by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
Kansas City Kansas Community College climbed back over the .500 mark with a sweep of Rockhurst junior varsity Tuesday.
The Blue Devils rallied in the sixth inning for a 5-2 win in the opener and completed the sweep with a 14-4 breeze in the second game.
The win lifted KCKCC’s record to 4-3 heading into a road game against Benedictine junior varsity in Atchison Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. and home contests Saturday with Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) at 2 p.m.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth inning of the opener, the Blue Devils exploded for four runs on five hits for the 5-2 win.
Samuel Juarez ignited the winning rally with a one-out triple and scored on Cole Dawson’s game-tying single.
Brendyn Bard doubled to put the Blue Devils in front and Caleb Adams and Raymond Paniagua closed out the 4-run uprising with run-scoring singles.
Palmer Hutchinson provided the Blue Devils’ first run with a solo home run in the fourth, his fourth of the season.
Tyler Kapraun got the pitching win, giving up two runs on five hits in five innings. He struck out five. Sebastian Velez finished up, allowing one hit and striking out four in two innings.
The Blue Devils scored in every inning in the 6-inning 14-4 nightcap.
Five of KCKCC’s 11 hits were for extra bases led by Dawson, who drove in four runs with a 3-run home run and a triple.
Paniagua also tripled and Bard and Darius Freeman both doubled. Hutchinson chipped in with a pair of singles and Ivan Ortiz singled in two runs in the sixth.
Three KCKCC pitchers combined on a 5-hitter.
Tre Simmons pitched the first 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits, walking three and striking out four.
Chase Terrell struck out two in 1.2 hitless innings and Hunter Cashero allowed one hit and fanned two in the sixth inning.