Dodge City baseball picked up a pair of wins on the road in conference play, with a pitching duel in game one and an offensive explosion for the Conquistadors in game two.
The Conqs picked up a 1-0 win in game one on the road against Pratt and then followed up with a 17-7 eight-inning win to sweep the doubleheader.
The wins move the Conqs to 18-25 on the season, 7-15 in conference play, and their 13th win over Pratt in the last 15 meetings.
The series will wrap up against Pratt on Saturday, April 18th in Dodge City with doubleheader starting at 2:00 pm.
Game 1 – Won 1-0 at Pratt
Base runners were far and few between in the series opener as both teams generated a few guys on base but would be unable to score through the first six innings of action. Finally, in the top of the seventh, the Conqs grabbed the lead behind a solo home run from
Preston Harrison, as the hit was only the Conqs second of the ballgame at the time.
Cameron Stewart, who had navigated the for the Conqs on the mound throughout the contest, worked around a single in the bottom of the seventh, and the Conqs secured the 1-0 win.
Stewart was nails on the mound as he tossed a complete game shutout for his fifth win of the season. In seven innings, Stewart gave up just four hits and issued no walks, while striking out seven.
Conqs had just three hits in the win with Harrison delivering the solo home run, while
Lex Lummus and
Angel Vazquez each tallied a hit.
Game 2 – Won 17-7 at Pratt (8 innings)
The offense opened game two as the Conqs jumped up early and used the lead to earn the victory and doubleheader sweep over Pratt. The Conqs scored in the first four innings of the action, establishing a 10-0 lead. Pratt would have several miscues over the course of the ballgame, including five errors, in which the Conqs took advantage of starting in the first inning. Working the bases loaded, the Conqs went on to tally three runs in the first and then added three more in the second as
Cameron Stukenborg had an RBI single in each inning.
In the third and fourth innings, the Conqs scratched two more runs across the board in each frame. Pratt got on the board for the first time on the day in the fifth with a pair of runs. The Conqs countered in a big way as
Ben Longoria belted a grand slam in the sixth, making it 14-2. Pratt continued to fight, scoring five runs in the sixth inning. After a scoreless seventh, the Conqs returned to the scoreboard in the eighth, scoring three, including a two-run home run by Stukenborg, and led 17-7. In the bottom of the eighth, the Conqs worked around a leadoff hit batter and closed out the game 17-7 in eight innings.
Conqs had plenty of offense with 16 hits and drew nine walks. Vazquez had a strong ballgame, going 5-6 with five runs scored and an RBI, while
Bynum Martinez added a 4-5 game with five runs scored and an RBI. Stukenborg added a 3-6 game with a home run, four RBI, and a run scored. Longoria also had a multi-hit game, going 2-3 with three runs scored and five RBI.
Michael Bizier earned the win, tossing 5.1 solid innings, giving up five runs on three hits and five walks, with four strikeouts.
Aydin Ruiz threw solid 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, giving up just one hit and striking out one.
