By John Mesh
The Hutchinson Monarchs lost to the Seattle Cheney Studs 17-6 (5 innings, run rule) in their final National Baseball Congress World Series Pool A matchup Monday night at Wichita State University’s Eck Stadium.
The Monarchs, the defending NBCWS champions, fell to 28-9 overall and 1-2 in pool play.
Hutchinson placed third in Pool A and advanced to single-elimination bracket play on Wednesday. An opponent and game time are to be determined.
The game time temperature was more than 100 degrees.
Hutchinson’s starting pitcher was Hutchinson Community College standout Cole Toureau, who worked a 1-2-3 top of the first inning.
Hutchinson’s Jared Gustafson (Wichita State University/Wichita) scored on a wild pitch to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Will Edmundson (Hutchinson Community College/University of Arkansas) extended his Monarchs-record hitting streak to 25 games. He leads the Monarchs in hits in NBCWS games with 18.
The Studs took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second on a three-run homer. Toureau got a force out at third and a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame.
The Monarchs pulled within 3-2 in the bottom of the second inning with a sacrifice fly by Cooper Wesslund (HutchCC/UNO), scoring Jack Gardner (Morehead State University).
Gustafson put the Monarchs ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run double off the right-field wall. He now has a 16-game hitting streak.
The Studs scored five runs on two hits to take an 8-4 lead in the top of the third inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Monarchs’ Jarrett Flaggert (Wichita State/Cowley County) drew a walk but Hutchinson did not score him.
The Studs stuck for six runs on three hits in the top of the fourth inning to lead the Monarchs 14-4.
Gustafson doubled off the center field wall to score Wesslund to cut the Studs’ lead to 14-5 in the bottom of the fourth. Gustafson is now 2-for-2. He walked, scored a run and had three runs batted in.
The Studs scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 17-5 lead.
Camden Johnson (Wichita State/Boerne, Texas) doubled in a run for the Monarchs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the final score 17-6.
Tuesday will be the final day of pool play at the NBCWS. Because another 100-degree day is expected Tuesday, the pool play schedule was changed.
The San Diego Stars will play the Derby Twins at 10 a.m. The Stars will hit in the batting cage at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Twins at 9 a.m.
The Air Capital Flyers will play the Kansas Cannons (from Augusta) at 1 p.m. The Flyers’ cage time is 11:30 a.m., followed by the Cannons at noon.
The 6 p.m. (Lonestar Baseball Club vs. Hays Larks) and 8:30 p.m. (Boulder Collegians vs. Liberal Bee Jays) games on Tuesday will stay as scheduled.
“We may make other schedule adjustments as we get into bracket play on Wednesday to work around the heat the best we can,” said NBC media representative Beau Grant. “More information to come tomorrow on brackets.”
All-session tickets now on sale for 2025 NJCAA Men’s tournament
All-session tickets are now on sale for the 2025 NJCAA DI Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by Zurich Insurance.
The tournament will be held inside the historic Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson for the 77th consecutive year.
For 2025, a schedule change has been implemented with the tournament beginning on Saturday, March 22.
This change will allow for four total games to be played each day beginning Saturday, March 22, and ending on Wednesday, March 26. This change eliminates the original six-game playing days.
Thursday, March 27, will serve as an off day for the Final Four teams.
During this off day, there will be a luncheon to celebrate the Final four teams ahead of the semifinals that will be played on Friday, March 27.
The championship game will be played on Saturday, March 28. The tournament format will remain the same.
Tickets can be purchased online by visiting njcaa.org/tickets and will be available to download on a mobile device or print-at-home when tickets are made available closer to the tournament.
Fans can also provide a mobile number and download the HomeTown Ticketing app to have access to their tickets directly on their smartphones.
Touchless ticketing and digital scanning of tickets will allow for a quick and effective entry experience when attending the tournament.
Following this presale period for all-session tickets, individual session tickets will be made available to the public for purchase beginning in early 2025.
All-session ticket prices remain $65 for each ticket before taxes and parking will be sold separately from the online ticketing system.