Dodge City softball wrapped up their season in the Region 6 Tournament going 1-2 in competition. The Conquistadors entered the postseason as the fifth seed for the Region 6 Tournament and took on Garden City in the opening round falling 13-2 in six innings on day one and then would stave off elimination against Pratt with a 14-4 five-inning win. On day two the Conqs would fall in a tight battle against Hutchinson 4-3.
The Conqs cap the season 27-28 with a 14-game win improvement from year one to year two under Head Coach,
Mike Viramontez. The 27 wins are the most in a season for the Conqs since 2005 (won 30 games that season) and the 18-14 KJCCC record for the team is the first winning KJCCC record since 2019.
Game 1 – Lost 13-2 vs Garden City (6 innings)
The Conqs would fall behind early as Garden City would score early and often in the first-round clash. Garden City tallied two runs in the first and then added two in the second and three in the third to lead 7-0 after three innings. The Conqs would get on the board in the fourth as
Riley Moore led the inning off with a walk followed by a double by
Rylie Miller and a ground out by
Anistyn Marcotte would drive in a run. Garden City countered with two in the fourth to lead 9-1 and in the fifth, the Conqs would stay alive in the game with a run on an RBI single by Moore. In the bottom of the sixth Garden City belted a grand slam to finish the game at 13-2 in six innings.
The Conqs would be outhit in the first-round loss 17-6 as Moore was 2-2 with a run scored, RBI, and walk.
Elly Tancayo,
Whitley Cash,
Kloe Nelson, and Miller each had a hit.
Game 2 – Won 14-4 vs Pratt (5 innings)
After a tough first-round loss the Conqs bounced back in a big way to stay alive in the Region 6 Tournament and compete on day two of the tournament. The Conqs wasted little time taking control of the game against Pratt plating six runs in the bottom of the first while batting around. Tancayo would drive in the first run for the Conqs and then a fielder's choice brought in the second of the inning, while Marcotte would blast a grand slam to make it 6-0. After Pratt tallied a run in the top of the second the Conqs set eight to the plate in the second and scored five runs highlighted by a three-run home run by
Campbell Anderson. Pratt would not go away scoring three in the third but again the Conqs would find a way onto the scoreboard as
Josie Oakley drove in two runs on a single in the bottom of the third. In the fourth, the Conqs tacked on another run as
Dezarae Schmidt led the inning off with a double and
Hannah Garcia drove her in on an RBI single. The Conqs shut the door on Pratt in the top of the fifth securing the 14-4 five-inning victory.
Frankie Martens was strong in the circle to earn the win tossing four innings, giving up four runs on four hits and one walk.
Jordyn Boxberger tossed a scoreless fifth inning to cap the game.
Conqs offense pounded out 14 hits with four Conqs recording a multi-hit game and nine different Conqs notching a hit in the game. Oakley was 3-3 with two runs scored and two RBI, while
Karen Galaviz was 2-4 with two runs scored and a double. Cash added a 2-2 game with three runs scored, an RBI, and a walk, while Tancayo was 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Game 3 – Lost 4-3 vs Hutchinson
The Conqs took to the field for their second straight elimination game of the Region 6 Tournament and would play Hutchinson. The game would be tight just like the previous two meetings for the team earlier in the season in Dodge City which the teams split. Hutchinson would take the early lead scoring two runs in the first inning but had a chance for more, the Blue Dragons added one more in the second to lead 3-0. In the top of the third, the Conqs would break through as Boxberger led the inning off with a single and Nelson reached on an error.
Karen Galaviz would get the Conqs on the board with an RBI single and Tancayo followed with an RBI single, then a sacrifice fly by Cash would even the game at 3-3. It would remain 3-3 until the bottom of the fifth with Hutchinson plated a run to go up 4-3. After a scoreless sixth by both teams, the Conqs were down to their final three outs and Nelson would lead off the seventh with a single up the middle, but the Conqs would not be able to score falling 4-3.
The Conqs had eight hits in the loss but five came between Nelson and Tancayo, as Nelson was 2-3 with a run scored and Tancayo was 3-3 with an RBI, a walk, and a double. Miller, Galaviz, and Boxberger each had a hit. Boxberger tossed 4.1 solid innings giving up four runs on six hits and three walks, while
Shyann Clark threw 1.2 innings.