Dodge City baseball hosted #9 Iowa Western in a four-game series for their home opening action of the 2023 season and battled against the Reivers but suffered four losses in the series. 

On Saturday the Conquistadors fell 9-4 in game one and 13-1 in six innings in game two to Iowa Western. Sunday the Conqs had their closest game with the Reivers falling 6-3 in the third game of the series and then finishing the series with a 16-3 finale dropping the contest in five innings. 

The losses send the Conqs to 3-11 on the season as they will hit the road again on March 3rd-4th for a four-game series in Gainesville, Texas against North Central Texas College. 

Game 1 – Lost 9-4 vs Iowa Western 
The series up with a competitive contest as the Conqs battled with Iowa Western with the Reivers using some late runs to grab the victory. The Conqs opened the scoring as Carson Wright belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the second but Iowa Western countered with a pair of runs in the top of the third to tie the game. In the bottom of the fourth, a solo home run by Brian Hallum gave the Conqs the lead back but the Reivers tied the contest again with a run in the top of the fifth. Tied at 3-3 entering the sixth inning the Conqs saw Iowa Western plate three in the sixth and three more in the seventh while only scoring one themselves leading to a 9-4 final. 

Zandt Payne led the Conqs offense going 2-3 with a run scored and walk, while Wright was 1-3 with a home run, run scored, RBI, and walk. Ethan Hewell, Hallum, and Andrew Detlefsen each added a hit. Tristan Wolf was strong tossing five innings giving up three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out six. 

Game 2 – Lost 13-1 vs Iowa Western (6 innings) 
Day one of the weekend series wrapped up with the visiting Iowa Western Reivers controlling game two of the series. The Conqs fell behind 2-0 in the first inning and Iowa Western tallied another run in the second. The Conqs got on the board in the third inning with a run, but Iowa Western would post six more runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to run rule the game at 13-1 in six innings. 

Conqs managed just one hit as Wright was 1-3 with a run scored, both Cooper Tomkinson and Payne each had a pair of walks. Michael Lopez got the start for the Conqs and tossed 3.1 innings giving up three runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out two. 

Game 3 – Lost 6-3 vs Iowa Western 
The third game of the series was a tight contest throughout, but Conqs were battling back into the game throughout. Iowa Western got on the board with a run in the top of the first inning and the Conqs knotted the game at 1-1 with a solo home run by Caden Matlon in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fifth, the Reivers grabbed the lead back taking advantage of three walks and two Conq errors to score three runs, and then got another run in the top of the sixth. Bottom of the sixth the Conqs cut into the Reiver lead as Hallum opened the inning with a double and scored on an RBI double by Donnie Rhyne who then scored on an RBI single by Nick Mesquita for the second run of the inning. In the top of the seventh Iowa Western got one back to make it 6-3, leading the Conqs' final chance in the contest in the bottom of the seventh. The Conqs worked the bases loaded on a walk, single, and another walk but an out at second and runner inference call would finish the game sending the Conqs to a tough 6-3 loss. 

In the loss, Rhyne was 2-2 with a run scored, RBI, and two doubles, while Tomkinson added a 2-3 showing with a walk. Shea Walker in his first start of the season tossed 4.2 innings giving up just two runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks, and a hit batter while striking out four. 

Game 4 – Lost 16-3 vs Iowa Western 
It was early offense that spearheaded the series finale for Iowa Western against the Conqs as the Reivers plated two in the first, six in the second, and six more in the third. The Conqs got on the board in the bottom of the second with two outs with a two-RBI single by Alex Galyean, while Mesquita led off the third with a double and would come around to score. Iowa Western tagged the Conqs for two more runs over the course of the game ultimately ending the contest 16-3 in five innings. 

In the loss, the Conqs had just four hits as Cole Babich, Galyean, Hewell, and Mesquita, as Michael DeBattista got the start for the Conqs on the mound. Trenton Chenard threw 2.1 innings of relief giving up two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out one.