Metro Sports Report

Mayhew, Stewart lead all-region softball

DoniRae Mayhew and Rachel Stewart of Kirkwood have received two of the top honors on the all-region softball team.

Mayhew has been named the NJCAA Region XI Offensive Player of the Year and is  hitting .442 with 28 home runs and 84 RBIs. She leads the nation in homers and RBIs.

Stewart, a shortstop, has been named the Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring Kirkwood's infield. She's hitting .480 with 13 homers and 60 RBIs. Stewart leads the nation with 95 runs and is tied for first with 94 hits.

Natalie Halvorson, Monika Bevans and Lauren Kuch of Kirkwood were named first team in Region XI. Halvorson, a pitcher, is 24-8 with two saves and a 2.52 ERA. She has 147 strikeouts in 169 2/3 innings, with only 25 walks.

Bevans, a catcher, is hitting .484 with 15 homers and 68 RBIs. Kuch, a left fielder, is hitting .454 with 12 homers and 63 RBIs.

Mayhew leads Eagles to regional title

Kirkwood softball coach Joe Yegge wasn't sure who to pitch in the regional finals on Sunday because DoniRae Mayhew has battled a sore arm the last few weeks and looked a little wobbly in the regional semifinals on Saturday.

Yegge sent his star a text message Saturday night to get a better feel for the situation.

"Last night I asked her, 'How do you feel?,'" he said Sunday afternoon, "and she goes, 'Give me the ball.'

"I've been waiting two years to hear her say something like that."

Case closed.

"He texted me last night and asked if I wanted the ball for the first game and I was like, 'Of course I do! Is that even a question?," the talented right-hander confirmed.

Mayhew tossed a two-hitter and helped her own cause with a two-run homer as the fifth-ranked Eagles spanked Iowa Central, 11-1, in five innings to capture the regional title at the Kirkwood field.

Kirkwood golfers capture Region XI title

PANORA - Freshman Dawson Peters fired a final round 73 to capture the individual championship, leading the Kirkwood golf team to the Region XI title on Sunday at the Lake Panorama National Resort course.

Peters finished with a two-day total of 147, one shot ahead of Southwestern's Oliver Pearson and two shots better than Eagle teammate Max Thrune.

The Eagles, who trailed by one shot after the first day, finished at 601 as a team, well ahead of DMACC (612) and NIACC (624). All three teams qualify for the NJCAA national tournament, May 22-25 at Glenlakes Golf Club in Foley, Ala.

Kaste, Bevans deliver for No. 5 Eagles

Miranda Kaste and Monica Bevans are not planning to play college softball after they finish their careers at Kirkwood this season, but they've both left the door ajar.

After what they did Saturday, it might be tough for either Eagle to put their bats and gloves away for good.

Kaste belted two clutch home runs and Bevans snapped a 5-5 tie with a two-run double as the fifth-ranked Eagles escaped Iowa Central, 8-5, in the second round of the regional tournament at Kirkwood.

Kaste, who is not known as a power hitter, slammed a long homer to right field to tie the game, 1-1, in the fifth inning and get all those goose-eggs off the scoreboard.

She came up again in the sixth inning and belted a long two-run homer to center field to tie the game again, 5-5, and set the stage for Bevans' heroics a little later in the inning.

Kirkwood (45-11) will face Iowa Central (32-27) again Sunday at high noon in the championship round of the double-elimination tournament.