Category: KCKCC

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

With the opening of the 2020 Jayhawk Conference baseball season just four days away, Kansas City Kansas Community College took dead aim on the opener with a four-game weekend sweep of Marshalltown Community College.

The conference opener comes Thursday against the No. 3 ranked NJCAA Division I team in the nation, Cowley College. The defending Jayhawk champion, Cowley is 10-4 coming off a four-game split with Iowa Western this past weekend. First pitch will come at 1 p.m.

At State Fair for a 9-inning single game Tuesday, the Blue Devils are 9-3 after outscoring Marshalltown 55-15. The Blue Devils won 14-5 and 8-0 Saturday and 20-5 and 13-5 on Sunday.

The Blue Devils were led offensively by sophomores Griffin Everitt and Eduardo Acosta. Everitt had eight hits including two home runs and drove in seven runs; Acosta had seven hits and drove in 10. Tyler Henry also drove in seven runs, freshman Palmer Hutchinson six and Jose Sosa five and each had at least one home run while Seth Kenagy added six hits and eight stolen bases in three games.

The Blue Devils pounded out four home runs in a come-from-behind 15-5 win in the series opener Saturday. Everitt, Sosa, Hutchinson and Trey Hoover launched the homers to highlight a 16-hit attack.

Seth Kenagy and Everitt each had three hits, Hoover, Hutchinson and Raymond Paniagua two apiece with Everitt and Hutchinson driving in three runs.

Marshalltown took a 5-0 lead before KCKCC scored four times in the third and eight in the fourth. Two-run home runs by Sosa and Everitt scored the four runs in the third and the Blue Devils bunched eight hits for the eight runs in the fourth. The Blue Devils rapped out seven straight hits in the fourth.

A 3-run home run by Hutchinson and a 2-run double by Acosta were the big blows while Caleb Adams, Paniagua, Kenagy, Everitt and Hoover contributed singles.

Southpaw Gaby Ramos got the win, allowing eight hits and five runs in five innings before Parker Weddle mopped up with two hitless innings.

Joseph Reyes allowed just two hits in five innings in Saturday’s 8-0 second game win. Reyes struck out four and walked one before Chase Terrell and Nao Fukada each pitched a hitless inning.

Acosta drove in a run in each of KCKCC’s three scoring innings. Aided by four Marshalltown errors, the Blue Devils scored two runs in each of the first and second inning on just one hit, a single by Acosta, and then wrapped up the win with four runs in the fourth.

After singles by Panagua and Kenagy and a walk scored one run, Acosta tripled in two more and scored on Henry’s single.

The Blue Devils trailed 4-1 in the second inning of Sunday’s first game before a grand slam home run by Henry capped a 6-run second inning and put KCKCC ahead to stay in the 20-5 win.

Sosa and Everitt also homered in a 15-hit attack. Sosa finished with three hits and three RBI; Everitt homered and doubled; Henry added an RBI single to his grand slam; Michael Edgar doubled and drove in three runs; Acosta singled twice; and Hutchinson tripled in a pair of runs.

Steven Santiago got the win with three scoreless innings of 3-hit relief, striking out four and walking none. Chase Terrell finished up with two hitless innings, striking out three.

Jake Shafer started, giving up five runs on four hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out two.

KCKCC put Sunday’s second game out of reach by scoring eight runs in the first in the 13-5 win. Everitt started the uprising with a single and capped it with an RBI double.

The big inning also featured a 3-run double by Acosta; a two-run single by Kade Chastain, who had also had a 2-run single in the fourth; and a run-scoring single by Samuel Juarez, who had two hits and two RBI. Everitt finished with three hits, Zayne Morrow, Juarez, Chastain and Acosta two each.

Jason Crowley got the win, allowing just one hit and one run in 3 2/3 innings of relief. He struck out six and walked one. Hunter Cashero struck out two in a hitless sixth innings; Parker Weddle was touched for two hits in a scoreless seventh.

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

The two returning members of Kansas City Kansas Community College’s 2019 national championship team made sure the Lady Blue Devils’ reign would not end on their own court Friday.

Caroline Hoppock and Brodi Byrd combined for 42 points to lead KCKCC to a 95-54 opening round Region VI playoff win. The win sends the No. 4 seeded Blue Devils (25-6) to No. 1 Labette (23-4) in Parsons Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Byrd scored 16 points including three 3-point goals that set a new record of 129 treys in her 2-year career while Hoppock knocked down six threes in eight attempts and led all scorers with 26 points. Byrd also had four rebounds, four assists and three steals while Hoppock was 10-of-13 from the field and led the Blue Devils in rebounding with seven.

Byrd wasted no time in tying the record of 128 threes shared by Camryn Swanson and Sierra Roberts by draining a pair with her first two shots just 1:37 into the game. The record came with 4:45 left in the second quarter.

“Coach called the play for me,” said Byrd, who flipped three fingers in the direction of the KCKCC bench to indicate a 3-point shot.

“Yes I did,” coach Joe McKinstry said about the record breaker.

“She made two in the first couple of minutes but then missed about four in a row. So I said let’s get this over and called a play for a 3-point attempt from the circle,” he said.

The two quick threes couldn’t have been a better start.

“I felt a lot better after that,” said Byrd, who was well aware of her record pursuit. “My parents have been counting down all year.”

Hoppock’s six 3-pointers put her in a tie for sixth on the all-time list for most threes in a game, an all-time record she shares after making eight last season.

“Very happy they went out with a win, for sure,” McKinstry said. “Brodi broke the record and Caroline was six for eight from three; great accomplishments for their last night in this gym.”

Freshman Jada Mayberry was the only other Blue Devils in double figures with a career-high 18 points and four rebounds. Aliyah Myers added nine points, Adoreya Williams seven and Destiny Zamudio, Tiaira Earnest and Kamryn Estell six each. Earnest also had five rebounds.

Offensively, the Blue Devils had an impressive 25 assists on 32 field goals with Zamudio, Earnest, Mayberry and Adoreya Williams adding three each to Byrd’s four.

“That’s one thing this team has been good at from day one, sharing the ball and looking for each other,” McKinstry said.

Defensively, the Blue Devils had a season-high 23 steals in forcing 34 Hesston turnovers.

“Without full court pressing and trapping, we did a real good job of putting the pressure on them and being active,” McKinstry said.

Tuesday’s meeting with Labette Tuesday will be the third this season. The Jayhawk Conference champion Cardinals won the conference opener at home 79-63, then edged the Blue Devils 66-62 at KCKCC.

“We did what we were supposed to do tonight and I’m proud of that,” McKinstry said. “But we have to clean some things up if we’re going to get a win on Tuesday.”

Blue Devils rebound from 2-8 start to win first Jayhawk championship in 50 years

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

If, on Nov. 30, ESPN had predicted Kansas City Kansas Community College’s win probability of capturing the 2020 Jayhawk Conference championship, it probably would have been about 2.4 percent.

The Blue Devils had just taken a 90-67 thumping at the hands of nationally ranked Mineral Area and were just 2-8 a third of the way through their schedule. Furthermore, they had lost their No. 1 scorer and rebounder, 6-8 Sevon Witt, who was averaging 22.2 points and 11.6 rebounds when he tore an ACL and was lost for the season in just his sixth game.

What that 2-8 start didn’t reflect was the fact that four of the losses were at the hands of teams currently ranked in the Top 20 in either Division I or Division II. Or that five of the eight losses were by 10 points or less. Or that nine of KCKCC’s first 11 games were on the road.

Little could have anyone guessed that the Brandon Burgette-led Blue Devils were gearing up for one of the biggest if not the biggest turnarounds in Jayhawk history culminated by a 9-game winning streak and the first-ever Jayhawk men’s championship in the 51st year of the conference.

So how did it happen?

“The beginning of the year, tough schedule, new players, new system, new coaches,” Burgette said. “It took time for our guys to understand how to play and games to get us to jell and come together. Most of our games were under double digits; we just had a hard time closing out games.”

The Blue Devils entered Jayhawk play with just nine healthy players after losing sophomore Cody Dortch (7.4-point scoring average) to a torn ACL 11 games into the season. Opening conference play at Labette, the Blue Devils dropped a 79-71 decision but they would not lose again until the Jayhawk championship had been signed, sealed and delivered.

They won pivotal road games at Fort Scott (75-64) and Highland (91-73) and then jolted a Johnson County team 82-65 that had been ranked No. 1 in the nation in the pre-season poll. A come-from-behind 74-69 win over Fort Scott clinched no worse than a title tie and set up one of the biggest and the most crucial comeback in history. Trailing Highland by 14 points with less than eight minutes to go, the Blue Devils stormed to a 71-67 win that set up a wild championship celebration at mid-court.

And they did it with basically just seven players – two “Bigs,” 6-8 Jermaine Yarbough and 6-7 Robert Rhodes; two big guards, 6-4 Jalen Davis and 6-3 Calvin Slaughter, the only two sophomores on the team; and three quick guards 6-0 Deron McDaniel, 6-1 Ezekiel Lopes and 5-9 DeAngelo Bell. Game time was limited for forwards 6-6 Tim Barbieri and 6-5 Jaemall Newson.

The balance of the seven has been the foundation of their success. Four Blue Devils are averaging in double figures – McDaniel, 13.7; Davis, 13.5; Yarbough, 10.2; and Slaughter, 10.2. Lopes (9.3) is close while Rhodes (8.2) leads the Jayhawk in rebounding (9.3) and blocked shots (2.0) and Bell (7.2) leads the team in assists with 91.

“It’s not going to be the same guy (scoring) every night,” Burgette saod. “When teams scout us and takes someone away, it gives someone else the opportunity to step up.”

Indeed, in the eight wins in conference play, five different Blue Devils led the scoring. Five were in double figures in an 81-77 home win over Labette and six in a 98-91 loss at Johnson County last Saturday.

“Our guard play has got a lot better,” Burgette said. “Early on we were relying on our bigs; now we’re counting on our guards to make big plays.” Slaughter has increased his scoring in conference play from 10.2 to 13.4 and McDaniel is at a team high 15.4.

“Calvin has improved during the year; DeAngelo has improved. He’s just learning how to play,” Burgette saod. “Robert has been a big presence defensively but needs to get stronger offensively. Jermaine has shown flashes but needs to put everything together.”

The No. 1 seed in the Region VI playoffs, the Blue Devils will play host to the winner of Friday’s Labette at Fort Scott first round contest next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“It’s not going to be easy, we’re going to get everyone’s best shot,” Burgette said. “Both teams led us at one point in the game and we had to fight back to win. Each teams hurts you in a different way. Labette brings a lot of pressure and toughness; Fort Scott is very well coached.”