By John Mesh
Sterling High’s Tyus Wilson named Big 10 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
The Hutchinson Community College baseball team split a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference doubleheader from Seward County Thursday afternoon and evening at Brent Gould Field in Liberal.
The Blue Dragons won the first game 10-7 and lost the second game 17-6.
In Game 1, Hutchinson scored one run in the top of the first inning on a Quinn Maher RBI single and made the score 2-0 in the second on a solo home run Eli Duncan, his seventh round-tripper of the spring.
The Saints loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but Blue Dragon hurler Trenton Roehler allowed just an unearned run. Seward took a 3-2 lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and another unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Hutchinson scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning with two outs to take a 7-3 lead, forcing Seward to change pitchers.
CJ Reid hit a two-run single, Maher drove in his second run of the game with an RBI single and AJ Mustow doubled to center field to score the tying and go-ahead runs.
Noah McCombs took over the mound for the Blue Dragons and worked a quiet bottom of the sixth inning.
Hutchinson scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to increase its lead to 10-3. Mustow launched a two-run homer to centerfield, Leo Griffin tripled and scored on Scotty Fegan’s RBI single.
Seward scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score 10-7.
In Game 2, Maher smacked an RBI single in the top of the first inning to give the Blue Dragons a 1-0 lead. However, Seward County got a wind-aided three-run homer in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead.
The Blue Dragons scored a run in the top of the second inning on a hit-and-run double by Fegan that scored Reid to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Saints.
The Saints scored three two-out runs in the bottom of the second to take a 6-2 lead.
Hutchinson batters were retired in order in the top of the third inning. Seward scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the third to build an 11-2 lead.
Blue Dragons’ pitcher Adrian Doty worked an efficient 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth inning. Hutchinson’s Taber Stokes belted a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to cut Seward’s lead to 11-4.
Hutchinson scored one run in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 11-5, but Seward scored four more runs in the bottom of the inning for a 15-5 lead.
HutchCC scored two runs in the top of the sixth on a Cael Hamricl groundout and a Fegan sacrifice fly to cut Seward’s lead to 15-6.
The Saints got a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 10-run lead at 16-6. Hutchinson failed two score in the top of the seventh to end the game.
With the loss in the second game, Hutchinson dropped to 18-8 overall, 5-5 in the Jayhawk Conference and 5-5 on the road.
Seward County won its first league game. The Saints are 15-14 overall, 1-5 in league play and 10-8 at home.
The HutchCC Blue Dragons and the Saints will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Hobart-Detter Field in Hutchinson’s Carey Park.
Hutchinson hosts Southeast Community College (Beatrice, Neb.) in a single game at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The Blue Dragons conclude March with a four-game series against Allen County (1 p.m. doubleheader Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field and a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday, March 29, at ACC Baseball Field in Iola).
Blue Dragon track teams open outdoor season March 29 at Ark City
The Hutchinson Community College men’s and women’s track and field teams open the outdoor season on March 29 at the Mark A. Phillips Invitational.
The Blue Dragons will host the NJCAA Division I National Championships on May 15-17 at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson.
The national meet comes two weeks after the Region VI Championships May 1-3 in Coffeyville.
Other meets for the Blue Dragons are the Midwest Classic at Welch Stadium in Emporia April 4; KT Woodman Invite at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium, April 11-12; the Coyote Challenge at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina April 18-19; and the Alex Francis Invite at Fort Hays State University, April 24.
Hutchinson High School/Barton CC alumnus Myles Thompson scored 5 points in SIUE loss to Houston in NCAA opener
SIUE drops NCAA tournament opener to Houston, Hutchinson alumnus The Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville men’s basketball team, featuring Hutchinson High School alumnus Myles Thompson, lost in their first-round NCAA Division I men’s tournament game.
The No. 16-seeded SIUE Cougars lost to the No. 1-seeded Houston Cougars 78-40 Thursday afternoon at Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita.
Thompson and SIUE teammate Ring Malith both played on the Barton Community College men’s basketball team that won the NJCAA Division I men’s championship last year at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Thompson was the tournament MVP.
Thompson came off the bench to score 5 points in 24 minutes of playing time. He had 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals. Malith did not score in 25 minutes. He had 2 defensive rebounds.
Brian Taylor and Ray’Sean Taylor led SIUE with 10 points each.
Houston was led in scoring by Milos Uzan with 16 points. L.J. Cryer scored 15, Ja’Vier Francis 13 and Terrance Arceneaux 10.
Houston led at halftime 52-24 and outscored SIUE 26-16 in the second half.
SIU-Edwardsville ended the season with a 22-12 record. SIUE finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 13-7 league record and won the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Houston (31-4) will play No. 8 seed Gonzaga in the second round on Saturday. Gonzaga defeated No. 9-seeded Georgia 89-68 in the first round.
Inman High School baseball team hosts season-opening Jamboree
The Inman High School baseball team will host a season-opening Jamboree Saturday at the Inman Baseball Field.
Teams competing are Inman, Little River, Moundridge and Canton-Galva.
Inman will play Little River at 9 a.m., followed by Canton-Galva vs. Little River, 10:30 a.m.; Moundridge vs. Canton-Galva, noon; Little River vs. Moundridge, 1:30 p.m.; Canton-Galva vs. Inman, 3 p.m.; and Inman vs. Moundridge, 4:30 p.m.
There will be time limit of 1 hour, 15 minutes, or 4 innings of play (whichever comes first). There will be six runs per inning, free substitution and no score will be kept.
Per KSHSAA rules, each pitcher is limited to 45 or fewer total pitches. Each team will be responsible for keeping track of the pitch count for their players.
Each school will provided the umpires with three game balls. There will be two batting cages available down the left field line, and teams are more than welcome to use for them for batting practice.
There is no entry fee.
Sterling High School alumnus Tyus Wilson named Big 10 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
University of Nebraska high jumper Tyus Wilson, a senior from Sterling High School, was selected as the Big Ten Conference Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year on Wednesday by Big Ten head coaches.
Wilson was this year’s high jump national champion and was the first Husker men’s indoor national champion since 2009.
Wilson cleared 7 feet, 5 3/4 inches (2.28 meters), an indoor personal record and the third-highest mark in school history.
Wilson is a four-time USTFCCCA First Team All-American, a three-time Big Ten Champion and now a two-time conference field athlete of the year.
This marks the fourth year in a row a Husker has won the Big Ten Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year honor. Till Steinforth and Jonah Wilson earned this award the past two seasons.