by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College will take a 16-game winning streak into Thursday’s home Jayhawk Conference. doubleheader with long-time rival Allen County.
The Blue Devils stretched the streak to 16 Tuesday with 5-2 and 13-1 wins over Baker University junior varsity. The sweep improved KCKCC’s overall record to 16-5 heading into Thursday’s 1 p.m. start.
Strong starting pitching by freshmen Matt Fred and Jake Martin highlighted the Baker sweep.
allowed just two hits, striking out six and walking none in six innings and easily could have had a shutout in the opener but for wild pitches that scored both runs, one in the first and the second in the sixth. Zavier Morin finished up, striking out one in retiring the Braves in order in the bottom of the seventh.
Freshman third baseman Brady Holder homered and doubled and Kaleb Harrison drove in a pair of runs in KCKCC’s 7-hit attack.
Trailing 1-0, KCKCC pulled even in the third as Holder walked, stole second and scored on Eric Hinostroza’s two-out single and went ahead 3-1 in the fourth.
With the bases loaded on a hit batsman, error and walk, Harrison singled in one run and Matt Schrick stole home for the second. Holder homered to left to start the fifth inning and KCKCC added an insurance run in the sixth as Schrick singled, took second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on Harrison’s sacrifice fly.
Martin gave up just three hits, striking out seven and walking three in four innings of the 13-1 nightcap. Baker’s lone run came on a two-out home run off Josiah Crowley in the fifth.
Eduardo Acosta and Jose Sosa each singled, doubled and tripled to lead a 13-hit attack. Seven of the hits were for extra bases as Tyler Henry and Trey Hoover tripled and Holder doubled while Christopher Viera drove in two runs with a pair of singles.
Acosta and Sosa tripled and Schrick and Henry singled in runs as the Blue Devils took a 3-0 lead in the first and added two more in the second on a single by Viera and doubles by Acosta and Sosa.
KCKCC closed out the game in the fifth as nine Blue Devils came to the plate, all reached base and eight scored. Big blows were a bases-loaded triple by Henry, Viera’s two-run single, a triple by Hoover and a double by Holder.