GREAT BEND - The Hutchinson Monarchs saw a three-run lead slip away as the Great Bend BatCats rallied to defeat the Monarchs 4-3 on Thursday night at Great Bend.
Hutch had a three-game winning streak snapped and the season series with Great Bend is even at 1-1. The Monarchs and BatCats will meet each other again on Friday as Great Bend comes to Hobart-Detter Field for the first time this season for a 7 p.m. matchup to open Parents' Weekend.
Jackson Loftin gave Hutchinson a 1-0 lead in the second when he scored on a wild pitch. The Monarchs made it 3-0 in the fifth. Brayden Whitchurch drove in Scott Wolverton on a fielder's choice. Whitchurch then scored on a Colton Cower single to left. But the Monarchs left the bases loaded in the fifth and stranded seven in the game. The Monarchs were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position.
Great Bend scored single runs in the fifth and sixth and Hutch's lone error of the game proved costly and it led to the tying run in the seventh. The BatCats scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Each team had six hits. But the Monarchs struck out a season-high 15 times on Thursday, which tied for the third most in single-game Monarchs' history.
Colton Cowswer and Brayden Whitchurch had run-producing hits to lead the Monarchs. No Hutch player had a multi-hit game. Taylor Barber, Easton Rindt, Scott Wolverton and Keith Wolverton also had hits. The Monarchs didn't have an extra-base hit.
Matt Dillard had six strikeouts in five innings. He allowed hits hits, won run and two walks in a no-decision. Zach Philbin (1-1) took the loss, working three innings with four hits and thre runs. He struck out four and walked one.
