BLUE DRAGONS EARN KJCCC SWEEP OF SEWARD COUNTY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Sophomore Kaibryn Kruger hit two home runs and the Blue Dragon pitching staff tossed 13 consecutive shutout innings as the Hutchinson Community College softball team earned a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader sweep of Seward County on Saturday at Fun Valley.

After giving up three first-inning runs in Game 1, Aubree Thomas and Alyssa Rogers combined to pitch six hitless innings as the Blue Dragons rallied for a 7-3 victory. Then Mia Williams and Jessica Schmidt scattered six hits in a combined 3-0 shutout of the Saints in Game 2.

The Blue Dragons are now 15-5 overall are 4-0 in the Jayhawk Conference for the second-straight season. The Blue Dragons also extended their winning streak over Seward County to 15 games. The Blue Dragons travel to Barton on Wednesday in Great Bend. Seward County is now 8-12 overall and 2-2 in the KJCCC.

GAME 1 RECAP – Hutchinson 7, Seward County 3
Seward County had a 3-0 lead after three batters in Game 1 on Saturday.

After that home run to Amithsys Perez, Blue Dragon starting pitcher Aubree Thomas settled in quite nicely. Thomas retired 12 of the final 13 Saints' batters she faced, including the final 11 batters. Thomas (5-0) allowed three hits, three runs and one walk while striking out three. She is now 18-3 in her Blue Dragon career.

Rogers earned a three-inning save for her first career save. She allowed only two baserunners – a hit Seward County batter and another Saint to reach on an error. Rogers struck out two.

Gabby Stauffer led the Blue Dragons offensively, going 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Stauffer had an RBI single in the Dragons' four-run third inning and an TWO double in a three-run fourth inning.

Riley Dreher also went 3 for 4 with three singles and two RBIs. Emery Benson-Hladik and two RBIs.

The Blue Dragons out-hit Seward County 11-3 in Game 1.

Trailing 3-0 after two innings, the Blue Dragon offense got going.

Back-to-back leadoff walks to Addi Lutz and Tailor Golly set the table for Hutchinson in a four-run third inning. After Stauffer's RBI single got the Dragons on the board to score Lutz, Dreher had an RBI groundout and Benson-Hladik roped a two-run double to center field to score Stauffer and Leyla O'Connor to give the Dragons a 4-3 lead.

Kruger hit a one-out solo home run to center to start off the fifth inning. A Stauffer RBI double scored Golly for a 6-3 lead. Dreher then drove in Stauffer with an RBI single to center for a 7-3 lead.

GAME 2 RECAP – Hutchinson 3, Seward County 0
Kruger led off the bottom of the first with her second home run of the doubleheader to give the Blue Dragons an early 1-0 lead.

The Dragons then scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Golly's RBI single scored Kaci Young for a 2-0 lead in the third. Then Golly singled to score Lutz in the fifth for a 3-0 lead.

Williams (3-0) threw five shutout innings for the Blue Dragons. She allowed three hits and struck out three. Schmidt earned her third save with two scoreless innings. Schmidt's save was her sixth career save.

Only one Saints' baserunner reached third base in Game 2.

Golly led the Blue Dragons going 3 for 3 with a pair of RBIs.

Kruger was 2 for 2 with a home run, RBI and two stolen bases. Kruger now has 55 career steals, which is fourth in Blue Dragon team history for a career.