DRAGONS RALLY TWICE TO SWEEP LABETTE

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

For the second and third time this week, the Hutchinson Community College softball team put together late-inning rallies for wins and earned a doubleheader sweep of the Labette Cardinals on Sunday at Fun Valley.

Trailing Game 1 by two runs in the fifth inning, Kaibryn Kruger tied the game with an infield single and later scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch as the Blue Dragons came back to win 10-9.

Then trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, freshman Addi Lutz – the hero of Hutchinson's 7-6, nine-inning win over No. 14 Butler on Thursday – launched a go-ahead three-run home run and the Dragons rallied for an 8-3 win in Game 2.

The Blue Dragons have now won 7 of the last 8 games and is 11-5. Hutchinson returns to Jayhawk Conference play with Seward County in a home doubleheader at 2 p.m. at Fun Valley.

GAME 2 RECAP – Hutchinson 8, Labette 3
The Blue Dragons trailed 3-1 in the second game after 3 1/2 innings and pulled within one run on a Lutz single to center in the fourth that scored Gabby Stauffer.

Then in the sixth, Brooke Backhaus reached on an error and Brie Brawner walked. Lutz then hit the first pitch she saw off the scoreboard in right-center field for a three-run home run and a 5-3 lead. Emily Dice added an RBI double and Tailor Golly had a two-run double to complete a six-run inning.

Lutz had her second game-winning RBI of the week. Against Butler on Thursday, her two-run single in the bottom of the seventh tied the Grizzlies at 6-all. She then had a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 Blue Dragon victory.

The Blue Dragon bullpen tossed five shutout innings to keep Hutchinson in the game.

Jessica Schmidt came in with runners on the corner and no out in the third inning. Schmidt limited the damage to three runs and then worked two more scoreless innings. Golly threw out a baserunner and Schmidt had a pair of strikeouts in the fourth. Schmidt then started a 1-6-3 inning-ending double play on her last pitch of the game.

Morgan Tomlinson pitched to the minimum six batters in the sixth and seventh inning for the win, striking out five, including the side in the seventh inning to finished off the comeback.

Lutz finished 2 for 3 with a season-high four RBIs and a run scored. The home run in the sixth was her first career homer.

Bailey Backhaus and Dice had two hits each. Golly drove in a pair of runs. The Dragons had 11 hits with three doubles and a homer run. The Dragons were also 5 of 5 in stolen bases.

GAME 1 RECAP – Hutchinson 10, Labette 9
The Blue Dragons had to rally twice in the opening game with the Cardinals.

Labette led 3-1 before the Blue Dragons erupted for five runs in the third, getting consecutive RBI hits from Kaibryn Kruger, Golly and Gabby Stauffer.

The Cardinals then struck for six runs, getting a grand slam from Jaden Jordan, in the fifth inning to take a 9-7 lead. The Blue Dragons immediately answered back with a Bailey Backhaus RBI single. She scored the game-tying run on Kaibryn Kruger's infield RBI single. The Dragons then took a 10-9 lead when Kruger scored on a wild pitch.

Schmidt (2-1) pitched scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh in earn her second victory of the week. She retired the final eight batters she faced with one strikeout.

The Blue Dragons out-hit Labette 15-13.

Bailey Backhaus was 3 for 5 with a double, triple, three runs scored and one RBI. She also had a stolen base. Brooke Backhaus had a season-high three hits, going 3 for 4 with a run scored.

Kaibryn Kruger was 2 for 3 with three runs scored and stole four bases, which tied her own single-game stolen base record she set originally against Fort Hays Tech Northwest.

Golly had two hits and two RBIs. Stauffer had two hits, including a double.