by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College lashed out 13 hits in an opening 10-4 softball win at Independence Monday but couldn’t quite overtake the Lady Pirates in an 8-5 second game loss.
The Blue Devils are right back in action Tuesday, playing host to Allen County at 2 p.m. and then head to Hutchinson Wednesday for a rescheduled doubleheader. They’ll close out their home season next week, playing host to Neosho County Tuesday and Ottawa University junior varsity on Sophomore Day at 3 p.m.Thursday.
Freshman Jadyn Lindgren came up a double short of hitting for the cycle in the 10-4 opener. The Blue Devils’ leadoff hitter, Lindgren singled, tripled and homered and scored four times. Kaylee Arnzen added a double and single, Shannon Brown and Natalie Cowan singled twice and Brittney Beck and Jennifer Mullins in the 13-hit attack.
The Blue Devils scored in every inning but the second while Shannon Greene was scattering six hits in getting the win. She struck out two and walked one.
KCKCC took a 1-0 lead in the first on a two-out double by Arnzen and led 2-1 in the third on Lindgren’s home run to center. Indy put together half of their six hits in the third to go ahead 3-2 but the lead didn’t last long.
A walk and singles by Brown and Cowan tied the game in the fourth and the Blue Devils went ahead to stay with three runs in the fifth. With two out and Lindgren on base with a walk, Arnzen, Gracie Gentry, Brown and Cowan lashed consecutive hits for a 6-3 lead.
The Blue Devils added two more runs in the sixth on a triple by Lindgren, single by Kali Jacobson and a double by Mullins and capped the win with two in the seventh. After a walk, Beck doubled in a run and scored on Lindgren’s triple.
Independence jumped off to a 4-1 lead in the first inning of the nightcap and led all but the way but not before a seventh inning scare.
Two-out singles by Arnzen and Lauren Scott and a double by Brown scored two runs and the Blue Devils put the tying runs on base before a game-ending strike out. Eight Blue Devils hit safely in an 11-hit attack but 10 runners were left on base and three of Indy’s runs were unearned.
Sidney Duvall took the loss, giving up three hits and four runs in the first, only two of which were earned. Faith Maslak worked the next 2 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and four runs (one unearned) before Greene finished up, allowing just one single in the final 2 2/3 innings.
KCKCC’s first run in the first came on a Mullins’ single but the Blue Devils left two runners on base in the second, third and fifth and three in the seventh.
A single by Cowan and an error scored KCKCC’s second run and then got another in the fifth on a double by Jacobson and single by Brown. It was the second of three hits for Brown while Cowan had a pair.