Dodge City baseball team opened a four-game series with Butler on Thursday at home for a doubleheader and split with the Grizzles claiming victory in game one 5-3 in walk-off fashion and falling 11-8 in game two.
The split moves the Conquistadors to 24-19 on the season and 11-11 in KJCCC action.
Conqs hit the road on Friday, April 22nd to take on Butler to wrap up the KJCCC series with the Grizzles.
Game 1 – vs Butler Won 5-3
The Conqs snapped an eight-game losing streak to Butler in electric fashion as they picked up a walk-off comeback win in game one. Conqs initiated the scoring as
Aidan Proctor blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to take the 1-0 lead. Butler tied the game up in the top of the third with their first run of the game and then grabbed the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to lead 3-1. After working the several scoring opportunities throughout the game, the Conqs finally broke through again in the bottom of the seventh.
James Dunlap brings in a run on a single to make it 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh and then with two runners on
Trevor Blackwell tattooed a three-run home run to lead the Conqs to the 5-3 win.
A quartet of Conqs led the offensive attack each recording a pair of hits. Proctor was 2-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and an RBI, while Blackwell was 2-4 with three RBI, a home run, and a run scored.
Kory Schmidt added a 2-2 game with a walk and
Jake Miller was 2-3 with a double.
Shea Walker was solid on the mound earning the win tossing all seven innings giving up just three runs on nine hits and a walk and struck out four.
Game 2 – vs Butler Loss 11-8
The second game of the day saw Butler take early control by plating four runs in the first and second innings each and then two more in the top of the third. The Conqs started to chip away at the Butler lead in the bottom of the third as
Cale Blasi led the inning off with a double and game into score on a
James Dunlap RBI single and then
Kory Schmidt added a three-run home run in the inning to make it 10-4 after three innings. The Conqs would draw closer in the fifth plating three runs with a
Camden Thrailkill two-RBI double highlighting the inning and then tacked on another run in the sixth to trail just 10-8. It remained a two-run game until the ninth as
Zack Robinson came out of the bullpen and tossed five scoreless innings of relief to keep the Conqs in the contest while they started to come back. In the top of the ninth Butler added an insurance run and would stymie the Conqs bats in the bottom of the ninth to give the Grizzles the 11-8 win.
A three-hit contest by Dunlap led the Conqs offense as he was 3-4 with three runs scored, a triple, RBI, and a walk. Schmidt had another multi-hit game going 2-5 with four RBI, a home run, and two runs scored. Robinson was stout in relief for the Conqs throwing five scoreless innings giving up just three hits and a walk, with one strikeout.
