By ALAN HOSKINS
Two outstanding pitching performances helped Kansas City Kansas Community College get the 2013 baseball season off to a 3-0 start only to have the Blue Devils drop the final two games on a spring trip to Texas and Oklahoma.
The Blue Devils are scheduled to open the home season Saturday when weather permitting they host Hutchinson to officially open the new baseball complex. A doubleheader, the first game is set for 1 p.m.
After KCKCC had opened the season with an error-plagued 14-10 win over Richland Community College Friday, Zac Butler and Derrick Winter pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts.
Butler allowed just one hit, walked three and struck out six in a 2-0 win with Jacob Woods providing the only run Butler needed with a first inning solo home run.
Winter allowed just five hits, walking two and fanning two in a 7-0 win Saturday. Brandon Witt, Dean Long and Mitch Glessner in his first collegiate game each doubled and singled. Glessner also stole a pair of basses.
KCKCC had to survive nine errors including seven in one inning to defeat Richland 14-10 in the season’s opener. Scoring four unearned runs in the fifth inning, Richland tied the game 7-7 before the Blue Devils took advantage of five walks and two errors to score seven times and lead 14-7.
Andrew Kreiling led a 15-hit KCKCC attack with a single, two doubles and a triple while Dean Long drove in three runs with two singles and Trent Sullivan plated a pair of runs with two hits. Tyler Lankford got the win, allowing five hits and striking out three in 4.2 innings.
The perfect start ended in a 10-8 loss to Richland on Sunday as the Blue Devils tried to rally from a 10-3 deficit before leaving the tying run at the plate. Poncho Amaya and Lucas Norton each had a pair of hits for KCKCC while Eli Egger allowed just two hits and struck out three in 4.1 innings of relief.
A home run and two doubles by Trent Sullivan weren’t enough to save KCKCC from an 8-5 loss to Redlands in Reno, Okla., Monday.
Garrett McKinzie added a pair of hits while Matt Dye allowed only three hits in 5.2 innings but gave up four walks and was the victim of two costly errors.
