Conq Softball Splits with Barton, Drops Two to Hutch in Back-to-Back

The Dodge City Conquistador softball team hosted the Barton Cougars on Sunday, April 18^th and the Hutchinson Blue Dragons on Monday, April 19^th for a pair of double headers.

The Conquistadors split with Barton, winning game one 4-3 and losing game to 3-4. They dropped two in a row to Hutchinson on Monday by scores of 2-12 and 4-7.

In game one against the Cougars, Barton jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning before the Conquistadors took the lead with a three-run 3^rd inning to go up 3-0. Barton was able to tie the score with an RBI triple in the 5^th. Neither team was able to score, leading into an extra-innings affair.

After holding Barton scoreless in the 8^th, a Stephanie Torres hard ground ball up the middle-scored Caroline Stephenson for the game winning run, 4-3.

Game two saw the Cougars again jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Conqs would get one in the 2^nd off an Olivia Ortiz double to score Makayla Kolojay to pull within 2-1. They would take a 3-2 lead with two runs in the 5^th off RBIs by Kalei Villegas and KarliAnn Bauer. It was the Cougars who had the late game magic this time, scoring two runs in the 7^th off a two-RBI double to take a 4-3 lead. The visitors would hold Dodge City scoreless in the bottom half to salvage a sweep on the day.

Game one on Monday belonged entirely to the Hutchinson Blue Dragons. The visitors, who sit second in the KJCCC West, scored 12 runs in the first three innings while holding the Conquistadors scoreless until the bottom of the 5^th. Caroline Stephenson provided the lone bright spot in the game one loss with a solo home run to left field, the first of her career. The Conquistadors were able to score one more run off a Kalei Villegas groundout to score Olivia Ortiz, but couldn't muster any more of a comeback to extend the game, losing 12-2.

The Conquistadors came out in game two with something to prove, taking a 4-1 lead after three innings. Daysha Mendez homered in the first at bat of the game for Dodge City in the 1^st inning, then Hutch tied it at 1-1 with a run of their own in the top of the 3^rd. The Conqs brought three home in the 3^rd, including a Makayla Garcia two-run home run, to make the score 4-1.

Hutchinson pulled closer with a run in the 5^th to make the score 4-2 before heading into the top of the 7^th with the same deficit. The Blue Dragons scored two to tie the game at 4-4, held the Conquistador offense scoreless in the bottom of the 7^th, then scored three more in extra innings to take a 7-4 lead. The Conquistadors put three solid hits on the ball in the bottom of the 8^th, but the Blue Dragon defense made three remarkable defensive plays to close out the comeback and earn a sweep on the day.

The four-game spread moved Dodge City's record to 12-16 on the season and 7-11 in KJCCC play. The Conquistadors are back in action at home on Saturday, April 24^th when they host the Northwest Kansas Tech Mavericks for Sophomore Day with game one starting at 1:00 pm.

Follow the Conqs

For complete coverage of Conquistador Softball, follow the Conqs on social media at @DC3Softball on Twitter or @DC3_Softball on Instagram. Follow the official social media accounts of Conquistador athletics by clicking any of the links below!