STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College baseball team suffered through a rough day both offensively and defensively and dropped a pair of one-run decisions to the Barton Cougars to open the 2020 Jayhawk West season on Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field.
Held to nine total hits combined, the Blue Dragons lost 4-3 and 3-2. Hutchinson had its 10-game winning streak snapped and falls to 13-4 overall, 0-2 in the Jayhawk West. Barton ran its winning streak to 10 games and improves to 15-2, 2-0 in the West.
The final two games of the series will be played at Lawson-Biggs Field at 1 and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Great Bend.
GAME 1 RECAPLeading 3-2 after four innings, the Blue Dragons suffered through a tough fifth inning that ultimately cost Hutchinson in the opener.
Hutchinson starter Dawson Linder looked to be gaining steam. But in the fifth inning, Barton parlayed three Linder walks and a Blue Dragon throwing error into a pair of runs to take a 4-3 lead. Andrew Stewart had an RBI groundout to drive in the tying run. Then with two outs, Carson Pracht singled home Alex Rogers with the go-ahead run.
After giving up three runs in the third inning to give Hutchinson a 3-2 lead, Barton pitcher Clay Wesbrooks settled in and retired 10 Dragons in a row and 15 of the final 18 Hutch batters he faced.
Hutch took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third when Christopher Noble doubled home Will Reetz with Hutch's first run. Jeremiah Ceasar then executed a perfect drag bunt that plated Noble with the tying run. Jenner Steele then hit a sacrifice fly to score Mason Lowe for a 3-2 Dragon lead.
Ceasar went 2 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to five games. Steele extended his hitting streak to nine games going 1 for 2. Drew Reetz, Will Reetz and Noble had the other Blue Dragon hits.
Linder (1-2) went 4 2-3 innings and took the loss. He allowed five hits, four runs, two earned runs with four strikeouts and three walks. Caden Pogue pitched 1-3 inning and Hunter Waugh worked two scoreless innings.
GAME 2 RECAPGame two was equally frustrating as Hutchinson was held to a season-low three hits. Ceasar, Tyler Delong and Will Reetz had the only hits of Barton starter Graham Brunner and two relievers.
Brummer struck out 10 batters in seven innings, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Drew Reetz broke that up with a fifth-inning leadoff single.
Trailing 2-0 into the seventh, the Dragons finally got on the board. Delong doubled, moved to third and scored on a two-out balk by Brummer. That cut the Barton lead to 2-1.
Barton scored a huge insurance run when Alex Rodgers hit a solo home run to right field for a 3-1 lead. In the top of the eighth.
Ceasar extended his hitting streak to seven games with a two-out RBI single to cut the lead to 3-2. Barton pitcher Jordan Ellison stopped the rally and stranded the tying run at third with a pair of strikeouts.
Brian Skillman (3-1) took the loss with 4 1-3 innings. He struck out one and walked a season-high five.