DRAGON BATS BREAK OUT TO TAKE FIRST TWO GAMES WITH RAVENS
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College baseball team combined for 31 runs on 31 hits to defeat Coffeyville in the first two games of a four-game series on Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field.
Within that, the Blue Dragons had three single innings scoring seven or more runs as Hutchinson posted wins of 14-4 and 17-6, both run-rule wins over the Red Ravens.
The Blue Dragons improved to 10-3 overall while Coffeyville dropped to 6-5. The series wraps up on Friday with games at 1 and 3:30 p.m. at Hobart-Detter Field.
GAME 1 RECAP – Hutchinson 14, Coffeyville 4
Leading 4-1 through two innings, the Blue Dragons exploded for nine runs on nine hits with each Dragon player in the lineup collecting a hit. Ten Hutchinson players reached base after the second out was recorded – the Dragons were 8 for 13 with in two-out situations in Game 1.
Blake Bradford had a wind-aided bloop two-run double in the inning. Colin Cymbalista also had a two-run double and Cooper Wesslund added a two-run single as the big hits in the inning.
The Blue Dragons racked up 15 hits in Game 1 with six extra-base hits and six different players racking up two hits each.
Cody Gunderson was 2 for 4 with three RBIs – a two-run single in the first and an RBI double in the third inning. Cymbalista was 2 for 5 with three RBIs.
Luis Pementel-Guerrero hit a two-run home run in the first inning, finishing 2 for 2 with two RBIs, two runs scored and two walks. Bradford was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Tyson Vassart was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Kael Babin was 2 for 4 with three runs scored.
The Blue Dragons trailed 1-0 before they came to the plate for the first time. The Dragons immediately answered when Gunderson hit a two-run single to left and Pementel-Guerrero followed with his two-run homer for a 4-1 Blue Dragon lead.
Ethan Giesbrecht (2-1) started and worked the first five innings for his second win of the season. Giesbrecht struck out a season-high eight batters. He allowed six hits and four runs, only one run was earned. Ashton Perkins had a strikeout in a perfect sixth inning.
GAME 2 RECAP – Hutchinson 17, Coffeyville 6
Blue Dragon starting pitcher Sam Ojeda took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in the second game, retiring the first 13 batters he faced.
Ojeda tied a season high with five strikeouts. He finished a season-high six innings allowing three hits, three unearned runs and walking two.
By the time the Dragons left the game, he had plenty of run support as the Dragons gave up a nine-run lead with a two-run first inning and seven-run fourth inning.
The Dragons sent 13 batters to the plate in the fourth inning and had did the damage with just two hits, but took advantage of three Red Raven errors, four walks and a hit batsman.
Hutchinson topped that inning with an eight-run sixth inning. Thirteen Hutchinson players came to the plate and tallied nine hits – Jordan Tucker, Quinn Mayer and Wesslund had two hits each in the inning.
Four different Blue Dragon players had three hits each in a 16-hit attack in Game 2.
Tucker went 3 for 4 with a double, three runs scored and three RBIs. Maher was 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Wesslund was 3 for 4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs. Bradford was 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs.
Gunderson extended his consecutive-game hitting to seven games, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored.