Hutchinson CC Sports Information
GARDEN CITY – After letting Game 3 slip away on Sunday at Garden City, the Hutchinson Community College baseball team battled hard to make sure that didn't happen in Game 4.
The Blue Dragons dropped a 4-2 decision in Game 3 of this weekend's four-game Jayhawk West series with Garden City. Then Matt Hopkins tossed three strong innings of relief as Hutchinson held on for a 9-8 victory on Sunday at Williams Stadium.
Hutchinson wins its second Jayhawk West series of the season and is 2-0-2 in four conference series. The Blue Dragons are 19-13 overall and are tied with Butler for second place in the Jayhawk West at 10-6, just one game behind Butler. Garden City is now 18-12 (4-8).
GAME 2 RECAP
Hutchinson led the first game 2-0 on Sunday before Garden City scored four unanswered runs to capture its first win of the series. The Blue Dragons led the second game 4-0 and 9-6 only to see the Broncbusters rally again.
Hopkins entered the game with the Dragons leading 9-6 and after the first two Garden City batters of the seventh reached on walks. Garden City scored two unearned runs on a Blue Dragon error to pull within 9-8 with only one out. Hopkins went on to strikeout the next two Busters he faced to get out of the jam.
Hopkins then struck out three in the eighth and after a one-out walk, the Blue Dragon sophomore fanned the final two batters he face to earn his first save of the season.
The Blue Dragons took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Zane Schmidt hit his fourth home run of the series, a two-run shot, to right field. Will Reetz ripped a two-run triple to right center in the second to make it 4-0. The Busters went 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the second and scored five to take a 5-4 lead. Ryan Moritz's RBI double scored Zion Bowlin in the top of the third to tie the game at 5-all.
Hutch scored on a pair in the top of the fifth to take a 7-5 lead when Dylan Nedved laced a double to left-center to score Logan Sartori. Nedved scored on the back end of a double-steal attempt. Hutch added an unearned run in the sixth and Schmidt scored on a double play in the seventh to lead 9-6.
Schmidt led Hutchinson's 11-hit attack by going 3 for 4 with his 13th home run of the season with two RBIs and two runs scored. Schmidt went 8 for 16 with four home runs and eight RBIs in the series.
Nedved was 2 for 5 with a double, RBI and run scored. Zach Baxley was 2 for 4 with a pair of runs scored. Reetz drove in two with his triple.
Ryan Summers (4-1) entered the game with two outs in the second inning for starter Mike Brown. Summers earned the win with 3 1-3 innings out of the bullpen. He struck out five, but walked four. Summers, Matt Delcambre and Hopkins didn't allow a hit for the final four innings.
The final game of the series was the first game of the series that the team that scored the first run of the game won the game.
GAME 1 RECAP
Leading 2-1 after 4 1/2 innings, the Blue Dragons couldn't survive a three-run Garden City fifth. Turner McDonald tied the game for the Busters with an RBI single and then Corbin Truslow hit a go-ahead double to give Garden City a 4-2 lead after five innings.
The Dragons scored first on Nedved's first-inning RBI double in the top of the first. Bowlin made it 2-0 when he led off the fourth with his second home run of the year.
Nedved (2-2) took the loss after going four full innings. He allowed four hits, four runs, three years runs and struck out six while walking two. Cade Fenton worked a perfect sixth with a strikeout. Zach Philbin struck out three and allowed two hits in a scoreless sixth inning.