Conquistadors Split a Pair on Windy Sunday at Cavalier Field

The Dodge City Conquistador baseball program ended their four-game series with the Colby Trojans by splitting two games on Sunday afternoon.

The Conquistadors won game one in five innings by a score of 17-7 and lost game two 18-8 in seven innings as both teams invoked the run rule in their respective wins.

Across the 12 innings played on the day, the teams combined for 16 home runs as the wind was blowing out of the outfield, lending itself toward an offensive showcase.

."Hesston to put away the first game, but we pitched very poorly in game 2 and just couldn't put together enough offense to come back," said head coach Phil Stephenson. "We will continue to work at fixing some of our problems during the conference off week and get prepared for our weekend series with ^th"I was happy with the way our guys jumped out in game one Sunday and then put together a 9 run 5

Game One | 17-7 W

The Conquistador offense came ready to play, opening the 1^st inning with two runs and then, after giving up three in the top of the 2^nd, exploding for six more in the bottom of the 2^nd.

Maintaining their 8-3 lead until the 5^th inning, the Trojans looked poised to make a comeback with a four-run 5^th inning. The Conquistadors shut that door with a nine-run 7^th inning to run rule the Trojans 17-7.

After getting on third with a triple, Kyler Copeland scored the innings first run after Noah Thompson brought him home with a single. Two batters later, Trevor Blackwell hit his second home run of the contest, a three-run shot to right field. After loading the bases and meticulously bringing runs home, Noah Thompson ended the game with his second RBI of the inning, a single to right field.

Jake Shafer got the start and the win on the day to improve his record to 3-0 on the year. He went 4.2 innings pitched giving up four hits, seven earned runs, and struck out six. Hunter Moseley came in as relief for the final batter of the game, striking him out and receiving credit for the save.

Offensively, the Conquistadors were led by Blackwell's 3-4 outing with four RBIs and two home runs. Kory Schmidt also added a 3-4 performance with six RBIs. His six RBI's came on only two hits, as he took a ball for a ride with a three-run shot to left field and brought three more home with a bases loaded double.

Game Two | 18-8 L

The Trojans flipped the script on the Conquistadors, giving the Conqs a taste of their own medicine as Colby took game two in an 18-8 run rule victory.

After giving up one-run in the 1^st, the Conquistadors scored four in the 2^nd to take a 4-1 lead. After retaking the lead with a four-run 3^rd inning, the Trojans broke open the contest with a nine-run 4^th inning to extend their grasp to a commanding 14-4 lead.

The Conquistadors got within eight after scoring two runs in response, but the Trojans had every answer, scoring three in the 5^th and one in the 6^th.

Despite scoring eight runs, Braden Dedrick was the lone bright spot for the Conqs, coming through with a 2-3 outing that included four RBIs off of two home runs.

Ashton Jenkins got the start and recorded the loss for the Conquistadors, moving his record to 0-1 on the season.

Barring a schedule change, Dodge City is back in action on Saturday, March 20^th when they travel to Hesston, Kansas to take on the Hesston Larks in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 pm CST. They are back home the next day, Sunday, March 21^st when the Larks return the favor with a doubleheader at Cavalier Field beginning at 1:00 pm CST.