STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
GAINESVILLE, Texas – The Hutchinson Community College softball team had some fun in the seventh innings of Saturday's non-conference doubleheader at North Central Texas College.
Trailing by a run entering the seventh inning of Game 1, the Blue Dragons exploded for six runs in their final at-bat en route to an 11-7 victory. Trailing by four runs entering the final inning of Game 2, Hutchinson scored three, but stranded the tying run at third in a 7-6 loss to NCTC to split the doubleheader.
The Blue Dragons are now 4-2 overall. Hutchinson completes its weekend trip south with a Noon doubleheader on Sunday against Murray State in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Hutchinson plays its 2020 home opener on Wednesday against the Oklahoma Wesleyan JV at Fun Valley.
The first game featured four lead changes with the final exchange coming in the Blue Dragon seventh.
Trailing 6-5, sophomore shortstop Caitlin Schumacher tied the game single that drove in Kylee Dunn. Making her season debut after missing the first four games with injury, sophomore center fielder Alexis Way gave Hutch 7-6 lead with an RBI double to score Dunn. Bailey Pennycuff's two-run single through the right side make it 9-6. A Lexi Williams single drove in Pennycuff to make it 10-6. Maryssa Rollin made it a six-run inning to give Hutch an 11-6 lead.
The Blue Dragons had a much bigger hole to dig out of in the second game.
The Dragons trailed 7-3 entering their final at-bat. Williams led off the seventh with a single and scored from first on Rollin's RBI double to make it 7-4. A walk and an error loaded the bases with one out. Schumacher then laced a 3-1 pitch to right field to score pinch-runner Trinity Ensminger and Jaedyn Miller to cut the North Central lead to 7-6. The rally stopped there as North Central got the final two outs on a pop-up and hard groundball out to shortstop.
GAME 1 RECAPThe Blue Dragons hammered out 13 hits, three for extra-bases in a back-and-forth first game with North Central.
Williams went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI to lead the Blue Dragons. Rollin was 2 for 4 with a pair of RBIs. Dunn also went 2 for 4 and Pennycuff was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIS. Way's only hit was the big two-run double in the seventh. Taylor Ullery had a triple.
Sadie Loney worked 2 1-3 innings in her second start of the season. She allowed three hits and four runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Jessika Gomez came out of the bullpen to work 2-3 inning. Rollin (1-1) picked up her first pitching victory with four innings of work out of the bullpen. She allowed five hits, two runs and two walks while striking out two.
GAME 2 RECAPThe Blue Dragons were shut out to NCTC pitcher Elizabeth Schroeter. By the time the Blue Dragons cracked the scoreboard, North Central led 6-0 after a five-run fifth.
A Williams RBI groundout and Rollin two-out RBI single in the fifth cut the Dragon deficit to 6-2. Down 7-2, Pennycuff had another run-producing hit in the top of the sixth to plate Dunn and cut the deficit to four after six innings.
Hutchinson had eight hits in Game 2 led by Rolling and Schumacher, who had two hits and two RBIs each. Dunn Rollin and Ullery all had doubles for the Blue Dragons.
Freshman Jordan Galliher (1-1) took the loss, working three innings. She allowed five hits and four earned runs while walking two and striking out two. Gomez pitched the final three innings with four hits and three runs allowed.