HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson High School dropped both games of an Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Division I baseball doubleheader Tuesday at Hobart-Detter Field, falling 14-1 and 7-4.
The Salthawks are now 0-10 on the season and will travel to Valley Center on Friday, while Derby improves to 8-2.
Game 1 (6 Inn): Derby 14, Hutchinson 1
Derby broke open a close game with a seven-run fourth inning and pulled away for a 14-1, six-inning run-rule victory. The Panthers were held scoreless through the first two innings before scratching across the game’s first run in the third. Talon Cunningham came home on a wild pitch to give Derby a 1-0 lead.
Derby then took control in the fourth.
Hudson Halstead opened the inning with a triple and scored on a groundout by Brody Hopper. The Panthers added to the lead with aggressive baserunning and Hutchinson miscues before Cooper Williams delivered the big blow, launching a three-run home run to center field that capped the seven-run frame and stretched Derby’s advantage to 8-0.
The Panthers added one more run in the fifth when Hunter Gibbon singled home Jace Hambleton, then tacked on five more in the sixth to put the run rule in play. Halstead drove in a run with a single, Brody Kitterman added an RBI single and Hambleton followed with a two-run single as Derby pushed the lead to 14-0.
Hutchinson avoided the shutout in the bottom of the sixth. Mason Green walked and later scored after Gabe Valadez singled and the Salthawks drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks. But Derby got the final out to end it.
Williams finished with the home run and four total bases, while Halstead also totaled four bases with a triple and a single. Hambleton had two hits and drove in two runs, and Gibbon added an RBI hit as Derby collected eight hits and stole nine bases. Halstead and Rowan Foster each had two stolen bases.
On the mound, Derby used Rowan Foster, Jack Trainer and Kasen Webb to combine on the six-inning win. Hutchinson was limited to one hit, a sixth-inning single by Valadez.
Game 2: Derby 7, Hutchinson 4
Derby built an early lead and held off a late Hutchinson rally for a 7-4 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday, completing a doubleheader sweep of the Salthawks.
The Panthers wasted little time taking control, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Rowan Foster and Cooper Williams opened with back-to-back singles, and Derby took advantage of timely hits and a Hutchinson error to grab the early cushion. Kasen Webb delivered a two-run single, Jace Hambleton reached on an error that brought in another run, and Bryson Maldonado added an RBI single to make it 4-0.
Derby added another run in the second when Brody Hopper lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Williams for a 5-0 lead.
After Hutchinson got on the board in the bottom of the second, the Panthers answered again in the third. Hambleton doubled to start the inning, Maldonado followed with an RBI single, and Foster later drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 7-1.
Hutchinson chipped away from there.
The Salthawks scored once in the third, added another in the fifth on a balk, and pulled within 7-4 in the sixth when JuJu Lyons ripped a two-run double. But Derby stranded two runners in the inning, and Jack Trainer closed the door in the seventh with two strikeouts to finish off the win.
Derby finished with 11 hits, led by Foster, Williams and Maldonado with two apiece. Williams and Hambleton each doubled, Halstead added a double, and Maldonado drove in two runs. Webb also had two RBIs for the Panthers.
Hutchinson managed four hits in the loss, with Lyons accounting for a double and two RBIs. Kam Wilson had two hits and scored twice.
Derby used four pitchers in the win, with Maldonado getting the start before Hunter Gibbon, Talon Cunningham and Trainer combined to preserve the victory. Hutchinson drew closer late but could not overcome Derby’s fast start.