After finishing sixth in the KJCCC, the Dodge City baseball team traveled to Arkansas City, Kansas, for the opening round of the Region 6 playoffs to take on Cowley in a best-of-three series.
The Conquistadors pushed the Tigers but were unable to get into the win column, falling 8-2 in game one and 10-5 in game two, ending the season 24-31.
Game 1 – Lost 8-2 at Cowley
Offense was a premium for the Conqs to open the series, recording only five hits in game one while Cowley tallied 10 hits. The Tigers grabbed the early lead, tallying three runs in the second, and the game remained 3-0 until the bottom of the fifth, when Cowley doubled their lead with three runs to go up 6-0. After a run in the sixth by Cowley, the Conqs broke through in the eighth, working the bases loaded, and a sacrifice fly by
Angel Vazquez drove in a run before a wild pitch brought in another to make it 7-2. Cowley got a run back in the bottom of the eighth, and the Conqs went down in order in the ninth to fall 8-2.
In the loss,
Ben Longoria was 2-4, while
Jordi Guerrero went 1-2 with a run scored. Vazquez added a 1-3 game with an RBI, while
Will Soto had the lone other hit for the Conqs. On the mound,
Cameron Stewart tossed 5.2 innings as the starter, while
Saul Coronado tossed 1.1 scoreless innings, and
Lane French capped the game by throwing an inning.
Game 2 – Lost 10-5 at Cowley
Conqs found themselves down early in the second game of the series as they tried to climb back into the contest from the early portion of the game. Cowley plated three runs in the first and second innings each to lead 6-0 after just two innings. In the third, the Conqs got on the board with an RBI double from Longoria, and then a groundout by
Preston Harrison brought in another run. Cowley tallied a run in the bottom of the third, but the Conqs tallied another in the fourth on a bases loaded walk draw by
Bynum Martinez. Leading 7-3, Cowley belted a solo home run in the sixth to tack on another run and would get two more in the eighth, while the Conqs tallied a run in the seventh and eighth innings each with a Soto home run in the eighth. The late runs were not enough to help the Conqs come back as they fell 10-5 to finish the season.
The Conqs in the loss out-hit Cowley 12-7, led by a 3-4 game from
Hunter Morgan, who had two doubles with a run scored.
Jonah Andrade added a 2-2 game with two walks, while Longoria went 2-4 with two RBI and a double.
Cameron Stukenborg added a 2-4 performance.
Five different Conqs saw action on the mound with
Michael Bizier tossing two innings as the starter, while
Aydin Ruiz threw 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Sam Spencer, Coronado, and
Dariel Luna all saw action.
