Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kirkwood swept by Heartland

The Kirkwood baseball team finished the regular season with a pair of losses to Heartland Community College Monday at the Kirkwood field.

Heartland won the first game, 7-2, and captured the nightcap, 10-8.

The losses left Kirkwood with a 33-18 record heading into the regional tournament in Waterloo. The Eagles will face DMACC in the opening round Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at Riverfront Stadium.

Kirkwood had only two hits and committed five errors in the 7-2 loss in the first game Monday.

Lorenzo Elion and Ross Kramer hit home runs for the Eagles in the second game. Kramer, Colin Kreiter and Corbin Day had two hits. Spencer Wiskus drove in three runs and Day had two RBIs.

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KCC softball facing Dawson in district

The second-ranked Kirkwood softball team will be riding a bus all the way to Montana this week for the district tournament.

Kirkwood (52-4) will face Dawson (23-10) on Dawson's home field in Glendive, Mont., on Thursday in the best-of-3 series.

Kirkwood and Dawson will play two games on Thursday. A third game, if necessary, would be played Friday.

The district champion advances to the NJCAA Division II national tournament in Clinton, Miss., May 17-20.

Kirkwood topped Dawson in the district tournament last year at Kirkwood, 10-2 and 15-3, with both games lasting only five innings.

Kirkwood golfers claim regional title again

AMES - The Kirkwood men's golf team proved once again Sunday that it has the best program in Region XI.

The Eagles captured the regional title for the 13th time in the last 15 years with a 16-stroke victory at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in  Ames.

On top of that, Niall Powell became the 12th player from Kirkwood to claim the individual championship in the last 14 years. Powell is a freshman from England.

The Eagles finished the 36-hole tournament with a four-man total of 601, good for a 16-shot verdict over Iowa Central.

Powell fired a 1-under-par 71 Sunday to edge Wes Bantenbach of Iowa Central by one shot for the individual crown at 1-over 145.

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Miller shines as Eagles sweep SCC

The Kirkwood Eagles needed a boost Saturday after dropping a pair of one-run games to 19th-ranked Southeastern Community College on the  final weekend of the regular season.

It was Miller time.

Austin Miller tossed a complete game as the Eagles trimmed the Blackhawks, 3-1, in the first game of their doubleheader to stop the bleeding and lift everyone's spirits.

Kirkwood then captured the second game, 9-5, to earn a split of the  fourth-game series and give themselves a heavy dose of momentum heading into the regional tournament in Waterloo.

Kirkwood and Southeastern began the weekend in a tie for first place  in the conference with 13-7 records, but they were only one game ahead  of NIACC and Iowa Central. As it turned out, NIACC and Iowa Central both swept their four-game series this weekend and tied for the conference title with 16-8 marks. Kirkwood and Southeastern tied for  third at 15-9.

Kirkwood drew the No. 4 seed in the regional tournament at Riverfront  Stadium in Waterloo and will meet No. 5 seed DMACC on Thursday at 3:30  p.m.

Miller, a 6-foot-7 right-hander from Iowa City West, had struggled on the mound the last few weeks, but he emerged as the stopper Saturday with a good fastball and nasty change-up.

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Kirkwood golfers lead regional tourney

AMES - Jordan Even and the Kirkwood Eagles grabbed the lead after the first round of the NJCAA Region XI tournament at the Veenkner Memorial Golf Course in Ames Saturday.

Even fired a 1-over-par 73 to take a one-shot lead heading into the final 18 holes Sunday. Niall Powell of Kirkwood carded a 2-over 74 and  is tied for second. Louis Flynn of Kirkwood is tied for fourth at 75.

The Eagles finished the first round with a four-man score of 302, good for a 10-shot lead over Iowa Lakes.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Kirkwood 302, 2. Iowa Lakes 312, 3. (tie) DMACC 319, Iowa Central  319, 5. Northeast 332, 6. NIACC 333, 7. Southeastern 346, 8.  Southwestern 354.

KIRKWOOD: Jordan Even 73, Niall Powell 74, Louis Flynn 75, JD  Goodfellow 80, Charles Hartwig 83.

Hansen makes bid for Player of Year

Maddie Hansen used to be a base-clogger. Now she's a base-clearer. And she might be the National Player of the Year as one of the stars for the Kirkwood softball team.

Hansen belted her 18th home run Friday and added to her sterling credentials as the second-ranked Eagles dumped Southwestern, 18-1, to claim the regional title at Kirkwood.

Kirkwood Coach Joe Yegge termed the phrase "base-clogger" to describe Hansen when the All-American catcher arrived on campus in 2015 from Cedar Rapids Jefferson, but that was before Hansen dropped 25 pounds  thanks to a heavy diet of racquetball.

"I was pretty slow as a base-runner when I got here," she acknowledged Friday. "I lost a lot of weight my freshman year and I became more athletic, and I think that's helped me get where I am."

It's helped her climb to the top of the charts in junior college softball. Hansen leads the nation with 90 RBIs, is tied for second with 18 homers and ranks fourth in batting with a .537 average.

On top of that, she's an outstanding catcher.

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Kirkwood baseball team has tough day

The Kirkwood baseball team began Friday in a tie for first place in the ICCAC conference standings, but by the time the long frustrating  day was over the Eagles had slipped all the way to fourth.

Now the Eagles have to bounce back in a rare "triple-header" against 19th-ranked Southeastern Saturday afternoon to climb back on top of the standings on the final day of the regular season.

Kirkwood wasted a terrific effort by right-hander Joe Funkhouser and lost the first game of Friday's doubleheader to Southeastern, 1-0, at the Kirkwood field.

The second game was suspended by darkness with the score tied, 8-8, after eight innings. The Eagles had an 8-2 lead after five innings, but saw it slip away.

Kirkwood and Southeastern will resume the suspended game at noon Saturday, followed by the regularly scheduled doubleheader.

If the Eagles win all three times Saturday, they can clinch at least a tie for first place. If they lose all three games, they can fall all the way to fifth place.

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McBeain stars as Eagles sink Lakers

Angie McBeain has made a powerful impact on the Kirkwood softball team this season as a freshman.

Powerful arm. Powerful bat.

McBeain starred as a hitter and pitcher Thursday as the second-ranked Eagles topped 16th-ranked Iowa Lakes, 12-4, in six innings in the second round of the regional tournament at Kirkwood.

Kirkwood (51-4) will face Southwestern (9-27) in the championship round again Friday at noon. The Eagles need one more victory to win the regional title, but the Spartans would have to win twice in the double-elimination tourney to earn the crown.

McBeain, who hails from Prior Lake, Minn., went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBIs Thursday. She also pitched well in relief, allowing no runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Lexi Kinnaird, who set the Kirkwood record with her 51st victory in  the opening round Wednesday, suffered a rough patch in the fourth inning against Iowa Lakes and was touched for four runs, but McBeain came to the rescue and stopped the bleeding.

McBeain is hitting .433 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs, and she's compiled a 19-1 record and 1.72 ERA in the circle.

DoniRae Mayhew, another talented freshman who can hit and pitch, also socked a three-run homer Thursday. She's hitting .441 with 15 homers and 74 RBIs, along with a 5-0 record and 2.38 ERA as the team's No. 3 hurler.

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KCC's Kramer wins national baseball award

Kirkwood outfielder Ross Kramer has been named the National NJCAA  Player of the Week for games played from April 24 to April 30.

Kramer, a freshman from Urbandale, hit three home runs and drove in  six runs in a 10-6 victory over NIACC. He hit .529 with three doubles,  three homers and seven RBIs in the four-game series.

Kramer and the Eagles are hosting Southeastern Community College in a  four-game series this Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.

Kirkwood and Southeastern are tied for the conference lead with 13-7  records heading into the final weekend of the regular season, but  NIACC and Iowa Central are just a game behind at 12-8.