NO. 17 BLUE DRAGONS SHUT OUT RED DEVILS
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Five pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout and the Jayhawk West champion Hutchinson Community College baseball team got some timely two-out hitting to defeat the Allen Red Devils 3-0 on Thursday afternoon at Hobart-Detter Field.
The No. 17-ranked Blue Dragons improved to 43-11 with their 27th victory in the last 30 games played. The 2024 Blue Dragons tie the 1999 and 2014 Blue Dragons for the sixth-most wins in a single season in team history. Allen fell to 20-32 overall. The Blue Dragons and Red Devils conclude their two-game series at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Iola.
Starting pitcher Ethan Giesbrecht (10-2) became the first 10-game winner for the Blue Dragons in a season since 2014 with five shutout innings on Thursday. Giesbrecht allowed just two hits and struck out two over his three innings.
Jacob Hadden pitched two scoreless innings with a hit a strikeout and walk. Ashton Perkins worked a perfect sixth. Caden Wandless threw two shutout innings with two strikeouts, a walk and a hit. Cole Toureau earned his third save of the season with a scoreless ninth that included two strikeouts.
The shutout was the Hutchinson pitching staff's eighth of the season.
The Blue Dragon defense was impressive against Allen. The Dragons turned two inning-ending double plays. Shortstop Cooper Wesslund made an impressive diving catch in foul territory for an out. Catcher Colin Cymbalista threw out three Allen runners on base, including a pump-fake to second and drew the Red Devil runner at third off the base for a game-ending run down.
The Blue Dragons out-hit Allen 8-4 and all three runs came with two out.
The Dragons got on the scoreboard in the third inning when Luis Pimentel-Guerrero drove a two-out base hit through the left side of the infield to score Hank Griffin for a 1-0 lead.
Hutchinson scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Quinn Mayer singled with two out through the right side of the infield to score Pimentel-Guerrero from second for a 2-0 lead. Jordan Tucker followed with an RBI triple to right field that gave the Blue Dragons a 3-0 lead.
Pimentel-Guerrero extended his hitting streak to 16 games with his third-straight three-hit game, going 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
Mayer was 2 for 3 with a double, run scored and an RBI. Cymbalista, Tucker and Griffin had the other Blue Dragon hits.
The Blue Dragons are 22-2 at Hobart-Detter Field this season.