Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

KCC's Appel commits to South Dakota State

Luke Appel has joined the pipeline from Kirkwood to South Dakota State.

Appel, a 6-foot-8 forward, plans to continue his basketball career at  South Dakota State after averaging 15.9 points and 8.4 rebounds as a  sophomore at Kirkwood this year. He was named the co-player of the  year in the ICCAC this season.

Appel will be joining former Kirkwood coach Bryan Petersen and former  Kirkwood All-American Doug Wilson when he arrives at South Dakota State.

Petersen joined the Jackrabbits as an assistant coach this past season  after leading Kirkwood to the NJCAA Division II national title in  2019. Wilson joined the Jackrabbits this season as well after being  named the NJCAA Division II Player of the Year in 2019.

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Rima reaches 600 wins as Kirkwood sweeps

AUBURNDALE, Fla. - Todd Rima joined the 600 victory club on Friday  when the Kirkwood Eagles swept a doubleheader from Sussex County, 11-1  and 4-3, on their abbreviated spring trip to Florida.

Rima has a 601-381 record in 19 years as a head college baseball  coach, including a 236-134 mark in eight years at Kirkwood. He also  served as the head coach at NIACC for 11 years.

Kirkwood has suspended all of its spring sports through April 3 due to  precautions regarding the corona virus.

Joel Vaske and Kyle Moeder hit home runs for the Eagles in the 11-1  victory in the opener, which ended after five innings due to the mercy  rule. Vaske was 4-for-4 and drove in five runs.

Jaylen Patterson, Cade Moss and Evan Paulus had two hits. Patterson  collected a double and triple. Paulus scored three times. Josh  Fitzgerald and Moss scored twice. Lorenz Elion and Moss had two RBIs.

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Smith tosses 1-hit shutout for Kirkwood

SEMINOLE, Fl. - Mitch Smith tossed a one-hit shutout Thursday as the Kirkwood Eagles blanked Minnesota West Community & Technical College, 10-0, in the first game of their spring trip to Florida.

Minnesota West took the second game, 7-6, despite a five-run uprising by Kirkwood in the top of the last inning.

Smith (1-0) struck out five batters and walked only one in the five-inning contest in the opener. Gabe Lux socked a solo home run in a 10-hit attack for the Eagles.

Lorenz Elion, Merritt McCardle and Michael Robles had two RBIs in the 10-0 victory. Joel Vaske and Elion had two hits. Lux, Jaylen Patterson and McCardle scored twice.

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Morgan leads Eagles to Evangel golf title

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - James Morgan and the Kirkwood golf team rallied  Tuesday to capture top honors at the Evangel Spring Invitational.

Morgan, a sophomore from Scotland, fired a 1-under-par 71 to help the  ninth-ranked Eagles overcome a seven-shot deficit and win the initial  meet of their spring campaign.

Morgan captured medalist honors at 5-over 149 for a one-shot victory  in the 36-hole event. Sam Lockhart of Kirkwood tied for fourth place  at 10-over 154.

Kirkwood finished five strokes ahead of William Woods, 621 to 626, for  the title. The Eagles shot a team score of 323 on Monday in the first  round, but improved by 25 shots to post a 298 on Tuesday.

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KCC golfers 2nd after Day 1 in Missouri

PRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Kirkwood men's golf team began the 2020  campaign in rough weather Monday at the Evangel Spring Invitational.

The Eagles finished the first round at 35 shots over par with a team  score of 323 at the Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield, Mo. The  Eagles trail William Woods by seven shots heading into the final 18  holes on Tuesday.

James Morgan of Kirkwood is tied for sixth place at 6-over 78.

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Eagles bounced by NIACC in regional finals

MASON CITY - Kirkwood's bid to reach the national tournament ended  quickly Sunday afternoon.

Top-ranked NIACC raced to a 21-point lead in the first quarter and  bounced the fourth-ranked Eagles, 95-73, in the regional finals to  claim a spot in the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

Kirkwood finished the season with a 29-4 record, with three of the  losses to NIACC. The Trojans head to nationals with a 32-1 mark.

NIACC tossed in 19 3-pointers in 40 attempts. Kelci Hale hit six  triples and scored 24 points. Andrea Gray made five 3-pointers and  netted 23.

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KCC baseball hits 5 HRs in sweep

GODFREY, Ill. - The Kirkwood baseball team belted five home runs  Sunday and swept Lewis & Clark, 8-3 and 18-1, in a non-conference  twinbill in Illinois.

D'Eric Shenault, Josh Fitzgerald and Gabe Lux connected for home runs  in an 8-3 victory in the opener. Kyle Moeder and Merritt McCardle  socked homers in an 18-1 stroll in the nightcap in six innings.

The Eagles (4-4) enjoyed big innings in both games. They scored six  runs in the fifth inning of the 8-3 verdict and put 13 fat runs on the  board in the sixth inning of Game 2.

Fitzgerald, Joel Vaske, Moeder and Lux all had two hits in the opener.  Lux drove in three runs and Cameron Hunter had two RBIs. Fitzgerald  and Vaske scored twice.

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No. 10 KCC softball wins pair

FORT SCOTT, Kan. - The 10th-ranked Kirkwood softball hit three home  runs Sunday and swept a doubleheader from Fort Scott, 9-3 and 13-5.

The victories lifted the Eagles to 10-3 for the campaign. Fort Scott  fell to 6-8.

Sydney Albaugh went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the 9-3 victory in the  opener. Shelby Hulsebus, Autum Barthelman and Angie Gorkow were all  2-for-5. Hulsebus collected a triple. Isabelle True (4-2) pitched a  complete game for the verdict.

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Eagles face No.1 NIACC in regional finals

MASON CITY - The Kirkwood Eagles will face top-ranked NIACC in the  championship game of the women's regional basketball tournament Sunday  at 1 p.m. in Mason City.

Kirkwood enters the regional finals with a 29-3 record, with two of  the losses to NIACC (31-1).

The fourth-ranked Eagles earned a spot in the championship game by  topping Southeastern, 78-59, in the semifinals Saturday. Kirkwood led  37-32 at halftime, then used an 8-0 spurt to begin the third quarter  for a 13-point cushion at 45-32. The lead grew to 23 points midway  through the fourth quarter.

Kemara Watson shot 8-for-9 from the field and led the Eagles with 20  points. Paige Bradford was 8-for-10 and netted 17 points.

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