by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s hopes of a home playoff berth came to an end Thursday at the hands of the Jayhawk East’s best team.
Ranked No. 13 nationally, Cowley College pitchers surrendered just seven hits in two games in sweeping the Blue Devils 7-1 and 6-5 and boosting their record to 30-4 in conference play and 38-9 overall.
The two teams will close out regular season Jayhawk play with a doubleheader at KCKCC Saturday at 1 p.m. but not even a sweep can get the Blue Devils a home playoff berth.
At 17-17, the Blue Devils are in sixth place a game back of Neosho County and Johnson County, both of which are 18-16. Those two teams collide Saturday and there’s no scenario in which KCKCC can move pass both teams into fourth place – which means KCKCC will open playoff action on the road next weekend, either at Hutchinson (32-17) or Colby (28-21), the third and fourth place finishers in the Jayhawk West.
At 30-22 overall, KCKCC will close out regular season play Tuesday when the Blue Devils entertain State Fair at 1 p.m.
Cowley scored all seven of its runs in the first inning of the 7-1 opener. With one out, the Tigers rapped out six straight hits against KCKCC ace Cole Gacke. After the first, Gacke (8-2) allowed only a single and a walk over the final five innings, striking out four.
The big inning made it easy for freshman righthander Andrew Roach (5-2), who allowed just three hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking none.
KCKCC’s lone run came in the second on a single by Brandon Still, double by Kevin Santiago and a Kemper Bednar sacrifice fly. Brigham Mooney had the only hit for KCKCC, which left just three on base.
Cowley also used a big inning and four-hit pitching to win the second game. Trailing 4-2 in the fifth, the Tigers scored four times and then held off the Blue Devils despite a seventh inning home run by Santiago, his 10th of the season.
Cowley jumped in front 2-0 in the first on Dalton Dinkel’s two-out, two-run triple but the Blue Devils went ahead with four runs in the fourth on just two hits, a single by Still and a two-run single by Gavin Gifford to go along two hit batsman, a walk, error and Rorey Combs’ sacrifice fly.
Limited to just two hits by Orlando Ortiz over the first four innings, the Tigers rapped out four singles and a double to take a 6-4 lead in the fifth before Julian Javier pitched the final 3 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit and fanning four.
However, three Tiger hurlers combined to give up just a home run to Santiago and Adam North’s pinch two-out double in the top of ninth in the final five innings.
Cowley’s sweep continued the Tigers domination of the Jayhawk East. Third in the NJCAA World Series last year and back-to-back Region VI champion, the Tigers have won five of the last eight conference championships and 17 overall.