Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Eagles sweep NIACC for 23 in row

The fourth-ranked Kirkwood softball team ran its winning streak to 23 games Saturday by sweeping an ICCAC doubleheader from NIACC, 3-2 and 12-4, at the Kirkwood field.

Shy Saladino (21-0, 1.22 ERA) pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts in the opener. Lexi Quandt went 2-for-3 and Jenna Schulte drove in two runs.

Natalie Clark went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs in the second game. Tara Walls was 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Krysta Tutsch was 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBIs. Chasney Jenkins went 3-for-3.

Sam Belz (22-4, 1.46) was the winning pitcher in the nightcap.

Merced stars as KCC sweeps twinbill

CRESTON - Angel Merced went 7-for-11 and drove in six runs Friday as the Kirkwood Eagles swept an ICCAC doubleheader from Southwestern, 12-2 and 17-15, in Creston.

Merced was 4-for-5 with two RBIs in the first game. He continued his hot hitting by going 3-for-6 with four more RBIs in the nightcap.

Kirkwood (22-11, 7-7) pounded out 15 hits in both games.

Zach Patterson, Eric Schenck-Joblinske, Nick Jones and Randy Perez had two hits in the first game. Schenck-Joblinske collected a double, triple and two RBIs. Cale Henke struck out 11 batters in seven innings for the victory.

Patterson, Sulliam Rios Reyes and Schenck-Joblinske - the top three batters in the lineup - combined to score 10 runs in the second game.

Perez went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Shawn Hagarty was 3-for-4 and scored three times. Patterson had two more hits.

KCC's Fallon joining Abrahamson at Albany

Mikayla Fallon, a sophomore guard from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, has signed a letter of intent with NCAA Division I University of Albany (N.Y.).

Fallon averaged 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Eagles this season. She dished out 84 assists along with 33 steals and shot 32 percent (55-173) from the 3-point line.

Albany is coached by Cedar Rapids Washington graduate Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. Albany finished 28-5 this year, winning the America East Conference and qualifying for the NCAA D-1 tournament.

No. 4 Eagles sweep DMACC for 21 in row

The fourth-ranked Kirkwood softball team swept DMACC in a conference doubleheader Wednesday, 3-2 and 9-5, at the Kirkwood diamond.

The Eagles, riding a 21-game winning streak, raised their records to 44-5 overall and 17-1 in the league. DMACC fell to 26-10 overall and 12-6 in the ICCAC conference.

Shy Saladino (20-0, 1.31 ERA) pitched a complete game in the opener and got the victory in relief in the nightcap.

Erin Weno, Brittney Lash and Brooke Prior collected RBIs for Kirkwood in the first game. The Eagles got only two hits, but had seven other base-runners with five walks and two hit batters. Saladino tossed a four-hitter with seven strikeouts.

Alicia Crivaro hit her ninth home run and drove in three runs for the Eagles in the second game. Chasney Jenkins and Prior went 3-for-4. Tara Walls went 2-for-4 and Lexi Quandt drove in two runs.

No. 5 Kirkwood enjoying another streak

The Kirkwood softball team won 50 straight games last season, a feat that might never happen again for the Eagles.

They're coming close, however.

Kirkwood swept a doubleheader from Muscatine Tuesday, 6-2 and 15-7, and has won 30 of its last 31 games this season.

Tara Walls went 3-for-4 for the fifth-ranked Eagles (42-5) in the first game. Lexi Quandt went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Shy Saladino (18-0) pitched a complete game for the victory.

Walls and Quandt hit home runs for Kirkwood in the second game. Chasney Jenkins was 4-for-5. Walls went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Brianna Farley was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Quandt, Brooke Prior and Krysta Tutsch had two RBIs. Natalie Clark went 2-for-4.

Sam Belz (21-4) was the winning pitcher.

Kirkwood splits with No. 6 Heartland

Jamison Steege pitched a strong game for the Kirkwood Eagles Tuesday as they defeated No.6 Heartland, 3-1, in the second game of a doubleheader at Kirkwood.

Heartland won the first game, 13-11.

Steege allowed only two hits in 5.1 innings and struck out six batters for Kirkwood (19-11). Will Ross and Randy Perez finished the game in relief. Perez went 2-for-3 and got the save.

Angel Merced went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and five RBIs for the Eagles in the first game. Eric Schenck-Joblinske and Matt Paciello went 2-for-3.

The split left Heartland with a 24-6 record.

3 KCC softball players ready to sign

Three members of the Kirkwood Community College softball team plan to sign with four-year colleges Wednesday morning during a ceremony at Johnson Hall on Kirkwood's Cedar Rapids campus.

Shy Saladino, a pitcher from Davenport, will sign with Missouri Western. She has a 17-0 record and 1.18 ERA, with 146 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 113 innings.

Krysta Tutsch, a catcher from Davenport, plans to play at Louisiana Tech next year. She is hitting .333 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs.

Brittney Lash, a center fielder from Cedar Rapids Prairie, will sign with Northern State. She is hitting .329 with one home run, 16 RBIs and 32 runs scored.

Saladino and Tutsch are sophomores who helped the Eagles finish fifth in the national tournament last year with a 57-5 record. Lash is a freshman who helped Prairie reach the state softball tournament for the first time in school history last season.

Kirkwood is ranked fifth in the nation in the NJCAA Division II poll with a 40-5 record. The Eagles have won 28 of their last 29 games.

The signing ceremony is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.

Chilcott shares title at Lake Panorama

PANORA —  Nathan Chilcott of Kirkwood Community College fired a 2-over-par 74 Saturday and tied for the championship at the AIB Spring Invitational at the Lake Panorama golf course.

Chilcott finished with a 36-hole score of 77-74-151 to tie Ryan Starkman of Grand View for the title.

Kirkwood placed second out of 12 teams in the tournament at 624. AIB won the title at 613.

Kirkwood: Nathan Chilcott 77-74=151, Ryan Palser 78-76=154, Sheldon Gryp 78-80=158, Ben Jones 80-84=164, Drew Slings 88-81=169.

No. 5 Eagles raise mark to 40-5

The fifth-ranked Kirkwood softball team dispatched two more opponents Saturday at its own tournament, raising its record to 40-5 for the season.

The Eagles blanked Mineral Area Community College, 8-0, in five innings behind a two-hit shutout by Sam Belz (20-4, 1.07 ERA).

Jenna Schulte hit a home run and drove in two runs. Natalie Clark went 3-for-3 and had two RBIs. Erin Weno went 2-for-3.

Kirkwood trimmed Dakota County, 8-5, in the second game.

Schulte went 4-for-4 for the Eagles. Chasney Jenkins went 3-for-4. Clark was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, making the freshman shortstop 5-for-7 in the two games.

Belz and Shy Saladino (17-0, 1.38) shared the pitching against Dakota County.