by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Sophomore Jake Purl gave Kansas City Kansas Community College a spectacular start to the Blue Devils spring road trip to Dallas, Texas, Friday.
A 6-3 sophomore righthander from Park Hill South, Purl did not surrender a hit until the fifth inning and finished with a two-hitter in six scoreless innings in a 3-2 win over Richland Community College. Purl’s gem wasn’t enough to carry the Blue Devils to a sweep, however, as Richland won the nightcap 7-4.
KCKCC will play Eastfield in a doubleheader Saturday before resuming its series with Richland Sunday and Monday.
Purl struck out 11 and gave up three walks in six scoreless innings. He threw 89 pitches, 59 for strikes. Luke Ostenson, a freshman from Shawnee Heights, got a save after pitching out of a scary jam in the seventh. Richland started the seventh with three straight singles, scoring twice and putting the tying run on second before Ostenson ended the game with a strikeout, ground ball and fly ball.
Shawnee Mission North sophomore Chase Redick provided the game-winning blow, a two-run home run to left center in a 3-run third inning. Back-to-back singles by Josh Schumacher and Albert Woodard and a balk scored the game’s first run before Redick’s big blast. Redick also had a double as did Zach Mahoney as the Blue Devils were limited to seven hits.
Richland jumped on starter Chad Cox for eight hits and six runs, four of which were earned, in jumping to a 6-2 lead in the first three innings of the nightcap. The Blue Devils matched Richland in hits with nine but were without an extra base hit. Easton Fortuna led the way with three singles while Albert Woodard added a pair.
KCKCC took a 1-0 lead in the first on three consecutive singles to start the game by Woodard, Fortuna and Redick and pulled to within 4-2 in the third on singles by Fortuna and Alex Phillips. The Blue Devils scored their final two runs in the fifth on back-to-back singles by Rorey Combs, Woodard and Fortuna and Redick’s sacrifice fly.