Blue Dragon Baseball Bats Bashing Opposing Pitching

By Chris Lachenmaier
Sports Editor
IG: @chrissylach

The Hutchinson Community College men’s baseball has had a strong season so far, with a 30-9 record.

Led by coach Brock Nehls, the Blue Dragons are averaging 11.8 runs per game. The credit doesn’t just go to the coach, however. It goes to the players as well.

“I think it is our guys and our group,” Nehls said. “They want to get better, they are willing to put in the work to get better. They’re never satisfied. And it has been fun to watch them grow and develop from Aug.17 till now.

Doing things the right way every time is something that the Blue Dragons value.

“We want them to be their best versions of themselves every single day,” Nehls said.

The baseball season can be a grind, with five games a week and trips all over Kansas.

“It’s coming out here every day, during the season, it’s hard, because you’re playing five games a week, but every time you get a chance to be on the field, it’s always a good time,” said sophomore Elias Duncan, who is batting .438 with 13 home runs. “Being able to practice as hard as we can, and as fast as we can, and as fast as we can, and really putting in that game speed, game effort, we have really just built trust.

Putting value into the little everyday things has helped the Blue Dragons grow. That’s helped them to a 12-4 Jayhawk West record, which places them second behind Cloud County by one game.

“They value doing things the right way every single day,” Nehls said. “It’s not always going to go the way that they want it all the time, but they are able to handle that adversity and continue to work through it, so it’s just a fun group. It’s a bunch of personalities that you kind of have to manage as a coach, but again, you don’t want a bunch of robots that have no personality.

Jordan Kuhnau, a red shirt freshman, said the Blue Dragons balance that personality while knowing when to be serious.

“I think our guys do a really good job of taking a professional approach to practice,” said Kuhnau, who is batting. 386 with 15 home runs. “A lot of guys are really mature about the way they go about practice. And part of that just comes with great intention in how we do things in practice and in field work. And just being extremely particular about every single thing that we do, and I think that’s the reason why we have that success. I’ve felt like family sinse day one. And then on, we just have a ton of trust in each other on and off the field, and it shows. I mean, we have a great time out here, and we play like it too.

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