WINFIELD, Kan. — The Hesston College baseball team overcame an early rally and hung on for a 13-9 road victory over Southwestern College on Tuesday. The Larks had explosive run production early and answered every threat from the Moundbuilders to secure the season's first road win.
Hesston set the tone right from the start, scoring three times in the top of the first inning. After RJ Cruz was hit by a pitch and Federico Moran reached on an error, Kreyton Johnson delivered an RBI sacrifice fly that brought home Moran. Later in the frame, Cooper Huff walked, and Trentis Lane scored on a grounder to give Hesston a 2-0 advantage.
The Larks kept their offense rolling in the second. Cruz reached base again, this time on an error, driving in Hayden Kearney. A two-run double from Lane to left plated Noel Cesena and Cruz, extending Hesston's lead to 5-0 and forcing the Moundbuilders to settle in early.
Hesston added two more runs in the fourth, with Cesena bringing in a run with a groundout and Johnson following with an RBI single to push the margin to 7-0. Southwestern finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when they launched a three-run home run, cutting into the lead at 7-3.
In the fifth inning, Hesston continued to pour it on. A lively sequence saw Manuel Aranguren and Kearney work their way across the bases, with Kearney scoring from third on a steal of home. Moran added an RBI sacrifice fly, and Johnson's second RBI of the afternoon extended the lead to 10-3.
Southwestern chipped away in the sixth and seventh, with a run in the sixth and a flurry of three in the seventh, including a pair of runs on a single and an RBI groundout, trimming the deficit to 12-7. The Moundbuilders tacked on two more in the eighth on a pair of timely hits, closing the gap to 12-9 and setting up a tense final inning.
But Hesston answered in the top of the seventh with two more insurance runs. Moran's RBI single brought home Cruz, and Cesena followed with an RBI double that scored Moran to put the Larks ahead 12-4, giving the pitching staff some breathing room.
Cruz finished the day with an exceptional stat line — multiple hits, a team-high five runs scored, and four stolen bases — while Moran scored three times and collected multiple RBIs. Johnson drove in three runs with two hits, and Cesena contributed offensively with a hit and two RBIs. Hesston finished with 13 runs on nine hits, supplemented by 11 walks and aggressive baserunning throughout.
On the mound, Kevyn Velazco picked up the win by working four innings and allowing three runs, while the Hesston bullpen battled through traffic in the later frames to help preserve the lead.
