Dodge City baseball welcomed Dawson to town for the second time, ultimately the same outcome as the previous, as the Conquistadors earned a pair of victories 10-5 and 9-8.
The wins move the Conqs to 8-4 on the season, having won four in a row and seven of their last eight games.
Conqs continue their stretch at home on Monday, February 23rd, when they take on Northwestern Oklahoma State University JV for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm. They will then head out on the road on February 27th-28th for a four-game series in Hobbs, New Mexico, with New Mexico Junior College.
Game 1 – Won 10-5 vs Dawson
After moving the start time back a few hours due to high winds, the game would start with a ball being carried out of the ballpark off the bat of Dawson as they opened the day with a solo home run. That would, however, be the only one in the game for a while, as the next run was not scored until the bottom of the fourth by the Conqs. A double to leadoff the fourth by
Ben Longoria got things started for the Conqs, and
Preston Harrison drove him in with an RBI double, and
Will Soto then drove in Harrison on an RBI single to give the Conqs a 2-1 lead.
Dawson took advantage of a leadoff double in the top of the fifth to get a run and draw even, but the Conqs responded with three in the bottom of the fifth with two hit batters, a walk, a sac-fly, and a double by
Hunter Morgan, helping them score three. After a run in the sixth by Dawson, the Conqs batted around in the sixth, scoring six runs, capitalizing on five walks, and despite giving up a two-run home run in the seventh, secured the 10-5 win.
On the mound,
Austen Raines went 4.2 innings as the starter, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk, while striking out four. Starling Bevereding out of the bullpen earned the win in 2.1 innings, giving up three runs on one hit, a walk, and a hit batter, while striking out three.
Conqs only had five hits was Soto was 1-3 with three RBI, Harrison was 1-4 with a double, a run scored, and two RBI, and Longoria went 1-3 with two runs scored, a double, and an RBI.
Ty Hamilton,
Angel Vazquez, and
Hunter Morgan each added a hit.
Game 2 – Won 9-8 vs Dawson
The second game of the twinbill saw
Aiden Allred control things on the mound early for the Conqs as he would stymie the bats of Dawson through the first four innings. The Conqs grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second, scoring three, highlighted by a two RBI double from
Jordi Guerrero. Another run in the third and three more in the fourth gave the Conqs a 7-0 advantage after four innings. In the fifth, Dawson got into the Conqs bullpen and took advantage, scoring two runs, but the Conqs countered with a two-run homer by Soto in the bottom of the fifth to lead 9-2. Dawson then took advantage of some walks in the sixth, scoring three, and then got two on via a hit by a pitch in the seventh before belting a three-run homer to make it a one-run game. Leading 9-8, the Conqs needed just one more out to finish out the contest, and
Sam Spencer picked up a strikeout to cap the game.
Allred earned the win on the mound as he threw a strong 4.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits, no walks, and two hit batters, while striking out nine.
Guerrero helped pace the Conqs offense as he was 2-3 with a double, a run scored, and three RBI, while
Cameron Stukenborg was 2-3 with two runs scored and a double.
