by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Butler County out-homered Kansas City Kansas Community 62-41 during the regular season but it was the Blue Devils who played long ball in a 12-11 Region VI playoff win in El Dorado Friday.
The win put KCKCC in position to wrap up the best-of-three series Saturday. The winner advances to the 8-team super-regional in Wichita next weekend.
Four home runs and nearly flawless relief pitching by sophomore Gavin Gifford carried the Blue Devils to the 12-11 win Friday. Rorey Combs, Adam North, Kevin Santiago and Gifford each homered in a 14-hit attack that included three hits by Tyler Pittman and two each by Combs, North and Gifford.
KCKCC never trailed in the win but had to break a 5-5 tie in the sixth inning after building an early 5-1 lead. A single by Brigham Mooney, Kemper Bednar’s sacrifice bunt and Gifford’s RBI single put KCKCC ahead to stay and Pittman made it 8-5 with a two-run single.
The Blue Devils went deep to stretch the lead to 11-6 in the seventh. Santiago started the 3-run inning with a home run and Gifford followed a walk with a two-run home run.
KCKCC’s final run came without a hit in the eighth. Combs walked, stole second, took third on a throwing error and scored what would be the deciding run on a wild pitch because the Grizzlies scored five times in the bottom of the eighth.
Reliever Julian Rivera, who had come in on relief of starter Cole Gacke in the sixth and allowed just one hit (a home run) in two innings, was yanked after loading the bases on two singles and a walk. The Grizzlies greeted his reliever, Carlos Soto, rudely – back-to-back two-run doubles and a single.
That brought on Gifford, who gave up a run-scoring ground ball, but then retired four of the last five batters he faced. The save made a winner out of Gacke, his 10th win in 12 decisions this year despite giving up seven hits and five runs in five innings. He struck out five walked two.
KCKCC jumped in front 3-0 on Combs’ 3-run home run following a walk and Pittman hit in the first inning and North made it 4-0 with his home run in the second. Butler got a run in the second but the Blue Devils matched that in the fifth on singles by Josh Schumacher and Pittman and a Brandon Still ground ball.
However, the Blue Devils could not hold the 5-1 lead, the Grizzlies pulling even 5-5 on three hits and a walk in the bottom of the inning. Butler used four relievers in an effort to hold off the Blue Devils, who scored seven runs in the final four innings.