by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
It may be the game that defines Kansas City Kansas Community College’s baseball season.
Trailing Allen County 5-1 in the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Devils rallied for a dramatic 6-5 win capped by Rorey Combs’ two-run home run. Combined with a 6-2 opening game win, the victory gave KCKCC only its second sweep of a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader.
The sweep vaulted KCKCC (11-9) into fourth place in the Jayhawk and just a game back of third place Johnson County (12-8) and a game ahead of Neosho County and Allen, both 10-10.
It also set up a pivotal four-game series this week with co-leader Fort Scott (17-3). Home against State Fair Tuesday at 2 p.m., the Blue Devils will play host to Fort Scott Thursday at 1 p.m.
Limited to one run and five hits over the first eight innings, the Blue Devils were apparently headed for their eighth doubleheader split of the conference season when freshmen Kevin Santiago, Gavin Gifford and Brandon Still ignited the comeback with consecutive singles to load the bases in the ninth.
Brigham Mooney’s ground ball scored one run before Brandon Green rifled a two-run triple to right-center to close the gap to 5-4 and set the stage for Combs’ game winner.
A sophomore from Truman, Combs launched a 1-2 pitch well over the fence in right field and set off a wild melee at home plate.
“A no-doubter,” KCKCC coach Matt Goldbeck said about Combs’ winning blast. “A good job of finding a way to win a 9-inning game (only KCKCC’s second in conference play).”
The win made a winner out of Piper sophomore Gunner Vestal, who gave up two hits and three runs (two earned) in three innings. Bret Snider, making his first conference start, worked the first six innings, allowing five hits, the big one a 2-run home run to Sky-Lar Culver in the sixth.
KCKCC’s first run came in the seventh. Santiago led off with a triple and scored on Gifford’s ground ball. Brandon Green finished with three hits while Combs and Santiago had two each.
Home runs by Green and Tyler Pittman backed a strong pitching performance by freshman Carlos Soto in the 6-2 opener. Soto (4-3) scattered five hits, striking out three and walking three.
The Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead in the second on a single by Green and double by Combs and then added single runs in the third and fourth on the home runs by Pittman and Green. The final three runs came in the fifth. After one-out singles by Josh Schumacher and Pittman, Santiago doubled in two runs and scored on Still’s two-out double.
