COLLEGIATE BASEBALL
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| 1. Chipola (FL) 2. San Jacinto (TX) 3. Crowder (MO) 4. McLennan (TX) 5. Dyersburg St. (TN) 6. Cowley (KS) 7. Wabash Valley (IL) 8. Polk St. (FL) 9. Iowa Western (IA) 10. Hutchinson (KS) 11. Palm Beach (FL) 12. Chattahoochee Valley (AL) 13. Panola (TX) 14. Georgia Highlands (GA) 15. Florence Darlington (SC) 16. Southern Nevada (NV) 17. Wallace-Dothan (AL) 18. Neosho County (KS) 19. Harford (MD) 20. Connors St. (OK) |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has ranked the Hutchinson Community College baseball team as the No. 10 team in its preseason rankings released on Thursday.
The 2018 Blue Dragons bring back plenty of firepower from last year's 47-13 team that won the Jayhawk West championship and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the NJCAA National Rankings during the season.
Head coach Ryan Schmidt's sixth Hutchinson team features eight returning position players from a team that hit .340 with school records of 92 home runs, 559 runs scored and 674 total hits last season. A total of eight pitchers are back after the 2017 Blue Dragons posted a 4.95 team earned-run average with 7.73 strikeouts per nine innings.
Among the top returning position players are utility player Wyatt Divis, who hit .397 with 82 hits, including 18 doubles and 10 home runs. Divis drove in 61 RBIs.
Outfielder Bobby Morgensen hit .368 with 85 hits (tied for fourth most in Hutchinson single season history), 19 doubles and 10 home runs. Morgensen's 87 RBIs as a freshman tied the Blue Dragon single-season record.
On the mound, Zach Moore is the top returning starter. Moore posted an 8-0 record in his freshman season with a 3.88 ERA. Moore had 43 strikeouts in 54 2-3 innings pitched. He allowed 58 hits.
Closer Dayden Lane is also back. Lane was 3-1 with seven saves in 21 appearances last season. Lane had a team-low 3.60 ERA and strike out 34 in 30 innings pitched.
Hutchinson is one of three Jayhawk Conference teams to be ranked in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. Defending Region VI champion Cowley is No. 6 and Neosho County is No. 18.
Defending national champion Chipola is the preseason No. 1 team. San Jacinto-North is No. 2, followed by Crowder, McLennan and Dyersburg State to close the Top 5. The second five feature Cowley, Wabash Valley, Polk State, Iowa Western and Hutchinson.
The 2018 Blue Dragons begin prep for the 2018 season when classes resume for second semester in January. Hutchinson opens the season with a three-game series at Coffeyville on February 10 and 11. The Blue Dragons will play the first 10 games of the season on the road before opening at Hobart-Detter Field with a doubleheader against Redlands Community College on February 27.