Alan Hoskins
Friday, May 16, 2008
Institutional Services
Kansas City Kansas Community College nearly pulled off “Mission Impossible” in the 2008 Region VI baseball playoffs.
Beaten in the opening game of the double elimination tournament at Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, the Blue Devils were faced with winning five in a row in a four-day span against the Jayhawk Conference’s best and came within a game of earning their first berth in the NJCAA World Series since 1976.
It was also the first time the Blue Devils (36-19) had come within one win of the World Series since KCKCC won three straight regional titles in 1985-87 only to lose in a three-state playoff with Missouri and Oklahoma. Now the Region VI champ advances directly to the World Series.
After dropping a 10-3 opening game decision to West Division champion Seward County, the Blue Devils rebounded to eliminate Barton County 8-4, Hutchinson 7-6 and Jayhawk East champion Cowley County 7-2 and then hand Johnson County its first tourney loss 16-7 before dropping a 6-2 decision to Johnson (41-16) in the championship game Wednesday.
“I’ve never been in a tournament where right down the line, game by game, we got everything we deserved – good and bad,” said Coach Steve Burleson. “The first game, we lost to an All-Region pitcher. He’s good but I didn’t think we battled him enough. The next four games, we made the pitches, made the plays and swung the bats.
“In the first game against Johnson County, we swung the bats great but in the championship game you look at the scoreboard in the fifth inning and see 0-0-6 (runs, hits and errors) and your expectations are not too high. Oddly enough, we ended up with eight errors, walked six and hit one and were still in the ball game.”
The Blue Devils were pushed into the loser’s bracket when Seward County scored four runs in both the second and fifth innings to hand Mitch Handley the loss in the tournament opener Saturday. The four runs in the second were unearned after KCKCC had taken a 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Zach Theademan led KCKCC with three hits and then was 4-for-4 in the 8-4 win over Barton on Sunday. Richie Kiec and Wade Schwerdtfeger each added three hits and Travis Parker two as the Blue Devils pounded out 19 hits.
KCKCC jumped off to a 4-0 lead, scoring three times in the first on singles by Theademan, Parker and Schwerdtfeger and made it 4-0 in the third on a hit batsman, a single by Schwerdtfeger and an error. After Barton closed to 4-3, Schwerdtfeger doubled home yet another run in the fifth and Blue Devils scored two more in the seventh on singles by Brandon Kelley, Jared Herbert and Kiec. Trent Kohlstaedt, who allowed just three hits and one unearned runs in 5 ½ innings, got the win.
Two hits each by Kiec, Kelley, Jarid Renzelman and Jared Herbert highlighted the 7-6 win over Hutchinson Monday. The Blue Devils never trailed after scoring four runs in the second on singles by Kelley, Renzelman, Herbert and Kiec and a double by Travis Parker. Parker also got the win, allowing four hits and two runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Handley (9-4) rebounded from his opening game loss with a route-going performance as he held Cowley scoreless until the ninth in the 7-2 win Tuesday. Theademan and Schwerdtfeger each had three hits and Parker and Herbert two apiece in a 13-hit attack. Theademan and Schwerdtfeger each singled in runs as KCKCC took a 2-0 lead in the first; singles by Schwerdtfeger and Ben Pieper highlighted a two-run fourth and Schwerdtfeger doubled and Herbert and Theademan each singled in a two-run eighth.
Theademan, who had four games with three or more hits in the tourney, had four singles and three RBI to pace the 16-7 win over Johnson County. Kiec also drove in three runs with three hits; Pieper drove in a pair with a double and two singles; and Schwerdtfeger had two hits and two RBI as KCKCC built a 14-4 lead after six innings. Kohlstaedt got his second win of the tourney with help from Austin Etling, who retired the final seven Cavaliers in order.
However, after pounding out 18 hits Tuesday, the Blue Devils managed just four against Travis Blankenship in the title game Wednesday. Trailing 4-0 on four unearned runs and without a hit, KCKCC finally broke through in the sixth as Travis Parker broke up the no-hitter with a two-run double. However, the Cavaliers got those two runs back in the bottom of the sixth on three walks, a hit batsman and a single. Parker and Schwerdtfeger each had two hits, the only hits off Blankenship who struck out nine and walked four while getting errorless support.