Adam Hilt throws 3-hitter in Collegiate victory.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington baseball team rode the momentum of its first win last week in Mulvane with a 6-0 shut out against Wichita Collegiate in the first game of a double-header Monday afternoon at Hibbs-Hooten Field. Unfortunately, one bad error-plagued inning in the second game, kept Wellington from garnering the sweep, losing 6-4.

The Crusaders are 2-4 overall and 2-2 in league. Wellington travels to Rose Hill Thursday.

Under the tutelage of Jeff Frazee, Wellington is slowly becoming a Kansas City Royals type team, the ability to play great defense and manufacturing runs offensively. Wellington is not only an impressive 8 of 10 in picking off stolen bases, but they are stealing bases at a regular rate as well. Defensively, the Crusader errors are so much less than in previous years.

But ever so often this season, there is that one-inning curse, when the Crusaders lose all composure. That so happened to be the fifth inning in game two, when Wellington was holding a 1-0 lead after four. The Crusaders booted the ball three times, more than all the other doubleheader innings combined to allow the Spartans five runs.

It was a deficit Wellington could not recover despite getting runs in each of the final innings. The final three innings at bats were entertaining for the Crusaders. Wellington had the bases loaded and an Arlis Troutman line drive up the middle would have turned a 5-3 deficit into a tie with two outs. But the Collegiate shortstop stopped the hard grounder with a sensational dive and throw to second to end the inning.

Then later, with Collegiate at third, the Dukes appeared to have had the pick off, but the umpire was curiously looking in the other direction and never saw the play. So the Collegiate runner was safe, and it would eventually cost the Crusaders a run. 

For the game, Wellington’s Cameron Bartelson went 2-4 including a big hit in the seventh to pull the Crusaders within two runs with players on first and second. But Wellington could get no closer as the game ended with a Chantz Daugherty ground out. 

Egan got the win for Collegiate . He allowed two runs over five innings while striking out three, walking three and giving up three hits.

Therin Frame ended up on the wrong side of the pitching decision, going 4 2/3 innings, walking one, striking out seven, and allowing five runs.

The Crusaders put up one run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh. In the fifth, Crusaders scored on a groundout by Derek Driskell, bringing home Connor Phelps.

One Crusaders run crossed the plate in the bottom half of the seventh, making the score 6-4.

In game one, Wellington posted its first shut out of the season as Adam Hilt threw a three-hitter on the mound in six innings. Dylan Jones came in relief in the seventh to get the save.

The Crusaders were on fire defensively, never allowing the Spartans to cross second base.

Wellington built a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Therin Fame smacked a 2RBI double. The Crusaders would add to the lead in the fourth on a Wesley Gilmore RBI double, an error and a sacrifice fly by Co. Phelps.

Co. Phelps ended the game with a sensational diving catch in left field amongst three players.

Hilt struck out three, and allowed three hits and one walk on the mound.

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