HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Salina Central completed a doubleheader sweep of Hutchinson on Tuesday at Hobart-Detter Field, rolling past the Salthawks 11-0 in six innings in Game 1 before pulling away for a 20-6 win in five innings in the nightcap.
The Mustangs improved to 17-1 with the sweep, while Hutchinson dropped to 2-18.
Salina Central jumped on the Salthawks early in both games, scoring six runs in the first inning of the opener and taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning of Game 2 before steadily adding on.
In the opener, Salina Central piled up 11 hits and took advantage of three Hutchinson errors in an 11-0 run-rule victory.
Parker Graves led the Mustangs in Game 1, going 3 for 4 with three runs scored, two RBIs and a triple. Eli Kreighbaum went 3 for 3 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored, while Grayton Gross added three hits and two RBIs. Griffin Hall and Chance Hogan each drove in two runs.
Salina Central broke the game open immediately with a six-run first inning. Graves delivered an RBI single, Kreighbaum was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in another run, Hall added an RBI single, and Hogan capped the inning with a two-run single to right.
The Mustangs added two more in the second when Graves tripled home a run and Gross followed with an RBI groundout to make it 8-0. Kreighbaum added an RBI double in the fourth, then doubled home two more in the sixth.
Hutchinson managed just three hits in the first game, getting singles from Brodie McCuan, Landon Haugsness and Merrick Brotzman.
Brotzman took the loss for the Salthawks, allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, on 11 hits over six innings. Salina Central’s Chance Hogan tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing three hits while striking out three and walking three.
Game 2 followed a similar pattern early, as Salina Central scored three runs in the first, three more in the second and two in the third to build an 8-0 lead.
The Mustangs finished with 14 hits in the nightcap and again capitalized on Hutchinson miscues, taking advantage of five Salthawk errors.
Grayton Gross sparked the Salina Central offense in Game 2, going 3 for 5 with four runs scored and four RBIs. Parker Graves scored three times and drove in three runs, while Eli Kreighbaum finished 2 for 4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored. Griffin Hall added two hits, two runs and an RBI, and Aidan Hammond had two hits and two RBIs.
Hutchinson answered with its best offensive stretch of the day in the bottom of the third. McCuan singled and later scored, then Payne Young ripped a two-run double to right to bring the Salthawks within 8-3.
After Salina Central extended the lead to 12-3 in the fourth, the Mustangs broke the game open with an eight-run fifth. Gross doubled and later added a two-run single in the inning, Kreighbaum delivered a two-run triple, Hall doubled in a run, and Jaxon Lewick added an RBI single as the lead ballooned to 20-3.
The Salthawks did not go quietly in the bottom half. Haugsness reached on a bunt single and came home on an error, Brotzman later scored on Eli Atha’s sacrifice fly, and Kam Wilson added an RBI single as Hutchinson plated three runs in the inning.
Hutchinson finished with six hits in Game 2. Young went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, McCuan was 1 for 2 and scored once, Haugsness went 1 for 3 and scored, Oak Williams scored twice, and Wilson drove in a run.
McCuan took the loss after allowing six runs, three earned, in two innings. Mello Green, GeVaugn Embers and Oak Williams also saw time on the mound for Hutchinson.
Lamar Bates earned the win for Salina Central, allowing six runs, three earned, on six hits over five innings.
Hutchinson will return to action Friday afternoon when it hosts a triangular with Andale/Garden Plain and Haven at Hobart-Detter Field.