by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
While no such records are available, Kansas City Kansas Community College went on the biggest assault on opposing pitchers in college history Thursday – at least against a Jayhawk Conference rival.
Riding gusty winds at Highland, the Blue Devils (27-12) banged out 43 hits in sweeping a doubleheader – 22 in a 16-9 opening win and 21 in a 23-11 nightcap rout. KCKCC will wrap up its four-game series with the Scotties at home Saturday with retired KCKCC coach Steve Burleson throwing out the first pitch at 12:55 p.m.
The sweep kept the Blue Devils (15-7) two games back of Neosho County (17-5) for the Jayhawk lead and kept them tied with Fort Scott for second but vaulted them two games ahead of both Allen County and Cowley, both of whom were swept Thursday and fell to 13-9.
On the KCKCC coaching staff for 22 years, head coach KCKCC Matt Goldbeck called it the biggest barrage of hits in his career.
“Just a great hitters’ day. A lot of guys had big days,” he said..
That they did. Centerfielder Eli Lovell led the way with nine hits in 11 times to the plate and five RBI’s. Third baseman Travis Stroup belted three home runs and drove in seven runs. Catcher-DH Drew Holtgrieve had seven runs-batted-in on six hits and first baseman Conor Behrens six hits and six runs-batted-in.
Add another five hits and three RBI’s from catcher/DH Malone Smith, four hits each by rightfielder Chase Redick and shortstop Albert Woodard, three by leftfielder Ryan Fisher and a single and double by Easton Fortuna and everyone in the Blue Devil lineup had big days.
The Blue Devils used big innings to put both games out of reach early. Behrens put KCKCC ahead to stay in the 16-9 opener with a 2-run home run two batters into the game and Holtgrieve added a 3-run round tripper as the Blue Devils took a 7-0 lead in the first. Lovell added a 2-run double in a 3-run third inning and a run-scoring triple in the sixth and Stroup belted his first home run of the day leading off the fifth.
KCKCC belted five home runs in the nightcap including two by Stroup, the first a 3-run shot in a 9-run third inning and a mammoth 2-run blast in the seventh. Lovell, who had five hits in the game, and Fisher had back-to-back homers in a 4-run fifth and Redick led off the seventh with a round-tripper.
The Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead in the first on run-scoring singles by Lovell and Holtgrieve, added three more in the second, the first two in a 2-run triple by Behrens. KCKCC pounded out seven hits in the 9-run third. In addition to Behrens’ 3-run homer, Redick singled in two runs and Malone Smith, Holtgrieve and Woodard one each.
Dustin Eby got the win in the opener, allowing nine hits and five runs in six innings. He walked five and struck out five. Avery Fliger came on in relief in the nightcap with the best mound effort of the day, allowing only two hits and one run while striking out five in 3.2 innings.