DRAGONS SPLIT DH TO TAKE SERIES FROM GARDEN CITY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College baseball team stayed in the thick of the battle for a Region 6 Tournament opening-round home series on Saturday with a doubleheader split and series win over the Garden City Broncbusters on Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field.

Garden City won the first game on Saturday, defeating Hutchinson 9-4, but the Blue Dragons scored six first-inning runs and Jack Gardner and C.J. Reid added home runs as the Blue Dragons rolled to a 12-2 win over the Busters in seven innings.

Hutchinson 34-17 is now tied with Butler for third place in the Jayhawk West at 15-13. Colby is just 0.5 games behind the Blue Dragons and Grizzlies. Colby completes its series with Cloud County on Monday in Colby. Hutchinson will close the season with Pratt beginning next Thursday. Colby and Butler will play each other next week.

GAME 2 RECAP – Hutchinson 12, Garden City 2 (7 innings)
The first five Blue Dragon batters in the first inning all scored in a six-run first inning. The Dragons had only two hits in the inning – a single from A.J. Mustow and RBI single from Eli Duncan. The Dragons took advantage of a Garden City error, three walks, two hit batsmen and five Garden City wild pitches. The Dragons also stole five bases in the inning.

Leading 6-1 after four innings, Jack Gardner launched his fourth home run of the season over the scoreboard in left-center for a three-run home run and a 9-1 lead. Anthony Mazza then broke an 0-for-9 slump to cap a four-run fifth inning for an RBI double for a 10-1 lead.

Leading 10-2 in the seventh, Mazza doubled, then Reid hit a game-ending two-run home run to center field to complete a 12-2 victory.

The Blue Dragons had a series-high eight hits in the final game of the series.

Mazza went 2 for 4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI. Taber Stokes was 2 for 2 with a run scored and an RBI.

Gardner had a career-high four RBIs with a run-scoring groundout in the first inning and his fourth home run of the season in the fifth. Reid's seventh-inning home run was his ninth of the season.

Freshman starting pitcher Noah McCombs (3-2) tossed a season-high five innings to earn the pitching victory. McCombs allowed two hits with three strikeouts and four walks.

Gabe Perry pitched the final two innings, giving up four hits and a run. Perry made the defensive play of the game for the Blue Dragons in the sixth inning when with a runner at first base and no out, he caught a blistering line drive hit at him and then doubled off the Garden City runner at first for a double play.

GAME 1 RECAP – Garden City 9, Hutchinson 4
Trailing 1-0 after one inning, the Blue Dragons took the lead with two runs in the second inning. Stokes' sacrifice fly scored Nick Glantz to tie the game, then Scotty Fegen doubled home Leo Griffin for a 2-1 Hutchinson lead after two innings.

The lead climbed to 3-1 when Glantz's double down the left-field line scored Reid in the third innings.

Garden City broke the game open, outscoring the Blue Dragons 8-1 over the last four innings with Garden City plating runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

The Busters out-hit the Blue Dragons 8-7.

Reid went 2 for 3 to lead the Blue Dragons. Glantz and Fegen had RBI doubles and Cael Hamrick had an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Seth Ainsworth started and went the first four innings, allowing four hits and three runs with four strikeouts. Brandt Phillips (1-1) was tagged with the loss.

The Blue Dragons used seven pitchers in game.

The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak over Garden City that dated back to 2022.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 9-0-2 in their last 11 series against Garden City. The Dragons are 28-4 in the last 32 games against the Busters. … Taber Stokes extended his hitting streak to 13 games, matching Quinn Maher for the second-longest hitting streak by a Dragon this season. … The team that scored first was 4-0 in the series.