by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College made the most of finally getting to play on home turf Friday, sweeping Marshalltown Community College 5-3 and 17-3.
The sweep ran the Blue Devils’ winning streak to five and their overall record to 7-5. Just when they’ll resume play, however, is up to the weather. The Blue Devils are scheduled to open Jayhawk Conference play against Labette in Parsons Thursday with Labette coming to KCKCC Saturday.
The Blue Devils won the 5-3 opener behind the pitching of Carlos Soto and Jose Amaro and the hitting of freshman Kaleb Harrison. Soto gave up three runs on just two hits, walking two and striking out nine in 5 2/3 innings.
Marshalltown took a 2-1 lead in the third, scoring twice on a walk, triple and double and then added an unearned run on a walk and passed ball in the fifth. Amaro came on with two out in the sixth and retired the final four Tigers, two on strikeouts.
A freshman outfielder from Neola, Iowa, Harrison spearheaded the Blue Devil offense with a triple and single that figured prominently in both KCKCC scoring innings.
Harrison singled and scored the game’s first run in the second on Eric Hinostroza’s two-out single and then drove in the tying and lead runs with a one-out triple in the fifth.
Trailing 3-1, Brady Holder followed a pair of walks with a run-scoring single and Harrison unloaded a go-ahead two-run triple before scoring on a Jose Acosta single. Kemper Bednar and Hinostroza also had two hits each in KCKCC’s 9-hit attack.
The Blue Devils pounded out 16 hits including seven for extra bases in the 17-3 second game. Jose Sosa belted a 3-run home run, Traice Harter doubled and singled twice and scored four runs, Bednar plated a pair of runs with a double and single and Harrison and Hinostroza each had two more hits.
KCKCC scored in every inning but the second with Sosa putting the Blue Devils ahead with a 3-run home run in the first. The Blue Devils made it 4-0 on a Harter double and an error in the third and singles by Harrison, Eduardo Acosta and Harter made it 6-1 in the fourth.
Marshalltown closed to 6-3 in the fifth but Tyler Henry tripled and scored on a Holder ground ball in the bottom of the inning before the Blue Devils blew the game open with a 7-run sixth.
Holder and pinch-hitter Trey Hoover had the big blows, back-to-back two-run doubles, while Griffin Everett, Harter and Hinostroza had hits in the inning. Doubles by Hinostroza and Bednar added a run in the seventh and Kevin Santiago’s two-out single highlighted a 2-run eighth.
Southpaw Osvaldo Mendez pitched the first 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on just three hits, walking three and striking out seven before three relievers combined on 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Orlando Ortiz allowed two hits, one walk and struck out three in 2 2/3 innings while Victor Gotay gave up one hit and struck out two in one inning and Hunter Paxton finished up, striking out one in the ninth.
