KCKCC Blue Devils, from left, sophomore Britney Smith and sophomores Devin Purcell and Hannah Redick were named to the second All-Jayhawk Conference softball team for 2019. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Three Kansas City Kansas Community College Blue Devils have been named to the All-Jayhawk Conference softball second team for 2019.
Sophomore Britney Smith and freshmen Hannah Redick and Devin Purcell were chosen to the second team in a vote of Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) coaches who could not vote for members of their own team.
KCKCC finished sixth in the Jayhawk with a record of 12-8 and will take a 36-18 overall record into the NJCAA DII Region VI playoffs against Hesston Saturday at 10 a.m. The District D games are being played at Hummer Park in Topeka.
One of six sophomores on this year’s squad, Smith started in 52 games at second base for the Blue Devils. A .323 hitter, Smith had one home run, five triples and four doubles while driving in 33 runs.
Second on the team in stolen bases with eight, she also struck out only 11 times in 127 times at bat, the fewest by any Blue Devil starter. Defensively, Smith had a .978 fielding percentage, committing just four errors in 178 chances while leading the team in double plays with five.
A shortstop from Shawnee Mission North, Redick takes a team leading .392 batting average into the regional playoffs.
The team leader in hits (74) from the leadoff position in the batting order, Redick led the team in doubles (17) and homered twice while driving in 37 runs. Second in slugging (.513) and on base percentage (.431), she has a .916 fielding percentage.
Purcell anchored the Blue Devil outfield from centerfield where she had just one error in 70 chances for a .986 fielding percentage.
Third in hitting with a .361 average, Purcell was second in hits (61) with 10 doubles and 17 RBI. A freshman from Eudora, Purcell led the Blue Devils in stolen bases with 14.
Cowley sophomore Ashton Friend, who hit a robust .602, was named Most Valuable Player while Hesston pitcher Chelsea Smith was named Freshman of the Year.
Smith, who will be on the mound against KCKCC Saturday, has a 20-4 record with a 2.08 ERA. One of those four losses was to KCKCC 4-0. Hesston’s Andrew Sharp was named Coach of the Year.
Highland, one of three co-champions, dominated the 12 member first team with four selections while the other co-champions, Johnson County and Hesston, had only one pick each. Cowley had three selections and Fort Scott, Allen County and Allen County one each.
KCKCC freshman pitcher Osvaldo Mendez sent Barton County’s Harrison Denk diving back into first base with this throw to first baseman Jose Sosa. Mendez picked Denk off in the first inning but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 6-2 Barton win. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Blue Devils dug themselves a first inning hole Thursday from which they could not dig their way out.
Jumping in front 3-0 in the first, Barton County grabbed the upper hand in the Region VI baseball playoffs with a 6-2 win. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is set for 2 p.m. Friday. A KCKCC win will force a third game Saturday; a loss will end the Blue Devil season.
The Cougars took advantage of two hit batsman and a walk in taking the 3-0 lead in the first. Loading the bases after a leadoff triple by Andrew Stewart, designated hitter Charlie Peyla scored all three with a bases-clearing triple to right center.
KCKCC got a run back in the bottom of the first. Eduardo Acosta opened the inning with a leadoff triple and scored on Kevin Santiago’s sacrifice fly. But the Blue Devils could manage only five other hits and one run the rest of the way against Barton’s Zach Curry and Joe Richter.
Curry worked the first seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked two. Curry came on after a leadoff double by Santiago in the eighth inning and shut the Blue Devils down without a hit the final two innings.
Barton widened its lead to 5-1 with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Peyla drove in his fourth run of the game with a two-out double that kayoed KCKCC starter Osvaldo Mendez in the fourth.
Mendez allowed six hits and four runs, striking out seven but walking two and hitting three. The Cougars’ run in the fifth came without a hit against reliever Hunter Paxton, scoring on a hit batsman, walk, sacrifice bunt and a ground ball.
The Blue Devils got their second run in the sixth on a single by Santiago and double by Eric Hinostroza but managed only one other hit the rest of the way, Santiago’s double in the eighth. Barton’s final run came against Max Storch in the eighth and was unearned, the run coming on a sacrifice fly after a single, ground ball and a passed ball.
Kisi Young proudly displays the NJCAA DII national championship trophy she helped KCKCC win along with earning second team All-American honors. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
An All-American is going home – to Southern Arkansas University.
A 2017 graduate of Magnolia High School who earned All-American honors while helping lead Kansas City Kansas Community College to the 2019 NJCAA DII national basketball championship, Kisi Young will continue her basketball career in her home town of Magnolia.
A versatile 5-9 combination guard forward, Young was coveted by several four-year colleges and universities before narrowing the field to SAU and Pittsburg State University.
“I came for a visit and got a lot of love from everybody; everyone wanted me to come,” Young said. “After I left I knew SAU was where I wanted to go.”
Were it not for a visit to a dentist, however, it might never have happened.
“It was pretty funny,” Young said. “The assistant coach came to the dentist where my mom works and the conversation turned to basketball. They had heard of me but did not know how to get a hold of me. My mom gave them my number and they texted me. I knew that they had interest but I was surprised.”
In Young, the Muleriders are getting a dynamic player capable of playing anywhere from point guard to power forward. Second on the team in rebounds (8.7) and third in scoring (10.6), Young shot the ball better than anyone in KCKCC history.
As a freshman, Young was the second most accurate shooter ever (.607). She leaves as No. 1, shooting 63.9 percent as a sophomore.
“That’s crazy,” Young said. “I did not know that. I’m really surprised. My freshman year I didn’t think I was that consistent.”
Named to the 2019 NJCAA DII All-American second team, Young was also named to the All-Tournament team at the national tournament and All-Region and All-Jayhawk Conference first team selection.
Young couldn’t have been more consistent in leading KCKCC to a 32-4 record this past season. Shooting 50 percent or better in 32 of KCKCC’s 36 games, she didn’t miss a shot in three games and her 8-for-9 and 9-for-11 performances are among KCKCC’s all-time bests.
And yet it may not be what she’ll be most remembered.
“A fantastic athlete with a superior motor, Kisi is the best rebounder for her size (5-9) that I have ever seen,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “She was almost on a nightly basis matched up with someone of more size and length but she continued to get the job done.”
Third in the Jayhawk with 8.7 rebounds a game (No. 20 nationally), she’s sixth on the all-time career list with 571.
“It’s something I take pride in,” Young said. “Being undersized, I love to pull the ball out of the air real hard. Not all shots are going to fall so there’s always a rebound.”
“I’m not real sure what position Kisi plays,” McKinstry said. “The fact is, simply put, Kisi is a basketball player and any coach in the country will tell you they want players more than positions.”
Young came to KCKCC in a package with Lillie Moore from Magnolia. Moore committed right after a visit in April but Young was uncertain about being eight hours from home and didn’t commit until the end of May.
“I knew they had won a national championship so I knew it was a good program and I got a full scholarship,” she said when she finally committed.
Admittedly homesick early, the start of the season and new teammates alleviated most the stress.
“One of the things I admire most about Kisi is the fact that I knew she was missing her family members but not once did she talk to us coaches about being homesick and she certainly didn’t let it affect her responsibilities on or off the court,” McKinstry said.
Adjusting to collegiate basketball and McKinstry’s passion for making players better was another challenge.
“It was definitely a surprise, nothing like I’d ever experienced but I have thick skin and it made me a whole lot better,” Young said.
Young led the Blue Devils in scoring (14.4) and was second in rebounding (8.1) as a freshman but took 71 less shots as a sophomore while averaging 10.6 points playing multiple positions and doing the “little things” McKinstry demanded.
Exceptional at leading fast breaks after defensive rebounds, her ball-handling abilities against presses forced teams to back off this season.
“I loved breaking presses; I take pride in that,” Young said. An all-state and all-conference sprinter on three state championship track teams in high school, Young beat many defenders down the floor off the dribble. Her biggest strength?
“My motor, how long I can go and how fast I can go,” she said.
She returns home with many great memories.
“Winning the national championship was one of the biggest highlights of my entire basketball career and going down in KCKCC history as an All-American,” she said. “And then meeting new people and making new friends, especially my roommates and best friends Cam Swanson and Nija Collier. I’m super happy I came up here.”
