by Alan Hoskins
At 2-10 in the Jayhawk Conference and 5-15 overall, Steve Burleson set goals for his promising but underachieving Kansas City Kansas Community College baseball team.
“Fifth place and get back to .500” – an optimistic but perhaps unrealistic goal considering the Blue Devils were about to face back-to-back four-game series with a pair of Jayhawk Conference co-leaders, Cowley County and Coffeyville.
What followed was the most amazing turnaround in Jayhawk Conference baseball history. Cowley, the perennial conference power which had never been swept in four games, was beaten in four straight and then Coffeyville was taken down in four games in a row and suddenly the Blue Devils had won 14 in a row and soared four games over .500.
“Going into a weekend against an always difficult opponent at Cowley and winning gave us the idea that when we bear down we could get results and then to sweep Coffeyville the next weekend erased the idea that beating Cowley may have been a fluke,” Burleson said. “It was a 10-day indicator that we could do better.”
Over the course of the last six weeks of the regular season, no team played better baseball, finishing the Jayhawk season 21-3 and the regular season 27-4. Taking two of three from Colby in the first round of the playoffs, the Blue Devils won three in a row in the super-regional before losing their final two to No. 5 ranked Johnson County. Although fifth in the final standings, the Blue Devils were second in the tournament that counted most and 17 games over .500 at 39-22.
“I’ve always admired a person or a team that recognized their shortcomings and took steps to do something about it,” Burleson said. “When we were 5-15, this group self-analyzed and sincerely worked on the things where we needed to get better. It was hard work but they were willing to take the steps to do something about it.
“As a group, we played poorly at the start of the year and suffered. Usually you have a collection of guys until they suffer and then they become a team when they come together. And it identified that if we were going to have success, it would have to come from our energy and our effort and when we had great energy and effort, we tended to play well and when we didn’t, it taught us something too.”
Hitting .300 as a team, the Blue Devils had five starters hit better than .300 led by centerfielder Lucas Norton, who hit .366, drove in 29 runs and stole a team high 29 bases. The others were freshman third baseman Daniel LaMunyon, who hit .340 and drove in 43; shortstop Zane Mapes, .316 with 19 RBI; catcher Garrett McKinzie, .315 with eight home runs and 48 RBI; and outfielder Christian Arnold, .305 with the team lead in home runs (10) and RBI (52). All earned All-Jayhawk recognition along with three pitchers, Geoffrey Birkemeier, Hunter Phillips and C.J. Merlo.
Second baseman Tyler Raymond just missed the .300 mark, hitting .298. He and LaMunyon will return next season along with three other regulars, outfielder Alex Thrower (.263), designated hitter Tanner Thibodeau (.23) and first baseman Tanner Foerschler (.219).
Starting pitchers Hunter (9-7) and Birkemeier (8-4) are both freshmen along with relievers Derek Watkins (4-0 with four saves), Preston Bailey (3-4), Jonathan May (3-1) and Spencer Nielsen (1-1). Losses include Merlo (6-3) and Cole Frakes (4-0).
“Time to get to work; it’s recruiting time,” Burleson said.
Category: KCKCC
Norton, Harbert, Santiago named KCKCC athletes of year
by Alan Hoskins
Three athletes who took Kansas City Kansas Community College teams to unprecedented playoff depths are the Athletes of the Year for 2014.
Lucas Norton, who played a key role in the Blue Devil baseball team coming within one win of the NJCAA World Series, is the Male Athlete of the Year while Cassidy Harbert and Lacey Santiago were named co-Female Athlete of the Year recipients. Harbert helped the Lady Blue Devil basketball team go the farthest in tournament play in Coach Valerie Stambersky’s 14 years while Sanitago was a vital cog in the KCKCC softball team winning its first home playoff series.
In announcing the 2014 recipients, KCKCC Athletic Director Tony Tompkins said selections were made based not only athletic success but academics, community service, leadership and citizenship.
The 2014 recipients:
Lucas Norton – “Lucas being gone is like losing a member of the coaching staff,” said KCKCC baseball coach Steve Burleson. “He won the Mike Haen Hustle Award and would have been our MVP if we had one. A prototypical No. 9 hitter as a freshman, through concentrated hard work he raised his batting average about 150 points from last year and made himself an outstanding leadoff hitter as a sophomore.”
A centerfielder from Liberty, Mo., Norton led the Blue Devils in hitting with a .366 average after hitting .215 as a freshman. He also led in hits (82) and stolen bases (29) while driving in 29 runs from the leadoff position. After a 5-15 start, the Blue Devils finished 39-22 and reached the finals of the NJCAA super-regional tournament.
Carrying a 3.8 grade point average, Norton finished his final semester making all A’s. “Not only our team leader, Luke has led us in community service, academics and fund-raising,” said Burleson.
Cassidy Harbert – “Cassidy was a critical component to our team’s success this year,” said Stambersky. “Without her running the point for us, we would not have been 24-8. She started every game, scored for us, rebounded for us and got the ball to others so they could score. A leader who works hard every day in everything that we do on the court and in the classroom, she’s a 3.08 student.”
Earning honorable mention on the WBCA All-American team, Harbert finished fourth in the nation in assists with 197 and fifth in steals with 106. A freshman from Wichita Northwest, her 6.2 assist average led the Jayhawk Conference and she was third in steals (3.3) to earn selection to the EBA JUCO National Spring Showcase and nomination to the NJCAA All-Star Game.
Her community work included programs for Toys and Tots, the Ronald McDonald House, Community Blood Drive, Biddy Ball Clinic and the campus clean-up drive as well as fund-raising undertakings with Sporting KC, Kansas City Chiefs and NASCAR races along with on-campus involvement with security, concessions and a community car wash.
Lacey Santiago – “Almost everyone on campus knows Lacey because of her willingness to go out of the normal comfort zone for students by engaging in conversations with anyone on campus,” said KCKCC softball coach Kacy Tillery. “A great representative of our college and athletic department, it would be hard to find an office or professor who doesn’t know Lacey.”
An All-Region and two-time All-Jayhawk selection from Molokai, Hawaii, Santiago batted .464, drove in 23 runs and led in stolen bases with 14 on a Lady Blue Devil that swept Neosho in opening round playoff action and finished 32-15. An academic All-American with a 3.40 grade point average, Santiago was named to “Who’s Who in American Community Colleges” and twice to the Provost’s Honor Roll.
Her community service included reading to youngsters at the Child Care Center, volunteering for an admissions project with local high schools, cooking Thanksgiving dinner for a retirement home in Leavenworth, Community Blood Drive participant and work at all KCKCC winter softball camps.
KCKCC prepares for commencement ceremonies
by Kelly Rogge
Kansas City Kansas Community College will be celebrating new beginnings this week during several graduation and pinning events.
Five commencement ceremonies will be taking place as the 2013-14 academic year wraps up. Including graduates from December 2013, May 2014 and Summer 2014, KCKCC will have approximately 950 students graduate with associate degrees or certificates this year. These ceremonies include:
· Respiratory Therapy Pinning – 7 p.m. May 19 at Providence Medical Center.
· GED Graduation – 6 p.m. May 20 at the KCKCC Field House.
· Nurses’ Pinning – 8 p.m. May 20 at the KCKCC Field House.
· KCKCC Graduation – 8 p.m. May 21 at the KCKCC Field House.
· Physical Therapy Assistant Graduation – 7 p.m. May 22 at the KCKCC-TEC.
Major Gen. Karen E. LeDoux, U.S. Army, will be the speaker at the KCKCC graduation Wednesday. LeDoux has a Bachelor of Science degree from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Mo. and a MMS degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. She has also attended the Combined Arms and Services Staff School and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
She has served as a training officer, deputy commander and commander of the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program Support Unit, commander of the 94th Training Division, commander of the 55th Sustainment Brigade and Commanding General of the Army Material Command – Southwest Asia/G4.
LeDoux is currently the deputy program manager and research fellow for logistics and technology group at the Logistics Management Institute in McLean, Va. Among the many U.S. decorations and badges she has received are the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.
All commencement ceremonies are open to the public.
For more information on Kansas City Kansas Community College, visit its website at www.kckcc.edu.