Metro Sports Report

Powell, Thrune lead Kirkwood golfers

MONMOUTH, Ill. - Niall Powell and Max Thrune of Kirkwood fired rounds of even-par 71 Friday to share the lead after 18 holes of the Fighting Scots Invitational at Gibson Woods.

Black Hawk College Gold leads the tournament at 7-over 291, with Kirkwood five shots behind in second place at 296.

The final round is Saturday.

Will Babcock of Kirkwood is tied for 10th at 3-over 74. J.D. Goodfellow and Jake Sevcik are tied for 18th at 5-over 76. Dawson Peters is tied for 32nd at 78 and Ryan Morrison is tied for 36th at 79.

Clark injured as No. 10 Eagles split

Cal Clark looked like he'd just fought 15 rounds with Rocky Balboa Wednesday afternoon, but the Kirkwood second baseman vowed to play baseball again this season after suffering six fractured bones in his face after being hit by a pitch against Indian Hills.

The accident happened in the first game of the doubleheader at Kirkwood when Clark was hit by an inside fastball that caught part of his batting helmet and part of the left side of his face.

He stayed at the ballpark for awhile after being treated by the Kirkwood trainer, but then went to the hospital with his mother and returned to the park a few hours later.

Clark's left eye was black-and-blue and completely shut due to the injury. The left side of his face was swollen and he was still trying to staunch a bloody nose.

He appeared to be in good spirits, everything considered, and was embraced by his worried teammates upon his return to the field.

Kirkwood split the twinbill with Indian Hills, winning the second game 6-1 after dropping the opener 6-4.

"I feel OK," he insisted. "It's obviously pretty sore, but it will go away soon.

KCC softball blanked by No. 1 DMACC

BOONE - The Kirkwood Eagles have one of the best-hitting teams in junior college softball, but their offense disappeared in a pair of games against top-ranked DMACC Wednesday.

The fifth-ranked Eagles were blanked by the Bears in a pair of ICCAC conference games, 8-0 in five innings and 6-0.

Kirkwood did not get any hits in the first game. Monika Bevans led the Eagles with two hits in the second game.

DMACC is now on the verge of clinching the conference title at 36-0 overall and 18-0 in the league. Kirkwood fell to 40-8 overall and 15-5 in the conference.

The Bears won all four of their regular-season games against Kirkwood this season.

Kaste sparks Eagles past Indian Hills

Miranda Kaste waited three years to enjoy a day like this for the Kirkwood softball team.

Kaste sparkled as a relief pitcher and then drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Eagles trim Indian Hills, 4-3, in the first game of their non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at Kirkwood.

Kirkwood exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to win the second game, 9-1.

Kaste enrolled at Kirkwood in 2015 as a middle infielder, but she broke her left leg in practice that fall and did not recover in time to play during the 2016 campaign.

She had a metal plate and screws removed from her leg during the summer of 2016, but developed a stress fracture in the leg and had to watch the entire 2017 season come and go as well.

Finally healthy this year, Kaste has been a key utility player for the Eagles as an infielder and emergency relief pitcher after several other pitchers left the program.

Tuesday was her day to shine.