Month: May 2019

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Blue Devils dug themselves a first inning hole Thursday from which they could not dig their way out.

Jumping in front 3-0 in the first, Barton County grabbed the upper hand in the Region VI baseball playoffs with a 6-2 win. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is set for 2 p.m. Friday. A KCKCC win will force a third game Saturday; a loss will end the Blue Devil season.

The Cougars took advantage of two hit batsman and a walk in taking the 3-0 lead in the first. Loading the bases after a leadoff triple by Andrew Stewart, designated hitter Charlie Peyla scored all three with a bases-clearing triple to right center.

KCKCC got a run back in the bottom of the first. Eduardo Acosta opened the inning with a leadoff triple and scored on Kevin Santiago’s sacrifice fly. But the Blue Devils could manage only five other hits and one run the rest of the way against Barton’s Zach Curry and Joe Richter.

Curry worked the first seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked two. Curry came on after a leadoff double by Santiago in the eighth inning and shut the Blue Devils down without a hit the final two innings.

Barton widened its lead to 5-1 with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Peyla drove in his fourth run of the game with a two-out double that kayoed KCKCC starter Osvaldo Mendez in the fourth.

Mendez allowed six hits and four runs, striking out seven but walking two and hitting three. The Cougars’ run in the fifth came without a hit against reliever Hunter Paxton, scoring on a hit batsman, walk, sacrifice bunt and a ground ball.

The Blue Devils got their second run in the sixth on a single by Santiago and double by Eric Hinostroza but managed only one other hit the rest of the way, Santiago’s double in the eighth. Barton’s final run came against Max Storch in the eighth and was unearned, the run coming on a sacrifice fly after a single, ground ball and a passed ball.