DRAGONS RALLY TO CLOSE SEASON WITH VICTORY AT ALLEN
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
IOLA – Colin Cymbalista smacked two solo home runs to ignite the Hutchinson's Community College baseball team from its early offensive slumber against the Allen Red Devils in the 2024 regular-season finale at Red Devil Field.
Trailing by two runs early, the Blue Dragons erupted for 11 runs and 10 hits in their final six at-bats as No. 17 Hutchinson defeated the Red Devils 11-3.
The Jayhawk West champion Blue Dragons close the regular season with a 44-11 record. Hutchinson will open the 2024 Region VI Tournament at Hobart-Detter Field with a best-of-3 opening-round series vs. either Labette or Highland next Thursday. The winner of that series advances to Eck Stadium in Wichita for the eight-team, double-elimination portion of the regional/district tournament.
Hutchinson's 44 wins ties the 2006-2019 teams for the fourth-most wins in a single season in Blue Dragon history.
With six more stolen bases on Saturday, the 2024 Blue Dragons extended their season record to 195 stolen bases. With four more hit-by-pitches against Allen, the Dragons extended that season record to 167 in the first 55 games of the season. Sophomore Kael Babin also stole four bases on Saturday, upping his single-season individual stolen base record to 55.
Trailing 2-0 and without a hit through the first three innings of Saturday's game, Cymbalista led off the fourth inning and hit a solo home run over the left-field wall to get the Blue Dragons on the board. Cymbalista, who was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, homered again to lead off the seventh. The Blue Dragon sophomore catcher also threw out his 10th baserunner of the season with a pickoff at second base to end the Allen fifth inning.
The Dragons took the lead in the fifth inning with a four-run uprising. Hank Griffin, who led off the inning with a double, scoring on a Red Devil throwing error. Luis Pimentel-Guerrero extended his team-high hitting streak to 17 games with a two-run single. He scored to make it 5-2 on an RBI double by Jordan Tucker.
Leading 7-3 entering the ninth, Jarrett Hermann's pinch-hit two-run single and Cooper Wesslund's two-run single capped a four-run inning for an 11-3 advantage.
Griffin went 3 for 5 with a double and two runs scored to help Hutchinson out-hit Allen 10-8. Cymbalista's two homers was the only other multi-hit game for the Blue Dragons on Saturday.
The Blue Dragons used seven pitchers on Saturday.
Bradley Neill started and worked the first two innings. Trenton Roehler (7-1) earned the victory with two innings. From there, the combination of Gus McKay, Rece Wilson, Max Mullholland, Sean Combs and Landon Snyder held the Red Devils to three hits and one unearned run.
Official Region VI pairings will be released Sunday afternoon.