Scott City baseball sweeps Hugoton

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–May the fourth was definitely with the Scott City Beaver baseball team. After seeing them in the lead for most of the game on the road a handful of the times this year, only to lose it in late innings, the Beavers reversed their fortunes on Friday in their final home doubleheader against Hugoton. The Eagles would lead early in both games, only to see Scott City rally in the sixth inning not once, but twice. It would be the Beavers taking home 9-4 and 8-7 wins on another perfect afternoon for baseball.

Scott City 9, Hugoton 4, Game 1
Hugoton would jump out early in this one, taking a 4-0 lead through three innings. The Eagles got a Michael Mirabol RBI groundout in the first inning that scored Zayden Littell to make it 1-0 early on. In the second, it was a two-out, two-run single by Ivan Valles that pushed them to the 3-0 lead. In the third, an infield single by Marcos Baeza scored Littell to make it 4-0. The rest of game one belonged to the Beavers. Scott City got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning on a passed ball that scored both Aaron Hoopes and Blaine Culp, which cut the deficit to 4-2. In the sixth, that’s when Scott City took over. A seven-run rally saw them tie the game up on Kevin Herman’s single that scored Evyan Smith. They took the lead for good on a Jeffrey Nix RBI single that scored Herman to go up 5-4. The Beavers would score on a couple more errors in the frame to go up 9-4, and closed out the game in the seventh to win 9-4. Hugoton scored three of their four runs with two outs.

Scott City collected nine hits in the game, led by Aaron Hoopes and Harrison King with two each. Alex Depperschmidt drove in two runs for the Beavers. Kevin Herman went all seven innings for the win, giving up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Scott City finished with nine hits in the game. Hugoton’s Michael Mirabol took the loss, going 5 1/3 innings, giving up five runs, three earned, on five hits. Zayden Littell had three hits in the game and scored twice, while Ivan Valles had two RBI. The Eagles finished with seven hits, and committed four errors.

Game 1 Boxscore
SC VS HUG G1 5-4-18

Scott City 8, Hugoton 7, Game 2
Just like the first game, Hugoton would jump out to an early lead. The only difference was that Scott City would respond every time and tie it up. In the second, the Eagles scored first on an error, as Dawson Burnett’s run made it 1-0 Eagles. Scott City responded with a Jeffrey Nix sacrifice fly that scored Blaine Culp to tie the game at 1. The tie would be short lived, as the Eagles responded with two outs in the top of the third with two runs, starting with a Marcos Baeza double that scored Cole Martin, followed up by a Burnett RBI single, scoring Baeza to go up 3-1. The Beavers rallied to tie the game in the fourth, as Nix scored on an error, and an Alex Depperschmidt sacrifice fly scored Zach Carson. Yet once again, the tie would be short lived. With two outs in the fifth, a Burnett RBI single scored Manny Mendoza, and on the next at bat, Riggs Martin’s RBI triple scored Burnett to push the Eagle lead to 5-3. Just like the first game, it was another big rally for the Beavers in the sixth inning. Scott City would take advantage of a couple errors. Playing on the home field for a final time, Aaron Hoopes hit a two-run single that scored Kevin Serrano and Depperschmidt to go up 6-5. Harrison King would cap the five-run sixth inning on an error to go up 8-5. After there were two quick outs in the top of the seventh, Hugoton wouldn’t go down without a fight. A single and a double put two runners on in scoring position. Baeza and Burnett would score on wild pitches to pull to within 8-7. The tying run would be walked, and then a strikeout ended the Eagle threat.

Both teams had eight hits in game two. Hugoton had five errors to Scott City’s two. Aaron Hoopes had two hits and drove in two runs for the Beavers, while Kevin Herman had a two-hit game. Harrison King started, going 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits. Aaron Hoopes got the win, going two-plus, allowing two runs on two hits, and Kevin Herman recorded the save. Riggs Martin took the loss, giving up five runs, three earned, in 1 2/3 innings pitched. Jayce Korf started, going 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on two hits with five strikeouts. Dawson Burnett had a four-hit game and drove in two runs, while Marcos Baeza had two hits in the game. Hugoton scored six of their seven runs with two outs.

Game 2 Boxscore
SC VS HUG G2 5-4-18

With the win, Scott City now has won three straight, as they improved to 6-7 overall, 3-6 in GWAC play, while Hugoton has dropped to 6-12 overall, and 2-6 in league play. Scott City’s sweep was the first over the Eagles since 2012. Scott City’s wins have clinched them the number five seed in Lakin Regional, and will likely play Goodland in the first round of regionals May 14. The Beavers play at Goodland Wednesday afternoon in a makeup game at 4 pm, and are at Lakin for a triangular on Thursday at 2 and 6 pm with the Broncs and Southwestern Heights. Hugoton wraps up their season at home Tuesday against Ulysses.

 Coach David Dirks Postgame