program single-game record four double plays in the five-inning contest. The Dragons converted a line-out double play and three conventional 6-3 or 6-4-3 double plays in the game.
Wertz came in with two out and runners at second and third in the fifth inning and got a strikeout to end the threat.
GAME 2 RECAP
Pennycuff tossed four shutout innings to earn her fourth win of the season, improving to 4-1. Pennycuff allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out two.
Pennycuff also benefitted from a Blue Dragon double play when right-finder Jaeleigh Darnell threw out a Colby runner at the plate while trying to tag up from third base.
Wertz worked a three-inning save for her second save of the season and 11th of her career. She allowed just one unearned run in the sixth. Wertz had a season-high seven strikeouts.
The Blue Dragons scored in just one offensive inning, five runs in the fourth.
The game was scoreless through 3 1/2 innings, the Dragons started the inning with a leadoff walk to Allie Stipsits and a single to left by Darnell. With one out, Darnell scored on an Irwin fielder's choice to get the Dragons on the board. A Dougherty fielder's choice scored Irwin to make it 2-0.
After a walk to Olivia Sandoval, the key play of the game was an error off the bat of Grimes that loaded the bases. The Dragons took advantage with a two-out, two-run double by Goetz and an RBI single by Mastin to make it 5-0.
The Dragons had six hits in the game. Darnell had the only multi-hit game, going 2 for 3.
The Blue Dragons had to overcome field errors.