By John Mesh
The Hutchinson Blue Dragon baseball team lost 17-3 (7 innings, run rule) Monday afternoon to Cowley College at Tiger Ballpark in Arkansas City.
The Cowley College Tigers are ranked No. 3 in the NJCAA Division I poll.
The Blue Dragons (34-17 overall) stranded five runners in the first two innings. Cowley College (39-8 overall, 22-1 at home) scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Reece Usselman pitched for Hutchinson in the bottom of the second inning and worked a 1-2-3 frame.
The Blue Dragons surged to a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning. Taber Stokes hit a sacrifice fly, Finn Hochstein drove in a run with a groundout and Leo Griffin had an RBI double. The Dragons scored their three runs on four hits.
Cowley got six runs on four hits in the bottom of the third inning, added five in the fourth and four in the fifth for a 17-3 lead.
Quinn Maher had two of Hutchinson’s six hits. The Cowley College Tigers had 15 hits off seven Blue Dragon pitchers, including a home run by Logan Groh and doubles by Seth Dandridge, Weston Thomas and Dax McCaskill.
The Blue Dragons (15-13 in the Jayhawk West) and the Pratt Beavers play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Thursday at Hobart-Detter Field.
Hutchinson and Pratt play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Stanion Field in Pratt.
Cowley College hosts Kansas City Kansas Community College in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Thursday and play a 1 p.m. twinbill at KCK on Saturday.
The Region VI Playoffs begin on May 8-9, the Central District Championships are slated for May 13-16 and the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series is May 24-30 in Grand Junction, Colo.
Delice Downing named volleyball coach at Hesston High School
The Hesston High School Swather volleyball program named former Hutchinson Community College coach Delice Downing as their new head coach Monday.
“The Hesston volleyball family would like to welcome coach Delice Downing as our next head volleyball coach,” said the school in a press release Monday. “Please join us in welcoming coach Downing to the Swather family.”
Downing comes to Hesston with more than 20 years of coaching at the collegiate level with two NJCAA volleyball titles and 432 career wins.
Buhler boys tennis players compete at Salina Central meet
Members of the Buhler High School boys tennis team competed at the Salina Central Varsity Invitational Saturday.
In singles, Buhler’s Ty Campbell placed 14th and Shane Schroeder placed 16th.
The Buhler doubles team of Reece Ricker and Linus Duscher placed 15th.
The Crusaders’ doubles team of Tate Ricker and Cayden Davis placed 16th.
Lester becomes 21st NJCAA championship qualifier for Blue Dragon men’s track team
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Freshman Da’Shawn Lester earned his first career victory and punched his ticket to the NJCAA Outdoor Championships at Gowans Stadium to lead the Hutchinson Community College men’s track and field team on Friday at the Fort Hays State Alex Francis Classic.
Lester won the 400 meters with a personal-best and meet-winning time of 47.24 seconds.
In addition to becoming the 21st Blue Dragon national meet qualifier, Lester posted the fourth-fastest outdoor 400-meter time in Blue Dragon history.
Sophomore Ty’Rique Roland was Hutchinson’s next highest event placer with a runner-up finish in the high jump after clearing a height of 6 feet, 2.75 inches (1.90 meters). Teammate Richard College was third at 6-2.75. Jaydon Parkes was fifth in the high jump at 5-10.75 (1.80 meters).
Sophomore D’Antonio Warren placed fifth in the 100 meters with a time of 10.70 seconds. Rickyle Telemaque was eighth in a time of 10.96 seconds.
Taylor Zehr finished fifth in the hammer throw with a mark of 159-2 (48.52 meters) and was eighth in the javelin with a throw of 146-3 (44.57 meters).
Sophomore Grady Bare placed seventh in the discus with a throw of 133-5 (40.66 meters). Andrew Hildebrand was eighth in the discus with a throw of 125-7 (38.27).
The Blue Dragons will next compete in the Region 6 Outdoor Championships next Friday and Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Coffeyville.
Blue Dragon women’s track team wins three events at Alex Francis Classic
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College women’s track and field team won three events and posted four personal records on Friday at the Fort Hays State Alex Francis Classic.
Sidney Holt, Yaya Moreno and Alycea McCoy won individual events to lead the Blue Dragons in their final regular-season meet before next Week’s Region 6 Outdoor Championships in Coffeyville.
The Blue Dragons will take nine national qualifiers into the regional championship.
On Friday, Holt won the Alex Francis 100 meters with a time of 11.93 seconds.
For the second-straight meet, sophomore Yaya Moreno posted a personal record and earned her first collegiate event victory, winning the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 0.25 inches (5.49 meters).
That mark tied for the 10th-best outdoor long jump in Blue Dragon history.
Freshman Alycea McCoy also earned her first collegiate event victory, winning the triple jump with a mark of 36-8.25 (11.18 meters). McCoy had a personal record with a height of 10-6.25 (3.21 meters) to finish fourth in the pole vault. That vault was the ninth-best in Blue Dragon outdoor history.
Two other Blue Dragon athletes posted PRs on Friday.
Sophomore Aiyanna Green placed second in the shot put with a PR of 40-6.5 (12.36 meters).
Azariah Dawes tied her career best in the long jump with a second-place mark of 17-9.5 (5.42 meters).