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Blue Devils’ 23-9 Jayhawk record best in 15 years

Rally caps weren’t needed too often at home for the Blue Devils of KCKCC, who finished 20-5 at home and 39-16 overall including a 23-9 record that was the best since the 2005 season. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

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.

Four-year universities descend on KCKCC basketball sophomores

Five Lady Blue Devil national champions to continue college cage careers

There were smiles all around as five KCKCC Blue Devils signed letters of intent, from left, Camryn Swanson and Nija Collier, Central Missouri; Lillie Moore, Texas State; Kisi Young, Southern Arkansas; and Lizzie Stark, Baker. Teammates joining the signing were, from left, Lexy Watts, Lenaejha Evans, Brodi Byrd, Caitlyn Stewart, Carson Chandler, Caroline Hoppock and Diamond Williams. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Sophomores at Kansas City Kansas Community College are not only leaving with a national championship but with scholarships to continue their basketball careers as four-year universities wasted no time in snaring a quintet of Blue Devils.

Lillie Moore signed with Texas State University, an NCAA Division I member located in San Marcos while NJCAA Player of the Year Nija Collier passed up at least a half-dozen Division I offers to seek another national championship at NCAA DII power Central Missouri in Warrensburg where she’ll be joined by teammate Camryn Swanson.

All-American Kisi Young is returning to her home town of Magnolia, Arkansas, to play at Southern Arkansas University while Lizzie Stark will stay closest to her home in Liberty, Missouri, by selecting Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas.

Still weighing their options are point guards Caitlyn Stewart of Wichita Maize and Lexy Watts of Olathe North.

“This is by far the most calls and the most interest I’ve had on a group of sophomores which speaks to their talent and abilities,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “Obviously I’m very happy and excited for this group. I feel like each one put themselves in a great position and are most deserving of the honors they’ve earned. It’s nice to see coaches on the 4-year level recognize their potential as individuals and what they can bring to their new teams.”

Many of the calls started coming before the season after the Blue Devils took part in a pre-season jamboree in Frisco, Texas.

“It’s one of the biggest pre-season recruiting jamborees in the country,” McKinstry said. “I did not see a coach from UConn there but I did see coaches from every other big program, probably more than 400 from four-year schools. As a team, our girls played very, very well. It jump-started a lot of interest in our players.”

Collier swept every award possible in becoming the first Blue Devil to be named NJCAA DII Player of the Year.

A first-team All-American, she was also named the Most Valuable Player in the national tournament and Jayhawk Conference and first team All-Region VI and All-Jayhawk Conference. She led the Blue Devils in scoring (17.3) and rebounding (9.7) while shooting 58.5 percent from the field.

Young is the first Blue Devil to be named to the All-American second team after setting a KCKCC record for shooting percentage (.639). An All-Tournament selection at the national tourney, she was also All-Region and All-Jayhawk first team. Second in team rebounding (8.7), she was fourth in scoring (10.6).

Moore was named to the All-Jayhawk and All-Region teams in each of her two seasons at KCKCC and the All-Tournament team at the national. In 67 games played over two seasons, Moore averaged 14.16 points and 8.04 rebounds. She leaves second in career free throws (242), sixth in career scoring (949) and ninth in rebounds (539).

Swanson set the all-time record for 3-point goals in a single season with 87 and equaled the all-time career record with 128. Swanson had 11 games with four or more 3-pointers with a single game high of seven, second on the all-time list. Team captain, she averaged 8.6 points.

A preseason injury limited Stark to just 17 games this season after a freshman season when she was an invaluable “sixth man,” averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds. Fully recovered from the injury, she is expected to add shooting and depth at Baker.

Gold Glove pitcher Mendez one of four KCKCC All-Jayhawk picks

Ortiz, Sosa and Henry join second team

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

One of 15 pickoffs by KCKCC freshman Osvaldo Mendez is shown. Mendez was the only pitcher who earned a Jayhawk Conference Golf Glove Award. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

Led by Gold Glove pitcher Osvaldo Mendez, Kansas City Kansas Community College placed four players on the 2019 All-Jayhawk Conference second team.

Joining Mendez are designated hitter Jose Sosa, outfielder Tyler Henry and pitcher Orlando Ortiz, the lone sophomore among the quartet selected by conference coaches who could not vote for their own players.

A lefthander from Carolina, Puerto Rico, Mendez was the lone pitcher of the nine honorees earning a Gold Glove. Mendez had just two errors and 25 assists in 33 chances and picked a league-leading 15 runners off base.

The Blue Devils’ winningest pitcher at 7-3, Mendez struck out 66 and walked 34 in 63 innings, allowing 25 earned runs for a 4.26 ERA.

Ortiz, a righthander from Miami Beach, compiled a 6-2 record and led the team in complete games (4), strikeouts (80) and earned run average (3.53),

Sosa, who also saw considerable action at first base, was third in hitting at .350. From Hialeah, Florida, Sosa led the Blue Devils in hits (70) and runs batted (43) and shared the lead in extra base hits with 27.

An outfielder from Gardner-Edgerton, Henry led the Blue Devils in slugging (.613) while hitting .345. He also led in triples with eight, was second in RBI with 42 and tied for the lead in extra base hits with 27.

Region VI champion Cowley College, which won the Jayhawk East for the 13th time in the last 19 seasons, swept the top individual awards. Sophomore catcher Cody Milligan was named the Most Valuable Player, sophomore Brannon Jordan the Pitcher of the Year and Dave Burroughs Coach of the Year in his 32nd year at the Tiger helm. Johnson County pitcher Trey Ziegenbein was named Freshman of the Year.

JCCC had five first-team selections, Cowley four, Coffeyville two and Fort Scott, Highland, Labette and Allen one each. KCKCC led in second team picks with four while JCCC, Allen County, Neosho and Cowley had two selections each and Fort Scott one.