HESSTON, Kan. — The Hesston College baseball team fell 21–4 to Central Christian College on Tuesday afternoon at Oswald Field. Central Christian used several big innings early to take control of the game, while Hesston showed flashes of offense throughout the middle innings.
Central Christian jumped out to an early lead in the first inning, scoring three runs on a combination of a double, walk, hit-by-pitch and an error. The Tigers added three more runs in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run home run from Braedon Ulrich to make it 6–0.
The Larks got on the board in the third inning. Samuel Vasquez drew a walk and Kaleb Wise followed with an RBI double to bring Vasquez home and cut the lead to 6–1.
Central Christian responded in the fourth inning with five runs on a mix of hits, stolen bases and defensive miscues, extending the lead to 11–1. Hesston answered in the bottom half when Kreyton Johnson was hit by a pitch, moved into scoring position and scored on an RBI single from Federico Moran to make it 11–2.
The Tigers added two more runs in the fifth inning, but the Larks continued to battle. In the bottom of the fifth, Julian Cruz launched a two-run home run to left field, bringing in Corbin Broyles and narrowing the deficit to 13–4.
Central Christian pulled away in the eighth inning with an eight-run frame, capitalizing on multiple walks, a double, a hit-by-pitch and an error to extend the lead to 21–4. The Larks were unable to generate additional offense in the final innings as the Tigers closed out the win.
Cruz led Hesston offensively with a home run and two RBIs, while Wise added an RBI double. Moran also drove in a run and Vasquez reached base multiple times via walk. The Larks drew seven walks in the game and collected five hits.
The Larks will travel to Dallas to face Dallas Christian in a three-game series beginning Friday at noon.
