by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Seven members of the Kansas City Kanas Community College baseball team have earned All-Jayhawk Conference honors for the 2015 season.
Three Blue Devils – first baseman Tanner Foerschler, third baseman Travis Stroup and outfielder Alex Thrower – were named to the All-Jayhawk second team while second baseman Sam Baxter, shortstop Landon Mason, outfielder Eli Lovell and pitcher Jonathan May earned honorable mention. All are sophomores except Stroup and Lovell.
The KCKCC Male Athlete of the Year and Mike Haen Hustle Award recipient, Foerschler batted .376 with 53 runs batted in. A Harrisonville graduate, Foerschler also handled 578 fielding chances without an error, earning a Gold Glove for the Jayhawk East and nomination as the Gold Glove recipient for Region VI.
“With a lot of hard work and determination, he made himself a player,” said KCKCC coach Steve Burleson. Foerschler has signed to play at William Jewell next season.
A freshman from Lee’s Summit West, Stroup led the Blue Devils in most offensive categories including hitting (.411), home runs (6), extra base hits (37), RBI (66) and slugging (.706).
“One of the five best hitters I’ve coached, Stroup put up some great numbers. Unfortunately, he played the same position as the MVP of the conference (Cowley third baseman Garrett Benge) who had incredible numbers,” Burleson said.
One of the best leadoff hitters in recent seasons, Thrower had a spectacular .525 on-base percentage while hitting .388 with 27 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He also reached base more than 50 times via either walks or being hit by pitches.
“Coming from Canada (Toronto) where he had not played much, we gave him a lot of playing time in the fall to develop some instincts and he became the consummate leadoff man who knew how to work the pitchers,” Burleson said.
A sophomore second baseman from Platte County, Baxter batted .353 with40 RBI while his middle infield cohort, Blue Springs South shortstop Landon Mason, hit .373 with 47 RBI. A frosh outfielder from Lincoln, Neb., Lovell batted .358 with 39 RBI. A righthander from LaPorte, Texas, May led the Blue Devil pitching staff with a 6-3 record, compiling a 4.96 ERA in 65 innings.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.