|
By Bret Mitchell
HCC Sports Information
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Hutchinson Community College
softball team remained alive for both a Region VI West Sub-Region
title and a top-four finish in the Jayhawk West with a pair of league
and sub-region victories over Dodge City on Friday at Fun Valley.
Tied into its final at-bat of Game 1,
freshman Jessica Glenn’s infield single scored freshman Kelli Dennis
with the wining run for a 2-1 victory. HCC made it a sweep after
rallying from four runs down to score six unanswered to defeat the
Conquistadors 6-4 in the nightcap.
Hutchinson (30-14) won its season-long
sixth and seventh games in a row and reached the 30-2in plateau for
the second time in three seasons.
HCC is now 7-4 in the West-Sub Region
and is virtually tied with Pratt for the sub-region lead. The Lady
Dragons virtually solidified a top-four finish in the Jayhawk West.
HCC was picked seventh in the Jayhawk West in the preseason coaches’
poll.
<GAME 1 BOXSCORE>
<GAME 2 BOXSCORE>
Game 1 Recap
Friday’s first game was a pitcher’s
duel between HCC sophomore Kourtney Klein and Dodge City’s Nicole
David.
Klein (11-7) tossed her 16th
complete game of the season to earn the win, but needed a little help
in HCC’s final at-bat to earn the victory.
The game was tied 1-1 into the bottom
of the seventh. The Dragons’ speed on the basepaths put the pressure
on the Conquistadors. With Dennis at first and two outs, speedy
freshman Ashley Cushinberry beat out an infield single to the left
side, and then Dennis and Cushinberry moved up 60 feet on a Dodge City
throwing error.
HCC’s speed then won then game. Glenn,
HCC’s left-handed leadoff hitter, then slapped a roller to shortstop
Ashley Podschun, who charged hard, but Glenn beat the throw to first
and Dennis scored the winning run.
“You can’t teach speed, it’s great to
have though,” Rose said. “It won the first game for us. Any two
other people in our lineup (Cushinberry and Glenn) and we don’t
score.”
HCC’s speed also helped score its first
run. After sophomore Nicole Bauer drew a leadoff walk in the fourth,
she was pinch-run for with sophomore Dani Torres, who immediately
stole second base and went to third on a Jenna Schroeder sacrifice
bunt. Torres then scored on Klein’s sacrifice fly to center field for
a 1-0 HCC lead.
Dodge City tied the game in the sixth
on Rachelle Dutton’s one-out RBI single, but Klein pitched out of the
jam to leave two of HCC’s eight runners on base in scoring position.
Klein allowed six hits and one earned
run. She struck out six and walked none. David (2-11) gave up only
four hits and one earned run, but took.
Hudson had two of HCC’s four hits. The
Lady Dragons were held to only one hit through the first six innings.
Game 2 Recap
After giving up four first-inning runs
to the Conquistadors, left-handed freshman Courtney Johnson gave the
Lady Dragons a chance at a comeback and Glenn powered the comeback
going 4 for 4 with two runs scored, two RBIs and two stolen bases.
Johnson entered the game in relief of
starter Nikki Lile with two outs in the first inning after Dodge City
plated four runs and had two runners in scoring position. Johnson
(7-5) got No. 9 hitter Megan Kerns to strike out and end the inning.
Johnson tossed 6 1-3 innings of
scoreless relief, her longest relief stint of the season. She struck
out four, while allowing just two hits and two walks.
Hutch’s left-handed freshman had one
true jam to work out of. Dodge City had runners at second and third
with one out in the third, but Johnson got No. 8 hitters Savannah
Young to pop up and then HCC catch Bauer made a tough catch on a foul
ball crashing into the fence to end the inning.
“C.J. came in and she was tough,” Rose
said. “In relief this year, she’s done a good job. We did a good job
both games of getting the leadoff batter out.”
HCC chipped away at that four-run
deficit after one-half inning, getting single runs in the first and
third innings before breaking through in the fourth.
Klein singled to score sophomore Jenna
Schroeder, who led off the inning with an opposite-field double down
past the third-base bag. Then with two out, Glenn looped a double down
the left-field line that drive in two runs to give HCC a 5-4 lead. On
the next pitch, freshman Dusty Smith laced a single up the middle to
score Glenn for a 6-4 lead. Smith was tagged at second trying to
stretch the hit into a double.
Hutchinson out-hit Dodge City
12-6 in the nightcap. Dusty Smith had the only other multi-hit game of
the season, going 2 for 4 with two RBIs
Hutchinson will close out its
home portion of the 2008 schedule on Sunday with a visit from 36-4
Western Nebraska at 1 p.m. at Fun Valley. The 10 Lady Dragon
sophomores will be honored between games.
GAME NOTES
– Dusty Smith had a tough day physically. In the second game, while at
first base, Smith was hit with a line-drive by Jenn Tanno in the ribs.
Later in the game, Smith hit the fence at full speed and made a tough
catch on a foul ball. … HCC had five stolen bases and has 33 for the
season. … Jessica Glenn has 21 multi-hit games this season. It was her
third four-hit game of 2008. …
Dodge City stranded 15 runners
in the doubleheader. … Jenna Schroeder had her nine-game hitting
streak snapped in Game 1. … After starting 0-3, Courtney Johnson has
won 7 of her last 9 decisions.
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach Jaime Rose
On the windy conditions …
“We hit the ball hard in the first
game; just hit it right at people. That wind also helped us steal
bases.”
Outfielder Jessica Glenn
On the impressive week …
“Our big emphasis this week was just to
have fun and play our hearts out.”
On the baserunning …
“Speed is the way we make most of our
runs. As long as we’re aggressive anyone can steal on our team.”
Pitcher Courtney Johnson
On her pitching style …
“My basic thing is I’m a junk pitcher.
I throw them off with my speed. I still have the movement, which is
why I’m so effective.”
On the comeback …
“I had full confidence in our team. We
are a great hitting team, and I had no worries that we could pull out
a really good win.” |
