Metro Sports Report

KCC softball draws No. 2 seed for nationals

The Kirkwood Eagles have drawn the No. 2 seed for the NJCAA Division II national softball tournament and will face No. 15 seed Oakland (Mich.) in the first round Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.in Clinton, Miss.

Jones County of Mississippi is the top seed.

Kirkwood, which placed fifth in the national tournament last year, enters this year's event with a 54-4 record.

The Eagles feature the most potent offense in the country and also have two of the top pitchers with Lexi Kinnaird and Angie McBeain.

Kinnaird (29-3, 1.30 ERA) leads the nation in victories and strikeouts (267). McBeain is 20-1 with a 1.62 ERA.

Kirkwood center fielder Taylor Nearad, who was the 2016 National Junior College Player of the Year, leads the nation this season in  hits (111), runs (105) and doubles (35). She ranks third in triples (8), fourth in home runs (18), sixth in batting average(.531) and seventh in RBIs (77).

Catcher Maddie Hansen leads the nation with 92 RBIs. She ranks second in home runs (19) and fourth in batting average (.541).

No. 2 Eagles sweep to national tourney

GLENDIVE, Mont. - The long bus ride to Montana was worth it.

The second-ranked Kirkwood Eagles swept Dawson Community College, 10-1 and 4-0, to claim the district softball title Thursday and earn another trip to the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

Coach Joe Yegge is taking the Eagles to the national tournament for the fifth time in 10 years as head coach. The event will be held in  Clinton, Miss., from May 17-20.

Taylor Nearad belted a three-run homer and DoniRae Mayhew had a grand slam for Kirkwood in the 10-1 victory, which ended after five innings due to the mercy rule. Mayhew's homer was the 100th for Kirkwood this season.

Maddie Hansen hit a solo home run in the second game and Morgan Frost had a two-run single.

IGHSAU Hall of Famer joins softball league

Jaydn Spencer, one of the greatest high school softball players in state history, has joined the new Iowa Women's Softball League that will start later this month.

Sonya McCormick, an all-region selection from Iowa Central Community  College, also has joined the league. So have Stephanie Wehr and KyLeigh Becker, a pair of freshmen at Loras College.

Spencer helped the University of Alabama win the College World Series in 2012 and was inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame in 2016 in recognition of her outstanding career at Waterloo West High School.

Spencer was a five-team all-state selection at Waterloo West and was  named the Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2011. She hit .625 with 17 home runs that year and compiled a 25-9 record and 0.84 ERA as a pitcher with 384 strikeouts in 224 2/3 innings.

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Spencer hit 54 home runs in high school, which was a state record at the time. She is currently an academic athletic adviser at the University of Northern Iowa and will be a part-time player in the Iowa Women's Softball League due to a busy summer.

Kirkwood swept by Heartland

The Kirkwood baseball team finished the regular season with a pair of losses to Heartland Community College Monday at the Kirkwood field.

Heartland won the first game, 7-2, and captured the nightcap, 10-8.

The losses left Kirkwood with a 33-18 record heading into the regional tournament in Waterloo. The Eagles will face DMACC in the opening round Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at Riverfront Stadium.

Kirkwood had only two hits and committed five errors in the 7-2 loss in the first game Monday.

Lorenzo Elion and Ross Kramer hit home runs for the Eagles in the second game. Kramer, Colin Kreiter and Corbin Day had two hits. Spencer Wiskus drove in three runs and Day had two RBIs.