KCKCC raps out 48 hits but splits four weekend games

 by Alan Hoskins

Kansas City Kansas Community College rapped out 48 hits in four games over the weekend but still had to settle for splits in doubleheaders with Jayhawk Conference rivals Pratt and Dodge City.

The Lady Blue Devils won the opener in both doubleheaders, defeating Pratt 6-1 and Dodge City 5-3 before losing to Pratt 5-4 and Dodge City 6-2.

The splits left the Blue Devils 8-6 in conference play and 12-6 overall heading into a doubleheader at first place Highland (15-1) Tuesday.

KCKCC then returns home to play host to Maple Woods Friday at 2 and 4 p.m. and a University of Kansas club team Saturday at 1-3 p.m.

Freshman centerfielder Justice Scales led the offense, collecting two hits in each game and driving in four runs while third baseman Lacey Santiago and leftfielder Mierra Morisette each had seven hits.

Leslie Ford, the winning pitcher in both games, helped her own cause with six hits while Amanda Holroyd and Hanna Barnhart each had five.

Ford allowed just four hits, struck out eight and no earned runs in the 6-1 win over Pratt.

Trailing 1-0 in the second, KCKCC scored twice on back-to-back doubles by Morisette and Ashley Henington and an RBI single by Ford and then made it 4-1 in the fourth on a run-scoring double by Laura Vanderheiden and an RBI triple by Scales following Megan Dike’s leadoff single.

The final two runs scored in the sixth following leadoff singles by Ford and Vanderheiden.

Pratt broke a 4-4 deadlock in the top of the seventh of the nightcap, scoring on three singles against Ford, who allowed just four hits and the one run while fanning five in 3.2 innings of relief.

KCKCC took a 3-1 lead, scoring twice in the first on singles by Santiago, Scales and Barnhart and once in the second on Santiago’s two-out hit.

Pratt went ahead 4-3 in the fourth but KCKCC tied it on another Santiago hit following a leadoff single by Ford.

The Blue Devils backed Ford’s 7-hit pitching with 16 hits in the 5-3 win over Dodge City as Santiago and Morisette each had three and Scales, Ford and Megan Dike two each.

KCKCC took a 2-0 lead in the first on singles by Santiago and Morisette, Holroyd’s sacrifice fly and Barnhart’s double and added two more in the second on Scales’ two-out single following hits by Ford and Dike.

A two-run home run in the sixth inning by Amanda Holroyd was the lone highlight in the 6-2 loss to Dodge City. Elizabeth Seimears took the loss, giving up 12 hits.

“Elizabeth pitched well enough to win but our defense gave them a couple of runs,” said KCKCC coach Kacy Tillery. “But we continue to swing the bats with Santiago and Scales at the top of the order and Morisette, Holroyd and Barnhart in the middle.”

Cell phones added to no-call list

Cell phones have been added to the no-call list under a bill passed by the Kansas House March 21.

Under the bill, the Kansas no-call law is extended to protect consumer cell phones from unwanted telemarketing calls.

“The Legislature deserves credit for its pro-consumer action in passing this legislation,” Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. “When the Kansas No-Call Act first became law more than a decade ago, cellphones were far less widely used. Today, many Kansans are abandoning landlines entirely and using only wireless numbers for telephone service. By updating and strengthening the Kansas No-Call Act, the Legislature is ensuring that Kansans’ privacy is protected and consumers can enjoy the same freedom from unwanted telemarketing calls on their cellphones that they now can expect on their landlines.”

The House of Representatives approved the bill 117 to 0. The Senate earlier approved it 38 to 0. The legislation, proposed in January by Attorney General Schmidt and others, now goes to the governor for his consideration.

“I appreciate the broad support from legislators and groups representing consumers and the telecommunications industry in securing unanimous approval of this bill,” Schmidt said.

Complaints about telemarketers violating the Kansas No-Call Act are the single largest group of complaints received by the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division. During 2013, the attorney general filed 17 lawsuits to enforce the No-Call Act, and obtained $3.4 million in judgments as well as injunctions against violators.

To register a consumer cellphone or landline number on the do-not-call list, or for more information, go to the attorney general’s consumer protection website at www.InYourCornerKansas.org or call 800-432-2310.