Daniel Tullos twirled 10 incredible innings to help keep the Blue Dragons alive in a 4-3 win over Allen County in the Overland Park Sub-Regional Final on May 9, 2010.

2010 Region VI Sub-Regional
Winner's Bracket Final
Johnson County 8, Hutchinson 6
Loser's Bracket Final
Hutchinson 4, Allen County 3 (10 inn.)
May 9, 2010 - Cavalier Field, Overland Park, KS

TULLOS TWIRLS BLUE DRAGONS
INTO SUB-REGIONAL TITLE GAME
WITH 10-INNING GEM

CLICK FOR BOXSCORE - Johnson County
CLICK FOR BOXSCORE - Allen County

OVERLAND PARK – Freshman pitcher Daniel Tullos had the game in his hands once on Sunday against Allen County in the loser’s bracket final of the Region VI Overland Park Sub-Regional and made one mistake.

When given the opportunity to close it out a second time and keep the Blue Dragons’ season going, Tullos didn’t make another mistake and ended Allen County’s season.

Tullos tossed a 10-inning complete game as Hutchinson advanced to the sub-regional championship game with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Red Devils in the loser’s bracket final on Sunday, May 9, 2010 at Johnson County Field. Earlier in the day, the Blue Dragons committed a season-high eight errors in an 8-6 loss to top-seeded Johnson County in the winner’s bracket final.

Hutchinson (32-22) will meet Johnson County (47-12) in the championship game. HCC will have to defeat the home-standing Cavaliers twice on Monday to advance to the Region VI Championship in Wichita.

GAME 2 RECAP – HCC 4, ALLEN COUNTY 3, 10 INNINGS
Tullos took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and pitched eight shutout innings of one-hit ball against the Red Devils (27-24). With HCC leading 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Allen County had two runners on and one out. Red Devil clean-up hitter Brad Alberts then hammered a three-run home run to left field to tie the game at 3-all.

“I missed the pitch,” Tullos said. “It was supposed to be low and away and he got it about belt high and he turned on it. I popped him up two times in a row. He’s a really good hitter.”

But the Dragons gave Tullos another chance in the 10th.

Sophomore Andrew Dixon bunted for a leadoff single and Allen County catcher Michael Schell launched the throw to first down the third-base line allowing Dixon to go all the way to third. Two batters later, Mace Krol – who was battling through an 0 for 19 slump – put down a perfect safety squeeze bunt that went for an infield single and Dixon scored for a 4-3 HCC lead.

“I wanted to go out for the 10th,” Tullos said. “I told them I knew could get the job done. They trusted me and that showed me a lot. I was pretty upset with myself after the home run. When we got the lead, I went over to coach and told him I wanted to go back out. I wanted the game to be on my shoulders.”

Tullos indeed closed out Allen County as Hutchinson defeated the Red Devils for the second-straight day by one run.

“That was the best I have ever pitched,” said Tullos, who threw his first collegiate complete game. “That one mistake, I can let that go now. It was the best and longest game I have ever pitched.”

Tullos threw only 110 pitches and allowed six hits and one walk while striking out six. He pitched out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the third after the defense committed three errors behind him.

Allen County’s first hit off of Tullos game with one out in the sixth by Brayden Brumley. Tullos had runs of six in a row and nine-straight retired batters in the game. He went to three-ball counts only twice against 38 batters faced.

“Anytime you get a starter to go 10 complete innings and not give up a run until the ninth, that’s pretty phenomenal,” Krol said of Tullos. “He’s pitched his butt off all year and he deserved this. I am ecstatic for him.”

“Because he’s young and needs to finish games,” HCC head coach Kyle Crookes said of sending Tullos out for the 10th inning. “He had an opportunity to finish the ninth and didn’t. His pitch count going into the 10th wasn’t bad enough or something he couldn’t handle. To be able to finish the game is a skill that every starter needs to have and I hope that carries beyond today.”

HCC out-hit Allen County 7-6 and each team had three errors.

The game was scoreless until the fifth when with one out, sophomore David Longmore hustled all the way from second base to score on a fielding error by Allen County second baseman Michael Samuel that Dixon beat out at first.

Longmore was instrumental in HCC’s two-run seventh. He walked with one out and stole second and third. After a walk to Dan Klein, sophomore Matt Williams drove a sharply hit single through a drawn-in infield to give HCC a 2-0 lead. Taylor Roy’s bases-loaded walk upped the Dragon lead to 3-0.

Dixon extended his current hitting streak to six games going 2 for 4 with a run scored to lead HCC. Freshman Jory Goldstrom was 2 for 5.

GAME 1 RECAP – JOHNSON COUNTY 8, HCC 6
A pair of two-run homers by Williams and a gutsy pitching effort by Taylor Burns weren’t enough to offset the Blue Dragons’ worst defensive game in many seasons.

Hutchinson committed a season-high eight errors that led to seven unearned runs as the sub-regional top seed and 2010 Jayhawk East champion Cavaliers took full advantage in an 8-6 victory.

With the game tied 2-all in the third, the Dragons blew up defensively committing four errors in a four-run inning that gave Johnson County a 6-2 lead.

Williams tried to keep the Dragons in the game. His two-run home run to left-center in the fourth pulled HCC within 6-4. His two-run clout to center field in the sixth pulled HCC within 7-6. Williams went 3 for 5 with two runs and five RBIs in his first career multi-homer game.

From there, Johnson County closer Gil Rehwinkel blanked the Dragons over the final three innings for his eighth save. The Dragons left eight runners on base.

Burns (3-2) took the loss, throwing 7 1-3 innings and allowing 12 hits, eight runs, but only one was earned. Burns struck out two and walked none.

Dixon went 2 for 4 and Shaun Hoover went 2 for 5 as HCC pounded out 10 hits against starter and winner Zack Smith (8-4) and Rehwinkel.

HCC took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Ryan Mayfield drove in Jamell Cervantez on a fielder’s choice and Hoover broke an 0-for-10 slump with a two-out RBI single that scored Mayfield. Johnson County immediately tied the game up with Morgan Davis pounded his 23rd homer of the season to left to tie the game at 2-all in the bottom of the first.

Davis was 2 for 5 with three RBIs to lead Johnson County. Ben Millard, Tanner Funk, Ryan Hall and Sam Stucky had two hits each in the Cavaliers’ 13-hit attack.

GAME NOTES – With the win, HCC has an all-time record of 996-649-1. … Matt Williams now has eight career home runs. … Dixon has a team-high five hits in the sub-regional. … Dixon is now tied with Kent Becker (1999-2000) for seventh on the career hit list with 128. … Dixon now has 100 singles for his career, which is second on the career list. Dixon is now fourth on the single-season list with 56 singles. ... Klein now has 10 sacrifice bunts for the season, which ranks tied for seventh and has 11 for his career which is tied for 11th. … Shaun Hoover is now tied for seventh on the single-season walks list with 37. … Hoover is now No. 2 on the single-season defensive chances list with 392 (7 away from the record) and second on the putouts list with 360 (9 away from the record). … Klein is tied for fourth on the single-season defensive chances list with 344 and is fifth on the putouts list with 290. … The 2010 Blue Dragons are now eighth on the team record home run list with 48, third on the stolen base list with 144 and moved into a third-place tie in hit by pitches with 109. … HCC has committed 14 errors in three sub-regional games and set a new season record for errors with 115. … Johnson County is 25-5 at home this season.