by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s three hit leaders also made a hit with coaches in the Jayhawk Conference.
All three, outfielder Eli Lovell, third baseman Travis Stroup and first baseman Conor Behrens, were voted to All-Jayhawk East teams, Lovell to the first team and Stroup and Behrens to the second team. Behrens and Stroup were also named Gold Glove winners at their respective position
In addition, six Blue Devils earned honorable mention – catcher Drew Holtgrieve, shortstop Albert Woodard, outfielder Ryan Fisher and pitchers Brandon Reid, Jake Purl and Avery Fliger..
As a trio, Lovell, Stroup and Behrens had a combined batting average of .423 with 37 home runs and 184 runs-batted-in and each had 85 or more hits as they led the Blue Devils to a 41-19 record and a third place tie in the East.
A sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., Lovell led the way offensively, bashing out 96 hits for a .451 batting average. He also led in home runs with 15, extra base hits (41), runs-batted-in (82) and stolen bases (16). In addition, Lovell finished in the top three in voting for the conference’s Most Valuable Player award.
Stroup, a sophomore from Lee’s Summit, finished second in hitting just four points back of Lovell at .447. He was also second in home runs (13) and extra base hits (39) and led the Blue Devils in slugging at .817. He earned the Gold Glove for third base with a .931 fielding percentage.
Behrens, a sophomore from Lincoln where he and Lovell were teammates at Lincoln Southwest, hit .378 with nine home runs, 38 extra base hits and 47 RBI. Playing in 57 games, Behrens had a league-best .988 fielding average with 545 putouts and 47 assists to win the Gold Glove at first.
Fisher, a left-handed hitter from Liberty, finished second in runs-batted-in with 60 while hitting .357 from the No. 5 spot in the batting order. A sophomore, Fisher also had seven home runs and 26 extra base hits.
A freshman from St. Charles, Holtgrieve batted .341 with six homers and 49 RBI while Woodard, a frosh from Nashville, Tenn., hit .314 with 38 RBI.
Reid, a sophomore from Toronto, Ontario, finished the season with two shutouts and a pair of 2-hitters. In a team high 78.1 innings, Reid compiled a 6-2 record with a 4.54 earned run average.
Purl led the Blue Devils in wins with a 9-2 record. A freshman from Park Hill South, he also led in strikeouts (48) while compiling a 4.53 ERA in 74 innings.
The ace of the relief corps with four saves, Fliger was second in wins (7-2) and led the Blue Devils with a 2.81 ERA and strikeouts to walks ratio of 3.23. A redshirt freshman from Basehor, Fliger will earn his AA degree this month and will continue his education at a four-year college.