DRAGONS SNAP OFFENSIVE SLUMBER TO SWEEP COUGARS
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The No. 19-ranked Hutchinson Community College baseball team trailed the Barton Cougars 7-0 after 3 1/2 innings in Game 1 of their Jayhawk West doubleheader on Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field.
Over the next 10 1/2 innings, though, the Blue Dragons outscored the Cougars 26-4 and finished off a sweep of Games 1 and 2 of their four-game league series. Backed by four home runs, the Blue Dragons rallied to defeat Barton 9-7 in the opener. Hutchinson scored four runs in the first and added an 11-run third inning en route to a 17-4 seven-inning run-rule victory in Game 2.
The Blue Dragons improved to 32-9 overall and are 14-4 in the Jayhawk West. Barton fell to 27-13 overall and 11-11 in the league. Games 3 and 4 will be at 1 and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Lawson-Biggs Field in Great Bend.
GAME 1 RECAP – Hutchinson 9, Barton 7
Trailing 7-0 after 3 1/2 innings, the Blue Dragons hadn't had a baserunner through three innings of the series opener.
That all changed when Aidan Marien hit a home run to lead off the fourth inning. Anthony Mazza then doubled and two batters later, Jackson Schanuel hit a two-run homer to pull the Dragons within 7-3.
A fifth-inning rally seems unlikely after the first two Blue Dragons were retired. But Max Flowers singled with two out and Marien followed with a two-run to pull the Blue Dragons within 7-5. Mazza then walked and went to third on Jordan Kuhnau's single to right field. Mazza scored on Jackson Schanuel's infield RBI single to pull within 7-6. Cru Huenfeld then launched a towering opposite-field three-run home run to left field, which gave the Blue Dragons a 9-7 lead.
The Blue Dragon bullpen pitched three shutout innings to secure the win. Kolby Heskett (4-1) earned the win with one inning of scoreless relief. Then Bradyn Henry earned his second save of the season with two perfect innings with one strikeout.
Marien is the seventh Blue Dragon to have a two-home run game. The Dragons have 12 two-homer games this season – Kuhnau has four, Schanuel and Hochstein have two each while Marien, Huenfeld, Eli Duncan and Ty Wilson have one each.
Marien was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Schanuel was 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. Huenfeld was 1 for 3 with a homer and three RBIs.
The Blue Dragons have hit four or more home runs in 12 games this season.
Not having a hit until the fourth inning, the Blue Dragons out-hit Barton 9-8.
GAME 2 RECAP – Hutchinson 17, Barton 4 (7 innings)
The Blue Dragons immediately jumped on the Cougars with four runs in the first inning – Duncan with a two-run single to right and Hochstein doubled in two with a double to right-center.
Then the Dragons broke the game open with 11 runs in the third inning. The first nine batters of the inning all scored. Duncan and Hochstein had RBI singles and the big blow of the inning was a grand slam hit by Diesel Purnell. The Dragons later had two runners on and Schanuel drove them in with a double for a 13-4 lead. Huenfeld followed with a two-run home run to complete an 11-run inning and build a 15-1 lead after three innings.
The 11-run inning was the fourth time this season the Dragons have scored 10 or more runs in an inning. The Blue Dragons reached double figures in runs for the 25th time this season and double figures in hits for the 26th time this season.
Six Blue Dragon players had multiple RBI games and 8 of 9 starters had at least one hit.
Kuhnau and Duncan both had three-hit games to lead the Dragons' 15-hit attack.
Kuhnau was 3 for 4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs. Duncan was 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Mazza went 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the fourth. With his two doubles on Thursday, Mazza now has 38 career doubles, which ties him for second with Logan Sartori on the Hutchinson career doubles list.
Hochstein was 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.
Purnell's grand slam was the first of his career and the sixth of the season by the Dragons. His four RBIs were a single-game career high.
Wes Lyerly (6-1) earned the pitching win. He threw six innings with seven hits and four runs allowed, only one was an earned run. Lyerly struck out three and walked one. Lincoln Muller tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
GAME NOTES – With three hit batters in Game 2, the 2026 Blue Dragons became the 13th team in Blue Dragon history to reach 100 hit-by-pitches in a season. The 2026 Blue Dragons are tied with the 2005 and 2021 teams with 102 HPBs. … Now with 92 team home runs, the 2026 Blue Dragons are second on the all-time home run list. The current Blue Dragons are tied for second with the 2017 Blue Dragons. … The 2026 Blue Dragons now have 125 team doubles, which is tied for eighth with the 2022 Blue Dragons.