Hutchinson CC Sports Information
WICHITA – Staring elimination in the face on Thursday at Eck Stadium, the Hutchinson Community College baseball team rallied from down seven runs against Seward County to stay alive in the Plains District Tournament.
The Blue Dragons rallied to win a Plains District/Region 6 Tournament game after trailing by seven or more runs for the third time since the current format began in 2004, defeating Seward County 18-10 in seven innings in a first-round elimination game.
Hutchinson (46-14) will play Barton (34-21) in a second-round elimination game at 10 a.m. on Friday at Eck Stadium. The winner advances to a third-round elimination game against a team to be determined at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Seward County (25-38) led 7-0 after two and a half innings and led 9-4 after three and a half innings. After being held to four hits against Cowley on Wednesday, the record-setting Blue Dragon offense ignited in the third and exploded. Hutchinson scored four runs in the third inning and seven runs in the fourth to take an 11-9 lead. The Dragons kept rolling with two runs in the fifth and they reached the eight-run rule in the seventh with five runs in that inning.
The last time the Blue Dragons rallied from a deficit of seven or more runs was on May 17, 2019 at Eck Stadium when Cloud County built an 8-0 lead after one inning and Hutchinson rallied to win 14-12. The other huge postseason comeback came at Hobart-Detter Field on May 8, 2016. The Dragons trailed Independence in Game 3 of that first-round series by scores of 8-1 and 14-5 and roared back to defeat the Pirates 16-14.
Three Blue Dragon players reached milestones within the confines of the comeback against the Saints.
+ With a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, freshman Cru Huenfeld became the first Blue Dragon player in program history to produce 100 RBIs in a single season.
+ With his fifth-inning triple, sophomore catcher Anthony Mazza broke the Blue Dragon career record for triples with his 12th career triple.
+ With his two-run home run in the seventh, sophomore Eli Duncan tied Blue Dragon Quarterback Club Hall of Famer Tim Olson for third on the Hutchinson career home run list with 27 homers.
The 2026 Blue Dragons also established a new team record for total hits with 727 hits in 60 games played. The 2026 Blue Dragons tied a season record for triples with 35, matching the 2018 Blue Dragons.
The Blue Dragons pounded out 19 total hits against Seward County, eight for extra bases.
Diesel Purnell extended his hitting streak to 11 games, going 3 for 4 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored. Max Flowers had his fourth three-hit game of the season after going 3 for 5 with two RBIs.
Five Blue Dragons had two-hit games against the Saints.
Jordan Kuhnau went 2 for 4 with a two-run double, three runs scored and three RBIs. He became the second Blue Dragon player in team history to reach 90 RBIs in a season, now with 91.
Mazza went 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs. Jackson Schanuel was 2 for 4 with a two-run double, three runs scored and three RBIs. Duncan went 2 for 5 with his 17th home run of the season and two RBIs. Finn Hochstein was 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Aidan Marien went 2 for 3 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Huenfeld drove in two runs with a run-scoring double and a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore Noah McCombs (3-1) earned his third victory of the season with 4 2-3 innings of relief work. McCombs entered the game in the top of the third with Hutchinson down 7-0 and induced an inning-ending double play after the Saints had scored three runs. After allowing a two-run homer in the fourth where Seward led 9-4, McCombs allowed just two hits and no runs after that. McCombs allowed three hits and three runs with one strikeout and one walk.
The Dragons got the offense going with four runs in the third. Kuhnau got the Dragons on the board with a single that plated Hochstein. Schanuel followed with a two-run double and Huenfeld followed with a double to cut the Saints' lead to 7-4.
Down 9-4 in the fourth, Hutchinson sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and scored seven runs. Flowers drove in a run with a single. Mazza then hit a sacrifice fly for the second run of the inning. Kuhnau had a two-run double and Purnell hit a three-run triple to give the Blue Dragons an 11-9 lead.
Mazza tripled in a run in the fifth and scored after Kuhnau struck out, but the Saints had to complete the out at first and he scored on the throw. The Dragons led 13-9 after five innings.
The Dragons finished off the game in the seventh with five runs. After a Schanuel RBI single made it 14-10, the Dragons scored four runs with two out. Huenfeld had a sacrifice fly for his historic 100th RBI. Duncan hit a two-run homer and a Max Flowers' single scored Purnell with the game-ending run.