Tag: KCKCC softball

Gustin pitches Lady Blue Devils to sweep of Neosho County

KCKCC sophomore righthander Tiffany Gustin recorded her 15th and 16th wins of the season Thursday as she pitched the Lady Blue Devils to 10-4 and 4-2 wins over Neosho County at Piper. (Photo by Jan Humphreys)
KCKCC sophomore righthander Tiffany Gustin recorded her 15th and 16th wins of the season Thursday as she pitched the Lady Blue Devils to 10-4 and 4-2 wins over Neosho County at Piper. (Photo by Jan Humphreys)

Mekayla Guerrero’s towering 2-run home run to right field put KCKCC ahead to stay 6-4 on the way to a 12-4 win over Neosho County Thursday. It was Guerrero’s fourth home of the season and she singled and doubled in the Blue Devils’ 4-2 nightcap win. (Photo by Jan Humphreys)
Mekayla Guerrero’s towering 2-run home run to right field put KCKCC ahead to stay 6-4 on the way to a 12-4 win over Neosho County Thursday. It was Guerrero’s fourth home of the season and she singled and doubled in the Blue Devils’ 4-2 nightcap win. (Photo by Jan Humphreys)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College rode the pitching arm of sophomore Brittany Gustin to a sweep of Neosho County Tuesday.

A Raytown graduate, Gustin scattered 10 hits in a 6-inning 12-4 opening game win and then repeated in a 4-2 decision in the 7-inning nightcap played at the Piper softball complex. The wins were the 15th and 16th against nine losses for the Blue Devil right-hander.

The sweep improved KCKCC’s record to 23-18 heading into a Thursday makeup game at Highland at 2 p.m. The Lady Blue Devils then close out their home season this weekend at Steineger Field adjacent to Turner Middle School. Sophomores will be honored between games Saturday when the Blue Devils are the host to Cottey College at noon and 2 p.m. KCKCC is also scheduled to be the host of a University of Missouri club team Sunday, again at noon and 2 p.m.

KCKCC used the long ball to win the 12-4 opener. Tiffany Killam and Mekayla Guerrero each ripped 2-run home runs and Mekayla Foskett crushed a two-run triple. It was the 15th home run for Killam, a KCKCC record, and the fourth for Guerrero.

LaTisha Thomas, who had four of the Blue Devils’ 15 hits, led off the Blue Devil first inning with a single and scored one batter later on Killam’s line home run to left-center for a 2-1 lead. KCKCC made it 4-1 with two out in the third on Foskett’s triple following singles by Geena Harris and Gustin.

Neosho knotted the game in the fourth, scoring three runs on five straight hits but KCKCC quickly re-grabbed the lead on Guerrero’s towering home run to right following a leadoff single by Thomas. The Blue Devils then put the game out of reach with four runs in the fifth on just two hits, a run-scoring single by Thomas and a 2-run single by Harris.

KCKCC then spread the game in the sixth on hits by Savannah Dukngan, Thomas and Morgan Oroke. In addition to Thomas’ four hits, Harris had three and Oroke and Gustin two each.

Gustin allowed only three hits in the first four innings of the 4-2 nightcap before Neosho scored its only two runs on a home run in the fifth. By then the Blue Devils had built a 4-0 lead.

The first two runs came in the first on singles by Thomas and Oroke and then added two more in the third on Gustin’s 2-run single following singles by Guerrero and Oroke. Oroke finished with three hits and Guerrero added a single and double.

KCKCC home softball season near end with games today, Saturday

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

The home season winds down this week for Kansas City Kansas Community College’s up-and-down softball team.

The Lady Blue Devils will wrap up home Jayhawk Conference play Tuesday, hosting Neosho County at Piper High School at 5 and 7 p.m. and then finish league action with a single game at Highland Thursday at 2 p.m.

The annual Sophomore Day will come Saturday when KCKCC entertains Cottey College at noon and 2 p.m. at Steineger Field adjacent to Turner Middle School. The Blue Devils are also scheduled to be the host of a University of Missouri club team Sunday, also at Steineger Field at noon and 2 p.m.

KCKCC got its final Jayhawk road trip started with an 8-0 win at Coffeyville Friday only to drop the nightcap 7-3 and then lose 10-0 and 9-2 at Labette Saturday. The series left the Blue Devils 21-18 on the season.

Tiffany Killam blasted a KCKCC record 14th home run of the season and Brittany Gustin allowed just two hits while striking out seven in the 8-0, five-inning win at Coffeyville. Killam’s home run came in the fourth inning, a 3-run shot following two walks and a run-scoring single by Mekayla Guerrero, all with two outs. The runs gave KCKCC a 7-0 lead.

The Blue Devils’ first three runs came in the second on a two-out, bases-loaded triple by LaTisha Thomas. Geena Harris ignited the rally with the first of her three hits in the game before a Gustin single and a walk loaded the bases for Thomas’ triple. KCKCC’s final run came in the fifth on a pinch single by Katherine Stringer, a double by Savannah Dungan and a single by Gustin.

A 6-run third inning foiled KCKCC in the 7-3 nightcap loss. Guerrero and Dungan each drove in a run with a double and single and Morgan Oroke doubled in a run for KCKCC. Coffeyville managed just seven hits off Elizabeth Seimears and Killam but five of the seven came in the 6-run outburst.

The Blue Devils were limited to just five singles in each game in the 10-0 and 9-2 losses at Labette. Gustin, who took the pitching loss, had two of KCKCC’s five hits in the 10-0, 5-inning opener while LaTisha Thomas had a pair in the 9-2 nightcap. The Blue Devils only scoring in the doubleheader came in the third inning on two hit batsman, a run-scoring single by Thomas and a Guerrero ground ball. Labette put both games out of reach in a hurry, scoring three runs in th first and second innings of both contests.

Five Lady Blue Devils earn all-Jayhawk recognition

Five KCKCC players earned All-Jayhawk softball honors this spring, from left, shortstop Hanna Barnhart and outfielder Mierra Morrisette, first team; third baseman Lacey Santiago, second team; and pitcher Leslie Ford and outfielder Justice Scales, honorable mention. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

by Alan Hoskins

Five Kansas City Kansas Community College players have been named to the All-Jayhawk Conference softball team for 2014.

Sophomores Hanna Barnhart of Bishop Ward and Mierra Morrisette of Olathe were selected to the first team and Lacey Santiago to the second team while freshmen Leslie Ford of Garden City and Justice Scales of Shawnee Mission South earned honorable mention.

“I’m really proud of our Kansas kids, four of the five all-conference picks are from Kansas,” said KCKCC coach Kacy Tillery. “In fact, Lacey Santiago, our Flyin’ Hawaiian, is the only player on the squad not from Kansas and she’s been a great representative of our team in her two years.”

An outfielder who played at Notre Dame de Sion, Morrisette hit a torrid .500, led the Lady Blue Devils in runs batted in (49) and doubles (19) and for the second straight year, played the entire season without an error.

“She has incredible hand-eye coordination and hit better than .450 for the second straight year,” Tillery said.

A shortstop who anchored the infield, Barnhart batted .421 with 17 doubles and 25 RBI.

“I think it’s great to see a local athlete from Bishop Ward get recognized when so many all-conference players are from out of state,” Tillery said.

Santiago, a third baseman from Molokai, Hawaii, repeated as a second team selection after hitting .494 and stealing 14 bases from the leadoff spot. Batting second, Scales was second in hitting (.497), RBI (41) and doubles (18).

“I don’t think there’s a better one-two leadoff combination anywhere,” Tillery said. “Lacey is an incredible leadoff hitter with great game knowledge and no better third baseman anywhere; Justice Scales is perfect for the No. 2 spot because she can bunt, slap hit and hit for power along with being a flawless centerfielder.”

A righthander, Ford was the workhorse of the Blue Devil pitching staff with 172 innings, third most in the nation. Completing all of her 27 starts, she finished with a 21-6 record and 1.76 earned run average. Her seven shutouts included three no-hitters.

“I’m not sure any other pitcher in the conference had three no-hitters and statistically she was ranked nationally all season,” Tillery said. “It’s exciting that we’ll have Leslie and Justice back next season.”

Seventh in the Jayhawk this season with a 17-13 record, the Lady Blue Devils were 14-0 against non-conference opposition in taking a 31-13 record into the Region VI semifinals.

Emma Hill of No. 8 ranked Highland was selected as Most Valuable Player and Independence’s Tori Hawk Freshman of the Year.