Jake Knox belted a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Hutchinson Monarchs came back to beat the Great Bend Bat Cats 3-2 on Wednesday at Hobart-Detter Field.
The win, coupled with Derby’s loss to the Kansas Cannons, reduced the Monarchs’ magic number to four games to win the Jayhawk Collegiate League outright. The Monarchs are now 21-5 overall and 19-5 in the league.
The Monarchs trailed 2-0 after Great Bend scored single runs in the second and third innings. The score remained that way until the sixth inning.
With one out, Tyler Mitchell tripled. Then, with two outs, Jake Gutierrez singled home Mitchell.
The score remained 2-1 until the ninth inning. Drew Bugner led off and walked. With two outs, Dylan Bell walked. Knox then came up, and after fouling off a pair of 2-1 pitches, launched a double to right field, scoring Bugner and Bell.
Riley Dickey was the winning pitcher after throwing two hitless innings. Bradyn McClure started and pitched six strong innings, giving up a run on four hits. Karter Chamberlain bridged McClure to Dickey by throwing a perfect seventh inning.
The Monarchs head to Great Bend on Thursday, the start of a two-game road trip. They’ll return home Saturday to take on the Kingman Islanders.
