DRAGONS CLINCH 2023 KJCCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

The Blue Dragon softball team raises the 2023 Jayhawk Conference championship trophy after a doubleheader sweep of Pratt on Saturday at Fun Valley. (Steve Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

April 29, 2023

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Sophomore Aspen Goetz combined for three home runs and seven RBIS on Saturday as the No. 14-ranked Hutchinson Community College softball team swept the Pratt Beavers at Fun Valley and claimed its first Jayhawk Conference championship in 31 years.

Hutchinson defeated Pratt in a pair of five-inning run-rule games, 9-1 and 19-0, clinching the program's first conference championship since 1992.

The Blue Dragons extended their winning streak to 12 games and improved to 41-6 overall and 29-3 in the conference. The Dragons will be the No. 1 seed for the Region VI Tournament, which opens on Friday at Legends Park in Dodge City.

Hutchinson won its fourth outright league championship, joining the 1986, 1987 and 1992 teams. The Dragons shared the 1991 league championship.

The 2023 Blue Dragons are now tied for the second-most wins in program history with the 2022 Blue Dragons. Hutchinson has 25 run-rule victories and posted its 16th shutout of the season.

GAME 1 RECAP
The Blue Dragons got off to a slow start in Game 1, scoring two runs in the first inning on an Alexis Mastin two-run single in the first inning. Riley Wertz homered to lead off the second for a 3-0 lead after two innings.

The Dragons scored five runs in the third inning to break the game open. After a bases-loaded walk to Wertz and a bases-load hit-by-pitch to Korri Lies, Ella Dougherty had an RBI single and Olivia Sandoval had a two-run hit to give Hutchinson an 8-1 lead.

Goetz homered to lead off the fourth for a 9-1 lead.

The Blue Dragons out-hit Pratt 7-4. Dougherty and Mastin had two-hit games. Mastin was 2 for 2 with two RBIs. Dougherty was 2 for 3 with a double and RBI.

Kierstan Weitze improved to 9-1 in the pitching circle with three innings of work. Weitze allowed three hits, one run and one walk with three strikeouts. Wertz struck out five in the final two innings. She allowed one hit and one walk.

GAME 2 RECAP
Goetz had a two-run and three-run home run to lead the Blue Dragons. She drove in six runs, her sixth game of five or more RBIs. Goetz extended her single-season and career home run records to 19 and 26 homers, respectively. She also extended her single-season RBI record to 90.

The Blue Dragons wasted no time in Game 2 with an eight-run first inning and a seven-run third inning.

Madison Grimes and Wertz had three hits each to lead the Dragons' 17-hit attack. Grimes was 3 for 4 with a double, four runs scored and two RBIs. She also had two stolen bases, giving her 80 for her career, three shy of Lexi Williams' career record of 82.

Dougherty, Sandoval, and Grace Sykora all had two hits each.

Sykora hit her fourth home run of the season and she drove in a career-high four runs. Sandoval hit her 20th double of the season, which is third-most in single-game Blue Dragon history. Dougherty scored three runs and drove in one.

Morgan Pennycuff earned her team-high 15th victory of the season in three innings of work. She allowed four hits and no runs with no strikeouts and one walk. Delaney Blakesley worked a 1-2-3 inning with three groundouts in the fourth inning. Wertz struck out two in one inning of work.