Dodge City baseball opened Jayhawk Conference play starting a four-game series with #21 Hutchinson with a doubleheader at home and would split the twinbill winning game one 8-2 but falling 23-11 in game two.
The split moves the Conquistadors to 12-4 on the season and 1-1 in KJCCC play. The Conqs snapped a five-game losing streak in the series against the Blue Dragons of Hutchinson.
The series transitions to Hutchinson on Saturday, March 8th where teams will play another doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm.
Game 1 – Won 8-2 vs Hutchinson
The day would start with Hutchinson threatening to take the lead early getting a pair of base runners in the top of the first but Conqs starting pitcher,
Will David and the Conqs defense would get out of the early jam and keep the Blue Dragons off the board. In the bottom of the first the Conqs would send eight to the plate and behind three hits, two walks, and a sacrifice fly would score three runs. Hutchinson would strand four more runners over the next three innings as the Conqs continually worked around Blue Dragon runners. In the bottom of the fourth, a solo home run by
Cameron Stukenborg made it a 4-0 lead for the Conqs, while the Conqs tacked on two more in the fifth and sixth innings each to lead 8-0. An RBI double by
Ben Longoria and RBI triple by
Josh McGuin highlighted the fifth. Leading 8-0 entering the seventh inning David looked for the complete game on the mound for the Conqs and would throw all seven innings but Hutchinson would score two to break up the shutout as the Conqs won 8-2.
David earned the win on the mound his third of the season tossing all seven innings giving up just two runs on seven hits, four walks, and recording four strikeouts.
Longoria led the Conqs offense going 3-3 with a double, run scored, and three RBI.
Seth Brown added a 2-3 performance with a run scored and a walk.
Game 2 – Lost 23-11 vs Hutchinson
The second game of the day would see plenty of offense on both sides with an outpouring of runs late by Hutchinson to give them the win. After a scoreless first Hutchinson would tally three runs in the second inning as the Conqs countered with just one on a solo home run by
Cory Chostner. Blue Dragons would double their output on the scoreboard with three more runs in the third while the Conqs got a pair of runs off a two-RBI single by McGuin. In the fourth Hutchinson belted a two-run home run to lead 8-3 but the Conqs would answer with five runs in the bottom of the fourth highlighted by two RBI doubles from Longoria and
Josh McClintock each to tie the game. The Conqs grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fifth with one run to lead 9-8 but Hutchinson would answer in a big way scoring 10 in the sixth and five in the seventh while the Conqs managed just two more runs and fell 23-11 in seven innings.
Chostner led the Conqs at the plate in the loss going 2-2 with a home run, four runs scored, an RBI, and two walks. Stukenborg added a 2-4 game with a run scored and two doubles, while Brown was 2-4 with two runs scored, two RBI, and a walk.
Juan Concepcion added a multi-hit game going 2-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Five guys saw action on the mound for the Conqs in the loss.
