PITCHING, POWER PROPEL DRAGONS TO KJCCC SWEEP
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Pitchers Emily Munson, Riley Wertz and Morgan Pennycuff limited the Dodge City Conquistadors to a combined three total hits on Wednesday at Fun Valley.
Then Allie Stipsits and Alexis Mastin hit home runs as the No. 18-ranked Hutchinson Community College softball team earned victories of 4-0 and 9-1 over Dodge City in a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader.
Hutchinson improved to 16-5 overall and 5-1 in the KJCCC. The Blue Dragons travel to Great Bend to play Barton on Saturday. Dodge City is now 10-8 and 5-3.
GAME 1 RECAP
Munson (3-0) earned her third victory of the season, allowing just first- and fourth-inning singles and two walks in five inning of the first game on Wednesday. She had part in a second combined shutout this season.
Hutchinson's left-handed starter struck out four and only one Dodge City runner reached second base. Munson retired the final five batters she faced in her 13th career victory.
Wertz, who earlier in the day was named the NJCAA Division I Softball National Pitcher of the Week one day after being named KJCCC Pitcher of the Week, earned her fourth save of the season. Over two innings, Wertz retired all six Dodge City batters she faced with four strikeouts. Wertz struck out the side in the seventh inning.
The Blue Dragons had seven hits in the opening game.
Olivia Sandoval got Hutchinson on the board with a two-out RBI double in the third inning to score Ella Dougherty.
After Preslee Irwin walked to lead off the fifth, she stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Sandoval groundout.
The Dragons added some insurance in the sixth when Stipsits launched her first home run of the season, a two-run blast to center, to give Hutchinson a 4-0 lead.
Stipsits led the Blue Dragons going 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Aspen Goetz was 2 for 2 with a pair of doubles. Sandoval had two RBIs, going 1 for 3. Dougherty and pinch hitter Korri Lies had the other Hutchinson hits.
GAME 2 RECAP
Pennycuff tossed her first career complete game and improved to 5-1 for the season.
She struck out a season-high seven and walked one, allowing just a first-inning run and third-inning single. Pennycuff retired 9 of the final 10 batters she faced, the only exception was a fourth-inning Blue Dragon error.
Pennycuff limited potential trouble to just one run in the opening inning. She allowed a leadoff to Dodge's Melanie Castro, who stole second and eventually scored on an Addison Spencer sacrifice fly.
The Blue Dragons immediately responded to Dodge City's first-inning run with five of their own as the first five Hutchinson hitters of the game all reached base and scored.
After Dougherty and Sandoval started the bottom of the first with singles, Madison Grimes and Goetz delivered RBI singles. Mastin then gave the Dragons a 5-1 lead with a three-run home run to left field.
Jaeleigh Darnell's RBI double and Irwin's run-scoring single in the third gave the Dragons a 7-1 lead. The Dragons tacked on two more runs in the fourth with a Goetz sacrifice fly and Grimes scored on an error for a 9-1 lead.
The Dragons produced 10 hits with four doubles and Mastin's fifth home run of the season.
Mastin was 2 for 3 with a double, homer and three RBIs. Grimes was 1 for 2 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Goetz had two RBIs. Grimes, Darnell and Irwin all had RBIs in the game. Lies also had a double.