by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College had No. 5 ranked Cowley County on the ropes for five innings Thursday only to have the Tigers rally for six runs in the sixth inning in an 11-6 win.
The second game was halted by darkness in a 4-4 tie after seven innings of the nightcap. Play will be resumed Saturday when the two teams continue their four-game Jayhawk Conference series at Arkansas City.
“Six runs should be enough to win most games but we didn’t pitch well or defend well,” said KCKCC coach Matt Goldbeck, whose Blue Devils were guilty of seven errors in the two games.
A walk and a one-out error set up Cowley’s game-winning six-run rally in the sixth inning of the opener. The Tigers followed with four straight singles off starter Jake Purl, who gave up just five hits in 5.1 innings but walked five. Two of the six runs were unearned off Purl, who struck out seven before being relieved by Cole Gacke, who was touched for four hits and three runs; and Colton Kenagy, who gave up two-run home run to Bret Fehr in the seventh.
KCKCC built leads of 3-0 and 6-2 in the first three innings against Cowley starter Jacob Ruder. Chase Redick put the Blue Devils in front in the first with a two-run double after Albert Woodard and Tyler Pittman led off the inning with singles.
The Blue Devils added another run in the second on the first of two doubles by Zach Mahoney and a run-scoring single by Josh Schumacher and three more in the third. Drew Holtgrieve tripled to lead off the inning and scored on an Alex Phillips’s double. A single by Redick and Easton Fortuna’s ground ball scored the second run and Mahoney singled in the third.
Mahoney finished with two doubles and a single and Redick had two singles and a double for half of KCKCC’s 12 hits. However, the Blue Devils managed just four hits in the final four innings off Cowley relievers Mason LeClair and Ryan Knowles.
KCKCC also had a 4-2 lead in the second game. Cowley took a 2-0 lead in the first. Kea’von Edwards homered with one out and a second run scored after a two-out error but the Blue Devils bounced back with a run in the second on a singles by Redick and Mahoney sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt by Fortuna.
The Blue Devils went ahead with three runs in the fourth. After a walk, single by Fortuna and an error loaded the bases, Brandon Still doubled in two runs and scored the third on Schumacher’s ground ball. Cowley got even with two runs in the sixth on three singles and a sacrifice fly off reliever Cameron Bednar before Jake Bartshe pitched a scoreless seventh. Chad Cox worked the first five innings for KCKCC, allowing five hits and just one earned run.
