by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Statistically, it was an outstanding year for baseball at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
The Blue Devils’ 23-9 record in the Jayhawk Conference was the best in 15 years and their outright third place finish was the highest since 2007. They finished fourth in the nation in triples and 11th in doubles. Their team batting average of .325 ranked 21st nationally.
After a 0-4 start in Texas, the Blue Devils won 19 straight and 21 of 22 games. Their 39 wins left them one win short of a 40-win season for the third time in four years under coach Matt Goldbeck.
Unfortunately, it all ended on a sour note. Originally scheduled to have a bye week the first week of the season, it was pushed back to the end of the season because of horrific spring weather so while the other eight teams in the Jayhawk were winding up conference play, the Blue Devils had no one to play except for one game with William Jewell’s junior varsity.
Paired against defending Region VI champion Barton County in the opening round of the playoffs, the Blue Devils were sent to the sidelines by 6-2 and 7-3 losses.
“We just didn’t play well and Barton played really well,” Goldbeck said. “And we really felt good going into the regional.”
The disappointing finish, however, did not stop four-year colleges and universities from snapping up some of the sophomore leaders.
Pitchers Orlando Ortiz and Carlo Soto have signed with NCAA Division universities, Ortiz at Troy State in Alabama and Soto at Southern University in Louisiana. First baseman Eric Hinostroza will continue at Washburn; catcher J.T. Goodfellow and second baseman Traice Hartter at Central Oklahoma; and pitcher Victor Gotay at Kaiser University in Florida. Still others are weighing their options.
Graduation is hitting the KCKCC roster hard this season, taking the entire infield of Hinostroza, Hartter, shortstops Kemper Bednar and Kevin Santiago, third baseman Brady Holder and Goodfellow behind the plate. Also departing will be three of the four starters in Ortiz, Soto and Gotay.
Hinostroza (.359) and Bednar (.355) led the Blue Devils in hitting. Santiago led the team in home runs with six while hitting (.333) and Hartter batted .317. Both finished with 32 RBI. Goodfellow hit .319 and Holder .236.
Ortiz (6-2) led the pitching staff in earned run average (3.53) and strikeouts (80) while Soto was 6-1 with a 3.92 ERA and Gotay 2-3 with a 4.68 ERA. Each had 10 or more starts. Jose Amaro, who had four saves, and southpaw reliever Hunter Paxton (2-1) will also be lost to the pitching staff.
On the plus side, three of this season’s top four hitters will return. Jose Sosa, who was the designated hitter and played first base, led the team in hits (70), extra base hits (27), and RBI (43) while hitting .350.
Outfielders Eduardo Acosta (.352) and Tyler Henry (.345) were close behind. Henry led in slugging (.613) and second in RBI (42), led in triples with eight and shared the lead in extra base hits (27) with Sosa; Acosta was third in RBI with 36. Catcher Griffin Everitt who hit .319 in 35 games also returns as well as infielder Trey Hoover (.278).
Osvaldo Mendez, who was 7-3 with a 4.26 ERA and a Gold Glove winner, and reliever Gaby Ramos, 4-3 with three saves in 14 games return to head the pitching staff. They will be joined by Matthew Fred, who was 2-1 in 11 games; and Zavier Morin, 2-0 with two saves.
Recruiting for next season is well under way.
“We have an offensive group to build around but we need arms, more pitching depth,” said Goldbeck said.
Weather undoubtedly cost the Blue Devils another 40-win season. They did not get outside until their annual spring road trip to the Dallas area where they lost their first four games, two of which they lost after leading going into the final innings. Once on track, they won 19 in a row and 23 of 25.
In finishing 13-9, the best conference record since a 26-10 mark in 2005, the Blue Devils won seven of nine conference series but three losses in four games to Cowley and a four-game split with Johnson County left them a game back of JCCC for second and three games back of first place Cowley, which won the East for the 13th time in the last 19 years – and the Region VI championship.