Kirkwood Softball

Kirkwood softball climbs to No. 1 in poll

The Kirkwood Community College softball team jumped into the top spot in the new NJCAA Division II rankings Tuesday.

Kirkwood and Jones County traded places in the poll, with Kirkwood moving from No. 1 to No. 2 and Jones County dropping from No. 1 to No.  2.

Kirkwood lost to Jones County, 5-0, at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Georgia March 11, but Kirkwood has a better overall record now. The Eagles are 41-2 and Jones County is 38-2.

Kirkwood is headed for a showdown at fifth-ranked DMACC Wednesday for the ICCAC conference lead. DMACC is 20-0 in the league and the Eagles are 19-1.

This will be the only doubleheader between the two conference powers this season. An earlier doubleheader was postponed several times and finally canceled.

No matter what happens in their doubleheader today, Kirkwood and DMACC will participate in different regional and district tournaments and both of them can advance to the national tournament.

Kinnaird, McBeain shine for No. 2 Eagles

Angie McBeain is technically the No. 2 pitcher for the Kirkwood softball team, but that's more of a designation than a true ranking.

The truth is, the second-ranked Eagles have two star pitchers.

Lexi Kinnaird, a sophomore and one of the most successful pitchers in school history, pitches the first game of Kirkwood doubleheaders and thus is listed as the No. 1 pitcher.

McBeain, a freshman and a rising star, normally pitches the second game of doubleheaders and thus is the No. 2 pitcher, but only because she has to wait her turn.

Kinnaird, who leads the nation in victories and strikeouts, has a 20-2 record and 1.27 earned run average, with 204 strikeouts and only nine walks in 132 innings.

McBeain, who has never lost a game in college, is 16-0 with a 1.48 ERA, with 93 strikeouts and only 20 walks in 80 1/3 innings.

The dynamic duo worked their magic again Monday.

Kinnaird tossed a four-hit shutout as the Eagles blanked 16th-ranked Iowa Lakes, 7-0, in the first game of their twinbill at the Kirkwood field.

McBeain, who pitched a perfect game in her last outing, tossed a one-hitter this time as the Eagles won the nightcap, 12-0, in five innings.

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McBeain tosses perfect game for Eagles

Kirkwood freshman Angie McBeain enjoyed a perfectly splendid afternoon on Thursday.

McBeain tossed a perfect game as Kirkwood dumped Northeast Community College of Nebraska, 14-0, in the second game of a conference  doubleheader at the Kirkwood field.

The second-ranked Eagles won the first game, 6-0, on a tidy three-hitter by Lexi Kinnaird.

McBeain faced 15 batters in the five-inning game in the nightcap and retired every one of them. She struck out five batters and needed only  46 pitches in the ballgame.

McBeain, who is from Prior Lake, Minn., finished the day with a perfect 15-0 record and 1.58 earned run average. She also went 3-for-6 in the twinbill with three doubles and four RBIs.

Kinnaird, who leads all NJCAA Division II pitchers in victories and strikeouts, sports a 19-2 record and 1.34 ERA, with 193 strikeouts and only seven walks in 125 innings. She fanned nine batters Thursday with no bases on balls.

Maddie Hansen, who caught McBeain's perfect game, also had a perfect day for the Eagles. She went 7-for-7 in the doubleheader with four RBIs.

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No. 2 Eagles sweep twinbill from NIACC

Most teams would put somebody who's hitting .371 in the middle of their batting order and feel good about scoring a few runs.

The Kirkwood Eagles are not like most teams, however.

Four Eagles are hitting better than .500 this season. Three others are hitting better than .400, so that means Audra Bridenstine is the No. 9 batter with her .371 batting average.

There's not a single soft spot in the lineup, putting tremendous stress on the opposition.

Bridenstine went 3-for-3 with a double, home run and five RBIs Wednesday as Kirkwood belted NIACC, 11-0, in the first game of a doubleheader behind a one-hitter by Lexi Kinnaird.

The second-ranked Eagles took the second game, 9-0, on a four-hitter by Angie McBeain that featured home runs by Taylor Nearad and Morgan Frost.

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