HUTCHINSON, Kan. - It took nearly three and a half hours in a defensive battle, but the Hutchinson Monarchs found a way to get it done. Blake Bradford came up with a single to center to score Drew Bugner for a 12-winning 4-3 walk-off victory over Newton at Hobart-Detter Field late Wednesday night.
The Monarch pitchers were outstanding with Brock Rod (10), Reed Scott (4), Derrick Johnson (1), Carson Cornelius (4) and Kamden Edge (2) have combined for 21 strikeouts to set a new Monarch single-game strikeout record.
Newton made it dramatic by scoring 2 runs in the top of the ninth then had two on base with a pair of walks bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate for the Rebels, but Reed Scott gets a pair of strikeouts to close the inning.
Lost in the excitement of a walk-off win was the fact that D.J. Merriweather launched a two-run home run to center field to give the Monarchs a 3-1 lead heading to the 8th after the game was tied 1-1.
Same two teams match up tonight in Newton with the first pitch set for 7pm at Centennial Park.
Hutch returns home Friday and Saturday night with games that can be heard and watched on hutchpost.com.