Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

KCC softball swept by Indian Hills

The Kirkwood softball team was swept by Indian Hills Community College  in a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at Kirkwood, 7-2 and 8-6.

Kirkwood, which is ranked No. 4 in NJCAA Division II softball, fell to  17-6 for the season. Indian Hills, which is not ranked in Division I,  raised its mark to 11-14.

Kirkwood got only two hits in the 7-2 loss in the opener. Both hits  were home runs, by London Jackson and Jayme Finn. The homer by Finn  was an inside-the-park shot when the left fielder dove for a line  drive and missed.

The first game was tied, 2-2, after five innings, but Indian Hills  scored five times in the top of the sixth to take command.

Read more...

Babcock earns top spot at Eagle Spring Classic

Will Babcock of Kirkwood fired a 4-under-par 68 Monday to capture the  top prize at the Eagle Spring Classic at Hunters Ridge.

Babcock finished at 6-under 138 for the 36-hole event and topped  Philip Nelson of Mount Mercy by three shots. William Bruyeres of Mount  Mercy and Dawson Peters of Kirkwood tied for third at 1-under 143.

Mount Mercy trimmed Kirkwood by four strokes, 582 to 586, for the team  championship in the six-team field.

Read more...

Mustang, KCC golfers vie for title

The Mount Mercy and Kirkwood men's golf teams are locked in a tight  battle for top honors at the Eagle Spring Classic at Hunters Ridge.

The Mustangs finished Day 1 of the 36-hole tournament Sunday with a  two-shot lead over Kirkwood heading into the final round Monday.

Mount Mercy posted a four-man score of 1-over-par 289 Sunday, with  Kirkwood two shots back at 3-over 291.

Will Babcock of Kirkwood and Kaleb Hagge of Mount Mercy are tied for  first place at 2-under-par 70. William Bruyeres and Philip Nelson of  Mount Mercy are tied for third at 1-under 71.

Read more...

Wilson leads Kirkwood to national title

DANVILLE, Ill. - Doug Wilson played like an All-American Saturday night. Better yet, he played like a national champion.

Wilson poured in 30 points and snared 15 rebounds for a monster double-double as Kirkwood topped Johnson County Community College, 64-58, in the championship game of the NJCAA Division II national tournament at the Mary Miller Center in Danville, Ill.

Wilson canned 13 of 23 shots, blocked five shots, handed out four assists and even banked in the first 3-pointer of his career to beat the shot clock at a critical point in the game.

For his efforts, the 6-foot-7 sophomore from Des Moines was honored as the MVP of the tournament. Two of his buddies, Devonte Thedford and Allante Pickens, joined Wilson on the all-tournament team.

Wilson was simply magnificent in the biggest game of the year on a national stage.

"He's the best I've ever coached," said Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen, who pocketed his second national title in four years. "He's a special winner. And how much he's grown.

"Tonight was another night where he just put us on his back for a few moments and got it done. I can't say enough about his leadership and how much he bought into our program.

"He's one of the best ones to ever wear an Eagle uniform."

Read more...

KCC baseball splits ICCAC opener

The Kirkwood baseball team began the ICCAC Conference season Saturday by splitting a doubleheader with Iowa Central at Kirkwood Field.

The Eagles took the first game, 7-4, for their ninth straight victory of the young season. Iowa Central grabbed the nightcap, 11-5.

The doubleheader was scheduled to be played at Iowa Central in Fort Dodge, but was shifted to Cedar Rapids due to field conditions. Kirkwood is scheduled to play a twinbill at Iowa Central on Tuesday.

The split left Kirkwood at 11-7 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Iowa Central is 10-9 overall and 1-1 in the league.

Read more...

No. 1 Eagles soar into national title game

DANVILLE, Ill. - The Kirkwood Eagles played like national champions in  the first half against Erie Community College Friday night in the  semifinals of the NJCAA Division II tournament.

Now the Eagles (30-4) will try to finish the job when they face  Johnson County Community College of Kansas (31-4) for the national  title Saturday night at 7:30.

The Eagles took most of the suspense out of their semifinal date with  Erie with a sensational first half when they made 18 of 23 shots for  an incredible 78.3 percent, paving the way for an 84-70 victory that  lifted Kirkwood into the national finals.

All-American Doug Wilson and guard Allante Pickens were unstoppable in  the stanza as Kirkwood build an early 38-9 lead on its way to a 50-29  cushion at halftime.

The Eagles did nothing wrong in the first 12 minutes of the game.

"It was pretty incredible," said Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen. "And I  thought our defense was pretty locked in as well.

Read more...

No. 1 Eagles claw past Niagara County

DANVILLE, Ill. - Winning a national championship is never easy, no  matter how good you are.

The Kirkwood Eagles learned that lesson Wednesday night but lived to  play another day.

The top-ranked Eagles clawed past Niagara County of New York, 80-65,  in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division II tournament and will play  in the semifinals Friday night.

Kirkwood (29-4) will face Erie (N.Y.) or Milwaukee Area Tech in the  next round. Erie, the No. 4 seed, and Milwaukee Tech, the No. 5 seed,  meet in the quarterfinals Thursday night.

Devonte Thedford, Kirkwood's top point guard, was called for two  charging fouls in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game and watched the  rest of the first half from the bench, but the Eagles rallied for a  35-31 edge at intermission after trailing by eight points.

Thedford scored seven straight points to start the second half and the  Eagles appeared on their way, but he was called for his third foul  with 15:25 remaining and headed to the bench again for the next six  minutes.

Fortunately for Kirkwood, Thedford did not collect another foul and  wound up with 21 points in just 16 minutes, 28 seconds of action. He  killed Niagara County at the foul line, hitting 15 of 17 free throws.

Read more...

No. 4 Eagles sweep NE Oklahoma again

MIAMI, Okla. - The Kirkwood softball team collected 32 hits Wednesday  and swept a doubleheader from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 7-4 and 11-7  in nine innings in Oklahoma.

The fourth-ranked Eagles swept Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for the  second straight day and raised their record to 17-4.

London Jackson went 2-for-3 with two runs, a homer and two RBIs in the  7-4 victory in the opener. Lauren Klaahsen was 2-for-4 and drove in  two runs. Lauren Kuch scored twice. Eric Hocker pitched a complete  game for the victory.

Kuch went 4-for-6 with two doubles and drove in four runs in the 11-7  verdict in the nightcap. Rachel Stewart, Klaahsen and Randyn Carter  had three hits. Carter hit a home run, scored three times and drove in  two runs.

Read more...

Kirkwood baseball wins 8th straight

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Kirkwood baseball team won its eighth  straight game Tuesday by sweeping a doubleheader from Sussex County,  16-4 and 12-2 in six innings.

The Eagles finished their trip to Florida with an 8-1 record, raising  their overall mark to 10-6.

Jamarion Loston went 5-for-7 in the twinbill and scored six runs for  Kirkwood. He went 2-for-3 with three runs in the 16-4 verdict in Game  1, then was 3-for-4 and scored three more times in the 12-2 victory in  the nightcap.

Corbin Day pitched a complete game and allowed only one earned run in  the 16-4 victory. He struck out nine batters in the seven-inning  contest.

Levi Usher went 4-for-5 in the opener with a double, triple and scored  twice. Joel Thompson was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and five  RBIs. Kal Youngquist was 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs and four RBIs.

Read more...