Dodge City baseball opened Jayhawk Conference play by hosting #16 Hutchinson Blue Dragons on Thursday and were unable to stay with the Blue Dragons, falling 17-3 and 17-6.
The Conquistadors, with the losses, fall to 11-10 on the season and open KJCCC action 0-2.
The series with Hutchinson continues on Saturday, March 14th, with a doubleheader slated to start at 1:00 pm.
Game 1 – Lost 17-3 vs #16 Hutchinson (6 innings)
The home run ball played a big part on the day, and the Conqs fell behind early as Hutchinson belted their first home run of four in game one in the first inning. Hutchinson tacked on three more runs in the second and another two in the third via a two-run homer, leading 6-0. In the bottom of the third, the Conqs got a double by
Jonah Andrade, and then
Hunter Morgan followed with a single to drive in the Conqs' first run. Conqs got another run in the fourth and then another in the fifth on a solo home run by
Angel Vazquez, but Hutchinson scored five in the fourth, one in the fifth, and five more in the sixth. The Conqs, needing runs in the sixth to stay alive in the contest, went down in order, suffering the 17-3 loss.
In the loss, the Conqs managed just five hits as
Preston Harrison was 2-3, while Morgan, Vazquez, and Andrade each had a hit. Hutchinson tallied 17 hits on the day. Four different Conqs saw action on the mound in the loss.
Game 2 – Lost 17-6 vs #16 Hutchinson (7 innings)
Conqs were unable to wrangle in the bats of Hutchinson in game two, and the Blue Dragons opened the game by batting around in the first inning on their way to scoring five runs. After holding Hutchinson off the scoreboard in the top of the second, the Conqs responded offensively with three runs, including a two-run homer by
Will Soto, as the Conqs batted around in the second and pulled within two, trailing just 5-3. Hutchinson countered in the third with four runs and then two more in the fourth before the Conqs got on the board again in the fifth inning as Soto belted his second two-run homer on the day. Both teams scratched a run across in the sixth with an RBI double from
Ben Longoria, bringing in the Conqs' run. But in the seventh, the Blue Dragons nearly batted around again and tallied five, meaning the Conqs had to score in the bottom of the seventh to stay alive, and were unable to do so, falling 17-6 in seven innings.
Offensively, the Conqs got the bats going with 14 hits but were unable to match Hutchinson in the run column. Soto led the Conqs with a 3-4 outing with two home runs, two runs scored, and four RBI.
Nic Cipolla was 2-4 with two runs scored, while Vazquez, Andrade, and Morgan each had a two-hit game. Hutchinson had 15 hits in the contest and drew 11 free passes. Three Conqs saw action on the mound in the loss.
