Hutchinson CC Sports Information

LIBERAL – The Hutchinson Community College baseball team suffered a most ill-timed doubleheader sweep on Friday as the Seward County Saints defeated the Blue Dragons 8-2 and 13-10 at Brent Gould Field.

The Blue Dragons had their 10-game winning streak snapped, falling to 32-19 overall and 17-13 in the Jayhawk West. For Hutchinson, which slipped to fourth place in the Jayhawk West, to secure a home Region VI opening-round series next week, the Blue Dragons need one win over Seward County or one Cloud County loss against Cloud County on Saturday.

Hutchinson and Seward County will conclude their four-game series at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field. The Blue Dragons will honor their 17 sophomores between games on Saturday.

The Blue Dragons were held to a season-low three hits in the first game, and despite matching Seward County in hits in the second-game at 16-16, the Saints had seven extra-base hits, including three home runs in the second game.

One Blue Dragon did tie a career record on Friday. His is second RBI of Game 2, an RBI groundout; Morgensen tied the Hutchinson career RBI record with his 134th RBI, tying Caden Doga, who set the record in 2017.

GAME 1 RECAP
Garrett Stephens' two doubles and Morgensen's double were the only hits off Seward County starter Tanner King.

Morgensen doubled home Wyatt Divis tie the game in the fourth inning. Then the Blue Dragons took a 2-1 lead on Stephens' second double of the game.

Seward County then tied the game in the bottom of the fourth and broke the game open with a six-run fifth inning.

Mike Brown saw a personal four-game winning streak snapped. After throwing four solid innings, the Saints got to Brown in the fifth. He gave up a season-high 11 hits and eight runs, only four runs were earned, over 4 2-3 innings. Brown struck out six and walked one. He allowed two home runs in falling to 5-2 for the season.

Zach Philbin tossed 1 1-3 scoreless innings.

King struck out six and walked two for the Saints.

Brock Schaffer saw his 16-game hitting streak come to an end. Schaffer's streak was the fifth longest in program history.

GAME 2 RECAP
The Saints jumped out to leads of 8-0 and 10-1 before the Blue Dragon offense finally got going. But the Saints were relentless against five Blue Dragon pitchers.

Dylan Nedved (3-2) allowed eight hits, including two home runs, and eight earned runs in taking the loss for the Dragons. Riley Metzger Ryan Junker and Matt Hopkins allowed a combined five earned runs on only three hits over the next four innings. Ryan Summers worked a scoreless eighth inning.

Trailing 8-0, Morgensen got the Dragons on the board with a solo home run in the fourth.

Down 10-1 in the sixth, the Dragons started to chip away. Ryan Moritz ripped a two-run double, then Zion Bowlin and Brock Schaffer singled in runs in a four-run sixth to cut the deficit to 10-5. Then down 11-5 in the seventh, Morgensen's groundout, a double by Scott Wolverton and an RBI single by Baxley cut the Seward lead to 11-8.

Seward County's Cayde Ward, who was 4 for 4 with five RBIs, in the second game, had a two-out, two-run single in the eighth to keep the Dragons at arm's length.

Baxley went 3 for 5 with two RBIs to lead the Dragons in Game 2. Schaffer, Divis, Wolverton and Bowlin had two hits each.