Dodge City softball earned a split against the Hutchinson Blue Dragons at home, splitting the season series, marking the first time since 2016 the Conquistadors have beaten Hutchinson at least twice in one season.
The Conqs held on in game one, 4-3 to start the day, while Hutchinson had early offense in game two, leading to a 9-0 five-inning win.
The split moves the Conqs to 35-13 on the season and 17-5 in KJCCC action. The win in game one gave the Conqs a 10-game win streak, the longest win streak under Head Coach
Mike Viramontez in his three seasons.
Up next, the Conqs continue conference play, heading back on the road to take on Butler on April 22nd.
Game 1 – Won 4-3 vs Hutchinson
The Conqs set the tone early, sitting Hutchinson down one-two-three at the top of the first, and went on to grab the lead in the bottom of the first.
Cadie McCracken got things started with a double, and two batters later,
Riley Moore drove her in, making it 1-0. In the third, the Conqs added to the lead with a double, double, and triple to lead off the inning from
Karen Galaviz, McCracken, and
Avery McCloskey, as McCracken and McCloskey each tallied an RBI to make it 3-0. A solo home run by
Sophie Faidley in the fourth pushed the Conqs' lead to 4-0. Hutchinson didn't go away quietly, scoring two in the sixth, including a solo home run, and then two Conq errors in the seventh brought in another run for Hutchinson, making it a one-run game while having the tying run on base.
Karli George then picked up the first out of the inning, and
Shyann Clark came in to retire the next two batters, securing the 4-3 win.
George was phenomenal in the circle, earning her 15th win of the season, going 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out eight. Clark picked up her second save of the season, getting the final two outs of the matchup.
McCracken paced the Conqs offense, going 2-2 with two runs scored, an RBI, two doubles, and a walk. The Conqs recorded eight hits with six going for extra bases.
Game 2 – Lost 9-0 vs Hutchinson (5 innings)
The second game of the day saw Hutchinson tag the Conqs for some early runs, and the Conqs offense was unable to ever get rolling. The Blue Dragons scratched a run across in the first but then batted around in the second to score five and lead 6-0. Hutchinson tacked on three runs in the third and led 9-0. The Conqs offense had their best scoring opportunity in the third with a pair of hits, but went on to strand five runners in the game and were unable to score, falling 9-0 in five innings.
The Conqs had just three hits with a double from
Loren Sweat and Galaviz each, and Faidley was 1-1 with a hit by pitch. McCloskey went just 1.2 innings as the starter, while Clark tossed the final 3.1 innings of action.
