Month: May 2019

Blue Devils escape one elimination game, but not a second

JCCC ends 38-win KCKCC season 4-2 after Blue Devils blank Murray State 1-0


by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s best softball season in more than a decade came to an end Sunday but not without a whale of a fight.

Faced with winning three games in one day, the Blue Devils won a pressure-packed 1-0 decision over Murray State (Oklahoma) in an elimination game and then had the tying runs on base in the bottom of the seventh before Johnson County escaped with a 4-2 championship game win in the NJCAA DI District D tournament in Topeka.

Advancing to the district semifinals for the first time since 2014, the Blue Devils finished the season 38-20 while Johnson County (24-12) advances to the NJCAA DII national tournament in Clinton, Mississippi, May 22-25.

“I thought we played well,” KCKCC Coach Lana Ross said. “We had a tough first game and then had to come right back and play a good team like Johnson County and played well in that one.”

Both games went right down to the final pitch Sunday starting with the 1-0 win over Murray State (25-21-1). Shay Grosstephan took a 5-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh when Murray State mounted its only serious scoring threat of the game – a one-out triple to the fence in right-center field.

The hit brought Mackenzie Pinkerton on in relief and set up the play of the game – or maybe the season. Freshman third baseman Alaina Howe made a diving stop of a ground ball, scrambled to her feet and threw out the tying run at the plate for the second out of the inning.

“Alaina made a great play, saving a run and keep us from having to go extra innings,” Ross said.

The Aggies put the tying run on second on their only walk of the game but Pinkerton finished with a game-ending strikeout on a 3-2 pitch.

Grosstephan (13-6) not only got the pitching win but scored the game’s lone run in the top of the fourth inning. Leading off the inning with a single, she moved up to second on Kaylee Arnen’s sacrifice bunt and raced home when Alexis Rymer rifled a single to center.

Except for the seventh inning triple. Grosstephan allowed only two others Aggies to reach second base and three of the five hits she allowed came with two out. She struck out three and walked none. Rymer had two of KCKCC’s six hits. Arnzen, Grosstephan, Pinkerton and Devin Purcell had the others.

JCCC jumped in front 2-0 in the second inning of the second game, scoring the runs on three singles and an errant throw on a squeeze bunt. The uprising might have been worse had not Blue Devil catcher Brittney Beck caught a runner wandering too far off third.

KCKCC got one run back in the third on a single by Beck, double by Hannah Redick and Devin Purcell’s run-scoring sacrifice fly. The Cavaliers got that run back in the fourth on a one-out triple and a squeeze bunt and the game settled into a pitcher’s duel between Pinkerton and Kerrigan Dixon (15-4). JCCC added what proved to be a huge insurance run in the top of the seventh on a double and two-out single.

The Blue Devils quickly cut their deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Rymer leading off with a triple and scoring on a double by Pinkerton before they caught a bad break.

Breaking towards third on a Howe ground ball that was misplayed, Pinkerton was ruled out for interference for the game’s first out and Howe placed on first base. A single by Britney Smith put the tying runs on base before Dixon got Redick on a pop fly to end it.

Redick had two of KCKCC’s seven hits while Beck, Grosstephan and Smith added singles to Rymer’s triple and Pinkerton’s double. JCCC collected 10 hits off Pinkerton (16-10).

T-Bones set roster for 2019 opener Friday

The Kansas City T-Bones, the defending American Association Champions, have set the club’s 2019 opening night roster in Kansas City, Kansas.

Opening day for the T-Bones is at 7:05 p.m. Friday, May 17, at T-Bones Stadium in Kansas City, Kansas.

The T-Bones roster currently stands at 22. The team will feature 12 pitchers, led by 2018 staff ace, right-handed pitcher Tommy Collier from Houston.

Collier will be joined in the rotation by former Arizona Diamondback righty Randall Delgado. Delgado is set to start opening night against Fargo, and Collier will start in game two on Saturday. The third piece of the rotation will be former Kansas City Royal LHP Eric Stout. The left-handed pitche spent part of 2018 with the Royals, working out of the pen.

The rest of the pitching staff features Alaska native RHP Dylan Baker, who will be a member of the starting rotation, and right-handed reliever Jesus Balaguer.

The pen will also feature the return of left-hander Carlos Diaz, who saved nine games before his contract was purchased last season by the Cincinnati Reds organization, and fellow left-hander Nick Lee, who also was a part of the 2018 championship club.

A pair of new faces in former Royals farm hand right-handed pitcher Kevin Lenik and right-handed pitcher Kevin Hamann, who won two NAIA World Series while in college. Right-handed pitcher Marc Magliaro is also a new face to be counted on in the pen. Kansas City native right-handed pitcher Robert Calvano returns as well as right-handed pitcher Jackson Lowery to round out the staff.

At the plate, the T-Bones welcome former Wichita State star and first round draft pick infielder-outfielder Casey Gillaspie.

The club also features several players with Major League time, including Daniel Robertson, Darnell Sweeney and Shawn O’Malley. All three players played in the outfield and infield during spring training.

Carlos Franco, who hit 33 home runs in the Braves system the last two years combined, will also be a part of the ball club, playing first base.

Infielder Mason Davis, a big-time clutch performer for Kansas City last season, is set to return. Davis was always a threat to steal a base while being equally likely to go deep in 2018.

Outfielder Forrest Allday comes to the T-Bones out of the San Diego Padres organization, and infielder Mikey Reynolds comes over from the Can-Am League this season.

The T-Bones two catchers are Christian Correa, who spent parts of two seasons with Kansas City, and newcomer Roy Morales out of the Miami Marlins organization.

To get to the league-mandated number, the T-Bones placed infielder Ryan Brett and right-handed pitcher Dustin Hurlbutt on the disabled list, released infielder Nick Basto, and traded right-handed pitcher Corey Walter to York in the Atlantic League.

Opening day for the T-Bones is set for Friday, May 17, at T-Bones Stadium. The T-Bones play host to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks to open the 2019 season. The entire 100-game schedule can be heard on the T-Bones Broadcast Network online at tbonesbaseball.com/ T-&Bones MixLR Channel .

Full and half-season 2019 ticket packages as well as mini plans are on sale online or by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke’s Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale.

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Boulevard Drive-in to become bike-in theater on Thursday

The Boulevard Drive-in, 1051 Merriam Lane, Kansas City, Kansas, will become a bike-in theater at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16.

The movie, “The Pagemaster,” a 1994 film rated G, will be shown. The bike-in theater is the ninth annual event sponsored by the Rosedale Development Association.

Gates will open at 7 p.m., and there will be family-friendly events, games, sports, bicycle mazes and activities for all ages, according to Alissa Workman, development coordinator for the Rosedale Development Association.

The movie will begin at dark, about 9 p.m. Kids will decorate their bikes, and there will be a parade around the theater around 8:30 p.m. before the event begins, Workman said. Some children will decorate their bikes at the event, while others will bring them already decorated.

Admission to the movie and event will be free for bicyclists and pedestrians, she said. Each car is asked to donate $5 to the Rosedale Development Association, as part of the fundraiser.

Snacks will be available for purchase with cash only at the concessions area. Seating and bike storage will be available. There will be book giveaways from the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library’s mobile library.

Workman said partners from the community, including the Unified Government S.O.A.R. program and the League of Women Voters, will be presenting educational information at the event.

The event is sponsored by the Rosedale Development Association, in partnership with BikeWalkKC, Boulevard Drive-in, Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City, Frank Rushton Jaguars, K-State Research and Extension of Wyandotte County, Learning Tree and Mid-America Regional Council, and others.