Category: KCKCC

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

With four top hitters returning from last year’s 39-win team, offense should be a Kansas City Kansas Community College baseball strength this spring.

Pitching, however, is another matter. Last season, four pitchers started every Jayhawk Conference game. Only one returns leaving a lot of inexperience but also a wealth of opportunities for a staff of 11 righthanders and five southpaws.

“We probably won’t have last year’s luxury of having four pitchers who started every conference game,” head coach Matt Goldbeck said. “We’re deeper on the mound this year; we just don’t have the dominant arms at the top of the staff we had last year.”

The Blue Devils open the season this weekend with four games in Dallas, Texas. They’ll play Richland in a single game Friday and a doubleheader Saturday and Brookhaven in a single game Sunday before returning home to face Northeast Nebraska in a pair of doubleheaders Feb. 22-23.

Lefthander Osvaldo Mendez, who led the Blue Devils in wins in a 7-3 campaign last year, is the lone pitching returnee. A KJCCC Gold Glove winner, Mendez struck out 66, walked 34 and compiled a 4.26 earned run average in 12 starts.

“Mendez will be our No. 1 starter; a real good competitor and hard worker,” Goldbeck said.

Mendez will be joined in the starting rotation by three sophomore righthanders, Gabriel Ramos of Deltona, Florida; Matt Fred of Saint Mary, Kansas; and Josiah Crowley of Bonner Springs.

Ramos compiled a 4-3 record with 33 strikeouts, 11 walks and 5.04 ERA in 14 appearances, all in relief. Fred made six starts, compiling a 2-1 record with 42 strikeouts and 17 walks in 11 appearance; while Crowley made three relief appearances.

A trio of freshmen, Chase Terrell of Bonner Springs; Hunter Cashero of St. James Academy; and Parker Weddle of Park Hill, will head the all-important bullpen.

Freshman candidates for starting roles include lefthanders Tyler Kapraun of Peoria, Illinois; and William Simmons of Olathe West; and righthanders Jake Shafter of Grain Valley and Joseph Reyes and Steven Santiago, both of Puerto Rico.

Others are southpaws Logan Barnard of Lansing and Mathis Mauldin of Grain Valley and righthanders Kevin Melendez of Kissimmee, Florida, and Nao Fakuda of Auckland, Australia.

A quartet of.300 hitters will provide the core of the offense. Eduardo Acosta, who hit .352 with a .988 fielding average while playing centerfield last year, has been moved to shortstop while power-hitting Jose Sosa is back at first base.

Acosta led the team in runs scored with 45 and drove in 36 runs while Sosa led in RBI (43) and doubles (21) while hitting .350.

Tyler Henry of Gardner-Edgerton, who led the Blue Devils in slugging (.613) while hitting .345 with five home runs among 27 extra base hits, will be back in left field.

Griffin Everitt of Lincoln, Nebraska, who has signed with the University of Nebraska for next season, anchors the catching staff. Everitt hit .319 with 19 RBI last season. He’ll be backed by freshmen Michael Edgar of Lee’s Summit and Luis Martinez.

Seth Kenagy, a redshirt freshman from Gower, Missouri, who has signed with Central Missouri, will be at second base with freshman Palmer Hutchinson of Hays the starter at third. Zayne Morrow, a freshman from Park Hill, will back up Sosa at first; while Cole Slibowski of St. Joseph, Missouri, Kade Chastain of Frontenac and Joey Biggs of Wichita will be the infield backups.

Henry will be joined in the outfield by freshmen Ray Paniagua of Blue Springs and Caleb Adams of Lansing while sophomore Trey Hoover will be the designated hitter and see outfield duty. Hoover hit .278 in 15 games last year. Other outfielders include Sam Juarez of Topeka Seaman and Cooper Cleland of Frontenac.

“I’m excited about this group and the challenge,” Goldbeck said. “With Sosa, Acosta, Henry and Everitt in the middle of the lineup, we should have some power with Kenagy and Paniagua providing some speed. Defensively, we may not have great range but should be solid.”

The key, as always, will be the pitching.

“We do have depth but it has to be proven in competition,” Goldbeck said. “Unlike softball where pitchers can throw every day, our best guy will only pitch 12 games in a 56-game schedule. And playing 7 and 9-inning games we have to watch pitch counts and fatigue. The hot topic in baseball is protecting pitchers’ arms and with Tommy John injuries skyrocketing, the starter typically won’t finish the game.”

Last season, KCKCC had nine complete games while finishing 39-16 overall.

Third in the Jayhawk with a 23-9 record last year, coaches pegged the Blue Devils for fourth in this year’s pre-season poll. As usual, perennial power and defending champion Cowley College is the pre-season favorite. The Tigers are ranked No. 10 and Johnson County No. 18 in the NJCAA DI preseason poll. JCCC and Fort Scott are also ranked ahead of KCKCC in the KJCCC poll followed by Coffeyville, Neosho County, Allen County, Labette and Highland.

In his fifth season as head coach and 26th season overall, Goldbeck will again be assisted by Bill Sharp, Dean Long, Pedro Leon, Daniel Freeman and Hector Garcia.

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Lady Blue Devils couldn’t buy a basket when they needed it most Saturday.

Leading No. 7 ranked Labette 62-59 with four minutes remaining, the Blue Devils missed their final six shots in a frustrating 66-62 loss. Equally frustrating, the Cardinals went ahead on two offensive rebounds and outscored the Blue Devils 14-4 the final seven minutes.

The loss, the third in a row for the No. 10 ranked Blue Devils (21-5), left KCKCC alone in fourth place in the Jayhawk Conference at 2-4 and out of the running for a second straight conference championship.

The Blue Devils play at Hesston Wednesday and then close out their home season with games against Fort Scott Saturday and Highland Feb. 19.

Labette (19-4), meanwhile, vaulted into a tie with No. 3 Highland (19-1) for first place at 5-1 thanks to a Johnson County 90-75 win over the Scotties that ended Highland’s unbeaten season and set up a first place showdown between the two leaders at Highland Wednesday night.

“Offensive rebounds (23) and free throws (17-of-24) beat us,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “We had a six-point lead with seven minutes to go. We really looked good in the third quarter (outscoring Labette 24-17) but obviously lost that in a hurry. But I was really proud of the effort. They really fought hard and put us in position to win and we had not been doing that against teams of that level. We had not been in that position. We just didn’t execute well and make the shots when we had the opportunity.”

Freshmen Aliyah Myers and Kamryn Estell led the Blue Devils, Myers had an exceptional shooting night, making 7-of-9 shots from the field and all three of her 3-point attempts in scoring a team-leading 19 points while Estell had 17 points and game highs in rebounds (7) and assists (4).

Adoreya Williams added seven points, Brodi Byrd six and Tiara Earnest five for KCKCC. Williams also had five rebounds and Jada Mayberry and Caroline Hoppock four each.

Tied 16-16 after one quarter, KCKCC trailed 27-25 only to have Labette open a 34-27 lead in the final two minutes of the half. However, the Blue Devils knocked down 9-of-15 third quarter shots for a 51-51 tie in a see-saw battle that had nine ties and 10 lead changes.

The Blue Devils built their 58-52 lead with 7:13 left on field goals by Byrd, Estell and Mayberry but managed only a field goal and two free throws by Estell the rest of the way.

Labette converted two offensive rebounds to go ahead 64-62, a layup by Jessica Martino and a 3-pointer by Jayla Smith with 2:34 left and then held on. Denijsha Wilson led the Cardinals with 20 points including 10 free throws.

Labette dominated the rebounding 47-34 including a 23-12 advantage offensively and blocked six shots against the smaller Blue Devils. Neither team shot well – KCKCC 39.3 percent and Labette 34.8 percent with 3-point percentages and turnovers (17-16) nearly dead even.

“I’m proud of them, I really am,” McKinstry said. “I just wished we could pull one out. We gave ourselves a chance and that’s an improvement.”

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s streaking Blue Devils refused to surrender first place in the Jayhawk Conference Saturday, repeatedly turning back Labette rallies in an 81-77 thriller that went right to the wire.

Two clutch free throws by Calvin Slaughter with 17 seconds left sealed the win, the Blue Devils’ sixth in a row. The win kept KCKCC (5-1) a game ahead of Johnson County (4-2) in the Jayhawk race and set up a key road game for the Blue Devils at dangerous Hesston (13-10) Wednesday night.

The Blue Devils (13-12) never trailed against Labette, bolting to a 14-2 lead in the first six minutes and leading 40-29 at halftime. The lead was still 54-43 with 13 minutes left when the Cardinals made run after run at overtaking the Blue Devils.

Eight times the Cardinals got within five points or less, the closest at 78-77 when Slaughter calmly sank two free throws and Jermaine Yarbough added another after the Cardinals had missed a game-tying 3-pointer.

The Blue Devils got huge performances from their two big men, 6-7 Robert Rhodes and the 6-8 Yarbough, who combined for 35 points and 27 rebounds.

Rhodes had a double-double with 14 points and a career high 18 rebounds; Yarbough just missed a double-double with a game high 21 points and nine rebounds. Most significant, they combined for 13 of KCKCC’s season high 21 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second chance points. They were also responsible for KCKCC’s 40-29 halftime lead with a combined 19 points and 13 rebounds including seven offensively.

“Jermaine played great tonight, great presence around the basket and scoring around the rim and Robert was terrific. He’s getting comfortable in his shell and is really playing well,” KCKCC coach Brandon Burgette said.

Slaughter added 12 points, Ezekiel Lopes 11, Deron McDaniel 10, DeAngelo Bell 7 and Jalen Davis 6 and everyone had a hand in holding off the late Labette charges.

The first came when the Cardinals closed to 56-51 with 12½ minutes left but a Yarbough trey and two McDaniel free throws quelled that comeback. But a half-dozen more would follow in the final seven minutes. Lopes made three free throws and Yarbough tipped in a rebound and added a free throw after Labette had twice pulled to within four points.

Slaughter had a huge offensive rebound, put back and free throw after the Cardinals had closed to 69-66 followed by perhaps the biggest defensive play of the game, a block by Rhodes who corralled the rebound that led to two Lopes free throws for a 74-68 lead with 2:11 left.

Field goals by Bell and Rhodes kept the spread at six points before a 3-pointer by Tyler Garrett and layup by Dennis Bryson sandwiched around a turnover cut the lead to 78-77 and set up Slaughter for the game-clinching free throws.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Slaughter said. “I knew I had to knock them down. I’ve done it before in high school and college.”

“Calvin played big minutes after getting in foul trouble early,” Burgette said. “He made the big free throws down the stretch and some big plays for us (seven rebounds, four assists).”

Mike Flenorey kept Labette close with 17 of his 19 points in the second half including four 3-pointers. Dennis added 18 off the bench for the Cardinals.

KCKCC had a 48-36 command of the rebounding including the 23 off the offensive boards.

“A big difference – and a season high,” Burgette said. “Labette was good tonight. They stopped us running, contested shots and slowed us down and we had some bad turnovers (18). But every game the rest of the season is going to just like this. There are no easy teams. We need to get better.”

In addition to KCKCC’s game at Hesston and Labette’s invasion of Highland, Johnson County will be at Fort Scott Wednesday. The Blue Devils then return to close out their home schedule against Fort Scott Saturday (2 and 4 p.m.) and Highland Feb. 19.