By STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
DODGE CITY – Over just five pitches in the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday, the Hutchinson Community College softball team went from three outs away from falling to the elimination bracket to a walkoff victory.
Easton Head doubled home pinch-runner Cheyenne Collins with the game-winning run to complete only the second final at-bat comeback of the season in a 3-2 victory over Seward County in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament at Legends Park.
The Blue Dragons (28-15) will play top-seeded Colby, a 5-2 winner over Barton on Friday, in a winner's bracket semifinal at 11 a.m.
Hutchinson trailed 2-1 entering the Blue Dragons' final at-bat.
On the third pitch of the inning to clean-up hitter Natalie Bevan, she hit her ninth home run of the season to left field and tie the game at 2-all. On the very next pitch, Carley Sterneker doubled to right-center field and became the potential winning run. That hit also extended Sterneker's hitting streak to 18 games, third longest in program history.
Sterneker was then pinch-ran for by Collins. Head lined the first pitch to her just over the glove of Seward County shortstop Jaci Oakley. Collins scored the game-winning run, giving the Blue Dragons just their second walkoff win of the season and the third win of 2021 when trailing after six innings.
Seward County took a 1-0 lead in the second on an A.J. Luna home run. The Dragons tied the game in the fourth when Lexi Williams scored on the back end of a double steal with Haley Miller. It was Williams' 52nd stolen base of the season and Miller's 28th.
With one out in the sixth, the Saints took a 2-1 lead when Jacie Scott doubled down the left-field line and then scored on Oakley's triple to center.
The Dragons turned to left-handed pitcher Sadie Loney out of the bullpen at that point. She gave up an infield single to Ashley low, but Oakley remained at third. Loney and the Dragons got out of the jam with further damage when Williams threw out Low trying to steal second and Ayanna Clemmons lined out to Head at second base.
The Blue Dragons out-hit Seward County 8-5 with Bevan going 2 for 3. Sterneker had her 18th double of the season, which tied Tori Carruthers (2017) and Nicole Bauer (2008) for third on the Blue Dragon single-season list.
Jordan Galliher pitched 5 1-3 innings in a no-decision. She allowed four hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts and no walks. Galliher did hit a batter.
Loney moved to 5-1 for the season with 1 2-3 innings of relief work. She allowed just that infield single and walked one while striking out two.
The Blue Dragons will play two games for sure and as many as three games on Saturday. A win over Colby advances Hutchinson to the winner's bracket final at 3 p.m. A loss to the Trojans means the Dragons would play an elimination game at 1 p.m. If Hutchinson wins that game, it would play again at 5 p.m. in another elimination game.