BLUE DRAGONS COMPLETE SWEEP OF DODGE CITY
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College baseball team will roll into the 2022 postseason on a roll, winning 14 of its last 18 games and completing the regular season with a four-game sweep of the Dodge City Conquistadors.
The Blue Dragons defeated Dodge City 11-8 and 13-2 in seven innings on Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field to complete the series sweep.
Hutchinson completes the regular season 34-21 and ties Butler for fourth place in the Jayhawk West at 20-12. The Blue Dragons will be the fifth seed out of the Jayhawk West and will open the Region VI Tournament on the road next week at Fort Scott.
The Blue Dragon offense continued to roll, now scoring in double figures in six straight games. The Dragons combined for 24 runs and 24 hits with five home runs on Saturday. The Dragons hit 10 home runs in the series.
Leading the way for the Blue Dragons was sophomore Ben McLaughlin, who went 11 for 16 in the sires with three home runs and 11 RBIs. Saturday alone, McLaughlin was 6 for 7 with two homers, two doubles, six runs scored and five driven in.
GAME 1 RECAP
Trailing 8-4 after 4 1/2 innings, the Dragon bats woke up to score seven unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Jack Torosian, who was 4 for 4 with five RBIs, hit a two-run single to cap a four-run Dragon fifth and tie the game at 8-all.
The Dragons broke the tie with a two-run McLaughlin home run to center field. Torosian added some insurance with an RBI single for an 11-8 lead.
Reed Scott, who earned a save on Friday in Dodge City, earned his first pitching victory as a Blue Dragon with two shutout relief innings. Scott struck out four. Ben Dandelet grinded through five tough innings. He struck out four.
The Dragons out-hit Dodge City 15-12.
McLaughlin was 3 for 4 with a double, homer and two RBIs. Leadoff hitter Braedyn Sommer was 2 for 3, with a triple and three runs scored. Ryan Henderson homered and doubled in going 2 for 3 with three runs scored.
GAME 2 RECAP
While the Blue Dragon offense was again unrelenting in the final game of the series, sophomore pitcher Luke Hornberger had his best outing as a Blue Dragon.
Hornberger (4-1) pitched a career-high five innings with a career-high eight strikeouts. Hornberger shutout Dodge City through four innings. He allowed a Braden Dedrick home run to lead off the fifth, which was his only blemish of the game.
Will Edmunson pitched the final two innings of the run-rule win. He allowed one run and struck out two.
The Blue Dragons scored in each of their six offensive innings, breaking the game open with a five-run fifth. The Dragons hit three home runs in a four-run fourth and out-hit Dodge City 12-3.
McLaughlin was 3 for 3 with an RBI double, two-run homer – his 31st career home run – with three runs scored and three RBIs.
Sterling Sutcliffe broke an 0-for-11 skid going 3 for 5 with a double and three RBIs. Henderson was 2 for 4 with a home run and two driven in. Hunter Gotreaux was 2 for 3 with a home run and three runs scored.