Month: May 2018

KCKCC wins home finale 8-5; at Butler in playoffs Friday

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

An 8-5 winner over State Fair in their home finale, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Blue Devils immediately turned their focus on the Region VI playoffs.

Seeded No. 13 in the 16-team field, the Blue Devils will open the 2018 playoffs against No. 4 Butler County in El Dorado Friday at 6 p.m. Game two of the best-of-three series will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. with a third game if necessary Sunday at 1 p.m. All games are 9-inning contests with the winner advancing to the 8-team regional tournament at Wichita next weekend.

Friday’s opener is expected to match two of the Jayhawk Conference’s winningest pitchers. Butler lefthander Drake Norton leads the league in wins (10-2) and is second in earned run average (3.10) while KCKCC righthander Cole Gacke is 8-2 with a 4.52 ERA.

Offensively, the two teams are evenly matched. The Blue Devils as a team are hitting .319; Butler .310. Playing in a smaller ball park, the Grizzlies have hit 62 home runs to 41 for KCKCC but Blue Devil pitchers have a combined 4.61 ERA to 6.06 for Butler.

KCKCC ended a four-game losing streak with the win over State Fair and will take a 31-24 record into Friday’s opener while Butler (34-17) had an 8-game winning streak snapped by West Division champion Barton County in its final two games.

Four Blue Devil pitchers combined to limit State Fair to just five hits and two earned runs in Tuesday’s 9-inning 8-5 win. Freshman Victor Gotay allowed just two hits and struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings. However, Gotay also walked six including four in a 4-run sixth inning that vaulted State Fair into a 5-2 lead. Sophomore Allan Brown came on to retire the side and get the win.

The Blue Devils responded to the 5-2 deficit by scoring five times in the bottom of the sixth for a 7-4 lead. A leadoff single by Brandon Still and triple by Kevin Santiago ignited the rally. Kemper Bednar singled in the second run and Gavin Gifford doubled in another to tie it before sacrifice flies by Adam North and Josh Schumacher put KCKCC ahead to stay.

Schumacher, who scored KCKCC’s first run in the first inning on a Rorey Combs’ single, also singled in a run in the second and doubled in the final run in the eighth.

Once in front, Gunner Vestal gave up a run on two hits in the seventh before Julian Rivera got the save, allowing just one hit in two innings. He struck out four, walked three.

In other opening playoff series, No. 1 Cowley College plays host to No. 16 Garden City; No. 2 Barton County entertains No. 15 Allen County; and No. 3 Fort Scott is home to No. 14 Seward. Also, No. 9 Coffeyville is at No. 8 Hutchinson; No. 10 Cloud goes to No. 7 Johnson County; No. 11 Independence is at No. 6 Colby; and No. 12 Dodge City plays at No. 5 Neosho County.

Kansas lawmakers say no to future teen governor wannabes

Kansas lawmakers say no to future teen governor wannabes

by Stephen Koranda, Kansas News Service

Kansas lawmakers have approved new restrictions blocking teenagers and out-of-state candidates from future races for governor. The bill says starting next year, candidates must live in Kansas and be at least 25 years old.

The state’s lax laws have led to several teenagers, and residents of other states, joining the campaign for Kansas governor.

A wave of candidates even included a Hutchinson man attempting to enter his dog in the race.

Republican Rep. Keith Esau said young people can still take part in politics by running for local office or working on campaigns.

“There are lots of places to get involved in the political process without starting at the top,” Esau said. He’s chairman of the House Elections Committee and is running to become the Kansas secretary of state, which oversees state elections.

Esau said the changes will keep people off the ballot who aren’t serious candidates.

“It helps focus on the candidates who have a legitimate possibility of winning in the campaign,” Esau said.

Democratic Rep. Vic Miller blasted the bill for cutting young people out of gubernatorial races.

The bill is an “attempt to discriminate against young people who are interested in making our state a better place,” Miller said.

The legislation also touches on other parts of Kansas election law. It says any candidate for Kansas attorney general must be a licensed attorney.

That drew opposition from Republican Rep. Brenda Landwehr, who said non-lawyers with law enforcement experience, for instance, could be qualified to serve as attorney general.

“This will eliminate and omit a lot of potential good candidates with that law enforcement background,” Landwehr said.

The legislation also clarifies the rules for voting by mail. It says disabled people can still cast a ballot by mail if they’re unable to sign the envelope. About two dozen votes in Sedgwick County were thrown out last year because disabled voters were unable to sign their names.

The changes are now headed to Gov. Jeff Colyer, who can sign the bill into law or veto it.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/kansas-lawmakers-say-no-future-teen-governor-wannabes.

Tornado watch issued for Wyandotte County

Update: The tornado watch has been lifted for the area, but the flash flood watch remains in effect.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Wyandotte County until 1 a.m. Thursday.

Surrounding counties also are under the tornado watch.

The Kansas City area is in the probable path of a storm moving northeast, and could move into the area from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The storm includes wind gusts up to 70 mph, large hail up to 2 inches, with the possibility of a few tornadoes, according to the weather service.

Residents are advised to stay alert to changing weather conditions, monitor weather radios and take cover if a tornado warning is issued.

A flash flood watch also is in effect from 7 p.m. tonight through Thursday evening, the weather service said.

For more weather information, visit www.weather.gov or listen to a weather radio.