Wichita State baseball duo powers Hutchinson Monarchs to first NBC World Series win

The defending champions of the National Baseball Congress World Series showed they are primed for a repeat.

On opening night of this summer’s tournament, the Hutchinson Monarchs had few issues dispatching TPA Texas 5-2 at Eck Stadium on Thursday evening.

After hitting .326 in a breakout freshman year at Wichita State, Camden Johnson continued a strong summer campaign for the Monarchs with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the first inning for a 4-0 lead on his home field. Johnson hit .313 and swiped 21 bases for Hutchinson during Jayhawk Collegiate League play.

Another current WSU player, Wichita native Jaden Gustafson, has led the team in hitting this summer and tacked on two more hits on Thursday. The Maize graduate has been the best offensive player for the Monarchs with a team-best .377 batting average, three home runs, 28 RBIs and 33 runs scored to go along with eight stolen bases this summer.

Jarrett Flaggert, a former Shocker who had a strong freshman season this past spring at Cowley College, added an RBI with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.

Hutchinson led 5-0 before TPA Texas plated its only runs of the game in the fifth and sixth innings.

Ian Regal, a recent transfer to Butler University, earned the win on the mound for the Monarchs, lasting 5⅓ innings, while Emporia State’s Carson Cornelius turned it over to Coastal Carolina’s Reece Usselman to close it out.

The Monarchs (1-0) will play Tulsa Sandlot (0-1) at midnight Saturday, as part of Baseball ‘Round the Clock.

Seattle Studs 9, Tulsa Sandlot 0

A group of collegiate players from Oklahoma could only muster two hits against 35-year-old Seattle starter Geoff Brown, who struck out nine in a seven-inning complete-game performance.

The three-time World Series champions broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with an RBI double by Isaiah Afework, followed by a two-RBI single by Jack Bergstrom. Six more runs followed in the fifth inning, which included RBI hits from Logan Shepherd, Noah Fields and Afework.

Seattle (1-0) will face TPA Texas (0-1) on Saturday, while the Monarchs (1-0) will take on Tulsa (0-1) later that evening.

Friday’s NBC World Series schedule

Lonestar Baseball Club vs. Kansas Cannons, noon

Seattle Blackfins vs. Haysville Aviators, 3 p.m.

GPS Legends vs. Santa Barbara Foresters, 6

Air Capital Flyers vs. Hays Larks, 8:30

NBC World Series pool standings

Pool A: Seattle Studs 1-0, Hutchinson Monarchs 1-0, TPA Texas 0-1, Tulsa Sandlot 0-1