Tag: KCKCC baseball

Blue Devils need sweep at Allen today for home playoff berth

by Alan Hoskins

One of the most dramatic blows in Kansas City Kansas Community College baseball history has put the Blue Devils in position to open the Region VI playoffs at home.
Just one strike away from a 5-3 loss to Allen County Saturday, freshman Daniel LaMunyon delivered the ultimate in blows – a grand slam home run on a 1-2 pitch that lifted the Blue Devils to a 7-5 win in the bottom of the ninth.
Coupled with a 9-1 win in the 7-inning opener, the Blue Devils (33-18) can earn a home playoff berth against Seward (29-26) Saturday with a sweep of a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Allen County today. Anything less and the Blue Devils will have to make a 5-hour trip to play Colby (28-22). A double elimination playoff, two games will be played Saturday with a third if necessary on Sunday.
“My first walk off hit,” said LaMunyon, a third baseman from Blue Valley who took advantage of a strong wind blowing to left. “I hit it pretty high and hoped the win would help and it did quite a bit. When I was rounding second, I saw my third base coach (Matt Goldbeck) jumping up and down which was pretty cool and then I got mobbed at home plate.” The home run, which came on a curve ball, was LaMunyon’s fifth of the season and gave him 34 RBI for the season, third best on the team
“It was a really cool moment for the kids,” said KCKCC head coach Steve Burleson, who lost sight of LaMunyon’s game-winning blast. “I couldn’t see the flight of the ball because of the dugout roof and thought it was a fly ball to the leftfielder. All of a sudden all the kids started yelling and then I saw the ball nestle in the hill about 325 feet from home plate.”
Zane Mapes started the winning rally by drawing a leadoff walk. One out later, Tyler Raymond was hit by a pitch and Garrett McKinzie singled to load the bases. Christian Arnold, who had homered in the first game, flied out for the second out before LaMunyon’s game-winner. The blast made a winner out of reliever Derek Watkins (4-0), who gave up only a walk in three hitless innings.
KCKCC jumped in front 2-1 in the second on singles by LaMunyon, Alex Thrower and Mapes and made it 3-1 in the fourth on a pair of Allen errors. Hunter Phillips (8-5) limited the Red Devils to just three hits and an unearned run over the first five innings only to have Allen score four times with two out in the sixth on four hits and three walks.
Geoff Birkemeier (6-4) turned in his ninth complete game of the season in the 9-1 opener, allowing just five hits, striking out three and walking none. The Blue Devils backed him with nine hits including two each by Arnold, LaMunyon and Mapes.
KCKCC scored three times in the first on just one hit, a run-scoring single by Mitch Glessner and sacrifice flies by McKinzie and Arnold; added three more in the second on hits by Mapes, Arnold and LaMunyon and a pair of walks; and then put the game out of reach on Arnold’s team high 10th home run of the season following a double by Luke Norton and a single by Raymond.

by Alan Hoskins

Shutout pitching by Geoff Birkemeier and reliever Hunter Phillips carried Kansas City Kansas Community College to a doubleheader sweep of Labette Thursday.

Birkemeier threw a two-hit gem in shutting out the Cardinals 5-0 in the opener while Phillips retired the final 10 batters as the Blue Devils rallied for an 8-7 win in the nightcap.

The sweep vaulted the Blue Devils (23-17) into a fifth place Jayhawk Conference tie with Independence, both 14-12 with 10 games remaining starting with a return doubleheader against Labette in Parsons Saturday.

KCKCC’s final eight games will be played against Highland April 17-19 and Allen County April 24-26.

Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the eighth of the second game, the Blue Devils put runners on second and third with one out on a hit batsman, a single by Daniel LaMunyon and, a sacrifice bunt by Eric Hinostroza.

An attempted squeeze play with Sam Baxter at the plate misfired but pinchrunner Alex Thrower escaped a rundown to score the tying run and the winning running scored moments later on Baxter’s ground ball to short.

The rally made a winner out of Phillips, who came on in the sixth inning with two on and one out, served up an inning-ending double play pitch and then set down the Cardinals in order the final three innings.

KCKCC took advantage of Labette miscues to build a 5-0 lead. Lucas Norton’s bunt single to lead off was the only hit in a two-run first inning while an error opened the door for a 3-run third that included the first of three singles by Zane Mapes, Norton’s second hit, a sacrifice fly by Tyler Raymond and an RBI single by Garrett McKinzie.

Preston Bailey got the mound start but had to be lifted in a four-run fourth with an arm injury.

Labette then went ahead 7-5 in the sixth, scoring three runs off Cole Frackes on an error, two singles and a walk before Phillips came on to slam the door on the Cardinals.

KCKCC closed back to 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth on Mapes’ two-out single following a single by Mitch Glessner and a walk.

Birkemeier retired the Cardinals in order in the five of seven innings and faced only three men over the minimum in the opener.

A two-out double in the third following an error and a two-out single in the seventh were the only hits off Birkemeier, who struck out three and walked none.

“I thought Geoff Birkemeier was throwing well enough to throw a no-hitter,” said KCKCC coach Steve Burleson. “He pitched impeccably. The second game we were a little bit luckier than good.”

The Blue Devils bunched all of their six hits in the first three innings in the 5-0 win.

Norton was hit to start the game, moved up on Raymond’s single and scored on a wild pitch in the first and Mapes and Norton rapped back-to-back triples following Eric Hinostroza’s single for a 3-0 lead in the second.

Bunt singles by LaMunyon and Mapes following an error, walk and Hinostroza’s sacrifice fly plated the final two runs in the third.

by Alan Hoskins

Pounding out 16 hits in an 11-4 win over Saint Mary’s JV Tuesday, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s baseball focus immediately swung back to Jayhawk Conference play.

At home to Labette for a 1 p.m. doubleheader today, the Blue Devils face a return meeting with Labette in Parsons Saturday.

Six Blue Devils had two hits each as the Blue Devils improved to 21-17.

Garret McKinzie doubled twice, Tyler Raymond doubled and singled and Lucas Norton, Mitch Glessner, Sam Baxter and Alex Thrower had two singles each.

KCKCC jumped in front early, scoring twice in the first on a single by Norton, double by Raymond, Christian Arnold’s sacrifice fly and Glessner’s RBI single and added single runs in the second and third.

Zane Mapes’ squeeze bunt scored Thrower in the second; Glessner drove in his second run after a McKinzie double in the third.

McKinzie and Arnold had back-to-back doubles in a 2-run fifth; two more scored on singles by Norton and Raymond and an error in the sixth; and the final three crossed in the seventh on singles by Baxter , Hunter Walsh, Tanner Foerschler, hit batsman and an error.

Three Blue Devil hurlers combined on a 5-hitter in the 9-inning contest.

Starter Spencer Nielsen gave up just one hit and no earned runs in four innings; Derek Watkins retired six of the first seven eight hitters he faced before St. Mary broke through for three runs and three hits in the seventh; and Jonathan May finished up, allowing one hit and striking out two in 2.2 innings.