Saints Sweep Hutchinson to Take Series

For the first time this season, the Seward County Saints have won a Jayhawk West series.  The Saints swept the Hutchinson Blue Dragons 8-7 and 11-5 Saturday at Brent Gould Field on a sunny but blustery day.  Temperatures were in the upper 40’s and lower 50’s.  The first game went eight innings and the second game was a seven inning game.  Seward wins the series 3-1.  It’s their first series win over Hutchinson since 2015.  It’s Seward’s first home win against the Blue Dragons since 2020, right before the Covid shutdown.

In game one, Hutch scored one in the first against starter Trent Gerber.  The Saints tied the game in the bottom of the first.  Ranse Radtke singled and Jaxson Gregg doubled him home.  The Saints took a 2-1 lead in the second.  Jaxson Wilcox towered a wind blown triple off the wall in right and scored on Mason Hagel-Pitt’s double.  The Dragons scored three in the third to take a 4-2 lead.  The Saints scored three in the bottom of the third to lead 5-4.  Ranse Radtke and Jaxson Gregg singled to lead off the third.  Tristan Curless singled home two.  Trenton Rowan singled and Mason Hagel-Pitt singled home a run.  That score stood until the seventh when Hutch scored a run to tie the game.  The Dragons plated two in the eighth to lead 7-5.  But the Saints had a flare for the dramatic scoring three in the bottom of the eighth to win it.  Tristan Curless singled.  Trenton Rowan singled.  Mason Hagel-Pitt lofted a two RBI double to right center to score two and tie the game 7-7.  With two outs, HCC intentionally walked Cameron Cartwright and Ranse Radtke.  Connor Raney delivered a ground ball single up the middle to win the game 8-7.  Mason Hagel-Pitt was the Epic Touch Player of the Game going 3-4 with two doubles and four RBI’s.  Jaxson Gregg was 4-4 with a double and two RBI’s.  Ranse Radtke was 2-4.  Trent Gerber went six innings on the mound.  Seward out-hit Hutch 14-9.

In game two, Hutch scored two in the first against starter Tristan Curless.  The Saints countered with two in the bottom of the first.  Jaxson Gregg singled and Elijah Bear hit a two run home run down the right field line.  The Blue Dragons scored three in the third for a 5-2 lead.  The Saints crept closer with one in the fifth.  Connor Cox singled.  Ranse Radtke ripped an RBI triple to right center to make the score 5-3 Hutch.  The scored stood until the Saints broke through in the  sixth with seven runs.  After a strikeout, two Saints reached on Hutchinson errors.  Connor Cox singled home a run to tie the game.  Cameron Cartwright singled through the drawn in infield for the 6-5 lead.  Cox scored on a wild pitch.  Jaxson Gregg singled home a run.  Elijah Bear provided the exclamation mark with a towering home run to right to make it 11-5.  Bear was 2-4 with two home runs and four RBI’s.  Jaxson Gregg was 3-3 and finished the day 7-7.  Gregg got on base all nine times he came up to bat for the day.  Elias Herrera pitched three scoreless innings in relief for the win.  Seward out-hit Hutch 12-4.

Hutchinson is 15-14 overall and 6-6 in the Jayhawk West.  Seward improves to 15-18 overall and 6-6 in the Jayhawk West.  Seward is 12-7 at home.  The Saints play at Lamar Tuesday at 2pm central time.