Keaton Smith at the plate- Picture courtesy of Camden Augustine

GAME 1: 

CENTRAL 5

DODGE CITY 0

The Mustangs opened their home schedule Tuesday at Dean Evans Stadium, hosting Dodge City after a dominant sweep in Junction City in which they racked up 26 runs on 26 hits. They carried that momentum into their home opener, pairing timely hitting with strong performances from their talented pitching staff.

After a quiet 1st inning, Central began to barrel-up Dodge City starter Ty Scheck, collecting four hits in the 2nd inning. A single from Grayson Gross followed a leadoff double from Parker Graves and Graves came in to score on a sacrifice fly from Eli Kreighbaum. Three batters later, Griffin Hall scored on an RBU double from Aidan Hammond, then Hammond scored on a single from Chance Hogan. Just like that, it was 3-0 Central.

As Central’s starting pitcher in Game 1, Chance Hogan helped his own cause at the plate while protecting the lead on the mound. Hogan was incredibly efficient in his first start of the season, using his three-pitch mix to keep hitters off balance.

Central stranded several runners on base in the middle innings but relied on Hogan to keep a zero in the board. That was exactly what he did.

After driving in his second run of the day, Hogan returned to mound in the 7th inning and got three quick outs to finish the game.

His complete game shutout featured only two hits allowed and three strikeouts on just 73 pitches.

GAME 2:

CENTRAL 2

DODGE CITY 1

In Game 2, the Mustangs struck early once again, with Griffin Hall driving in their only two runs in the second inning, scoring Parker Graves and Grayton Gross.

Three pitchers combined to keep the Dodge City offense in check. Eli Kreighbaum got the start and allowed just one hit over two innings, while Parker Graves handled the middle three, surrendering the lone run on two hits to earn the win. Jaxon Lewick closed it out with two scoreless innings to secure the sweep.

The Mustangs improved to 4-0 and return to their home field on Friday against Wichita-Northwest.