Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Nearad belts 3 homers as Eagles sweep

FARMINGTON, Mo. - Taylor Nearad belted three home runs and drove in eight runs as the second-ranked Kirkwood softball team demolished Mineral Area College, 37-0, in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday.

Kirkwood won the first game, 6-0.

Nearad went 4-for-6 and scored six runs in the 37-0 onslaught. Morgan Frost was 5-for-6 with two homers and six RBIs. Angie McBeain was 4-for-6 with a homer, four RBIs and five runs.

Lexi Ferrari was 4-for-7 with a homer and three RBIs. Monika Bevans and Audra Bridenstine socked two home runs apiece.

All told, Kirkwood hit 11 home run in five innings in the 37-0 victory. The Eagles scored 11 runs in the first inning, 10 runs in the fourth inning and 10 more runs in the fifth.

McBeain (6-0) pitched a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and one walk in the blowout.

McBeain also hit a home run in the 6-0 victory. Bridenstine had two hits and Nearad scored two runs.

Lexi Kinnaird (9-1) tossed a one-hitter with seven strikeouts and one walk in the opener.

Kirkwood raised its record to 18-1.

GAME 1

Kirkwood      010 120 2 - 6 7 0
Mineral Area  000 000 0 - 0 1 2

W - Kinnaird. L - Jones

GAME 2

Kirkwood      (11)42 (10)(10) - 37 30 0
Area Mineral   000 00 - 0 0 4

W - McBeain. L - Gardner.

No.2 Eagles sweep Culver-Stockton

CANTON, Mo. - The second-ranked Kirkwood softball team raised its record to 16-1 Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader from the Culver-Stockton junior varsity, 10-0 and 6-1.

Lexi Kinnaird continued to sparkle in the pitching circle for the Eagles. She fired a one-hit shutout in the first game with 13 strikeouts and one walk in the five-inning contest.

Kinnaird (8-1, 1.38 ERA) has struck out 100 batters in 56 innings with only four walks.

Maddie Hansen and Angie McBeain belted home runs for Kirkwood in the opener. Hansen was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Taylor Nearad went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Morgan Frost and McBeain also drove in two runs. Lexi Ferrari and DoniRae Mayhew had two hits.

Audra Bridenstine went 3-for-3 for the Eagles in the 6-1 victory in the second game. Ferrari drove in four runs. Hansen was 3-for-4. Frost was 2-for-5 and scored three times. McBeain and Monika Bevans had two hits.

McBeain (5-0, 0.94 ERA) allowed one run on three hits, with seven strikeouts and three walks.

GAME 1

Kirkwood          260 20 - 10 12 1
Culver-Stockton   000 00 - 0 1 3

W - Kinnaird. L - Hager.

GAME 2

Kirkwood          221 100 0 - 6 14 1
Culver-Stockton   100 000 0 - 1 3 3

W - McBeain. L - Lancmann.

Kirkwood baseball goes 7-4 in Florida

VERO BEACH, Fla. - The 17th-ranked Kirkwood baseball team split a doubleheader with UConn-Avery Point Friday and finished with a 7-4 record on its spring trip to Florida.

The Eagles won the first game, 13-9, and were trimmed in the second contest, 5-4.

General McArthur had a big game for Kirkwood in the opener. He went 3-for-5 with two home runs, four RBIs and three runs scored. Korry Howell also belted a home run and scored four times.

Lorenzo Elion was 4-for-5 with three RBIs in the first game. Colin Kreiter and Ross Kramer had two hits and Kreiter had two RBIs.

Kirkwood scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning of the second game to take a 4-3 lead, but UConn-Avery Point scored twice in the top of the seventh for the 5-4 victory.

Kramer went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the second game.

Kreiter had two more hits.

Kirkwood will be returning from Florida with a 12-7 overall record.

GAME 1

Kirkwood            330 250 0 - 13 14 1
UConn-Avery Point   203 100 3 - 9 12 2

W - Long. L - Vincent.

GAME 2

UConn-Avery Point    100 011 2 - 5 9 0
Kirkwood             000 004 0 - 4 7 0

W - Leindecker. L - Verstegen.

No.17 Kirkwood baseball team splits

VERO BEACH, Fla. - The 17th-ranked Kirkwood baseball team split two games Thursday in Florida as part of its spring trip.

The Eagles were nipped by Westchester, 8-7, in their first game and topped the Ontario Blue Jays, 14-11, in their second contest.

The split left Kirkwood with an 11-6 record.

Korry Howell, General McArthur, Colin Kreiter and Toran Shahidi had two hits for Kirkwood in the 8-7 loss to Westchester. Ellison Hanna and Howell belted home runs.

Howell, Hanna and Lorenzo Elion had three hits in the 14-11 victory over Ontario. Hanna socked another home run. Joey Verstegen and Chili Moseley drove in three runs.

GAME 1

Westchester    000 080 0 - 8 10 1
Kirkwood       131 100 1 - 7 11 0

W - Gill. L - Miller.

GAME 2

Kirkwood        132 025 1 - 14 19 2
Ontario         020 009 0 - 11 11 2

W - Hummel. L - Liddell.

Muhl named 2017 National Coach of Year

Kirkwood Community College women's basketball coach Kim Muhl is the 2017 United States Marine Corps/WBCA National Junior/Community College Coach of the Year, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced Wednesday.

Muhl will be presented with the Pat Summitt Trophy, named for the late legendary University of Tennessee coach and awarded annually to the United States Marine Corps/WBCA National Coach of the Year in each of the WBCA's six membership divisions. The award will be presented during the 2017 WBCA Convention, which will be held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four in Dallas.

"The WBCA is proud to name Kim Muhl as the 2017 United States Marine Corps/WBCA Junior/Community College National Coach of the Year," said Danielle Donehew, executive director of the WBCA. "Kim was selected as the winner by his peers after leading his team to an exceptional season. The WBCA recognizes and applauds his leadership example that can be seen in his student-athletes, institution and community."

In 28 years as head coach of the Eagles, Muhl has recorded 22 consecutive 20-win seasons. He has also tallied 24 regional finals appearances, 17 national tournament berths and six national titles.

This season Muhl led the squad to an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference regular-season title after finishing undefeated. His squad's record now stands at 33-0 after being crowned Regional Champions following a dominating performance in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI tournament.

Muhl is a 14-time NJCAA Region XI Coach of the Year and also received the WBCA Russell Athletic Junior/Community College Coach of the Year award in 2007. In 2011, he was inducted into the NJCAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

The junior/community college national coach of the year is selected by a committee of coaches. This year's finalists were: Kevin Lynum, Northwest Kansas Technical College; Kim Muhl, Kirkwood Community College; Cayla Petree, South Plains College; and Betsy Specketer, Salt Lake Community College.

KCC baseball trades pair of 4-3 games

VERO BEACH, Fla. - The Kirkwood baseball team played a pair of 4-3 ballgames Tuesday and finished with a split.

The Eagles trimmed Bethany, 4-3, in their first outing in Florida, then dropped a 4-3 verdict to Westchester.

The split left Kirkwood with a 10-5 record.

Cal Clark went 2-for-3 for the Eagles in the victory over Bethany. The Eagles trailed 3-0 after five innings, but they scored twice in the sixth and twice in the seventh for the win.

Brody Alberts picked up the victory with two scoreless innings in relief.

Kirkwood also fell behind 3-0 in the game against Westchester, but the Eagles rallied with a single tally in the fourth inning and two more runs in the seventh. Westchester won the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Lorenzo Elion was 3-for-4 for the Eagles against Westchester. Korry Howell was 2-for-5.

No.1 Kirkwood women to face Dakota

The top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team will meet Dakota in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II national tournament on Tuesday, March 21 at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Pavilion in Harrison, Ark.

Kirkwood is the top seed in the 16-team tournament and is 33-0. Dakota is seeded 16th.

The week-long tournament will finish with the national championship game on Saturday night, March 25.

Kirkwood is seeking the seventh national title in school history.

Kirkwood baseball team splits twinbill

VERO BEACH, Fla. - The Kirkwood baseball team received more good pitching Monday and split a doubleheader with UConn-Avery Point in Florida.

The Eagles won the first game, 3-2, and were nipped in the nightcap, 1-0, in 10 innings.

Hunter Lee pitched a complete game for Kirkwood in the opener, going all seven innings in the 3-2 triumph. He allowed only three hits, with 11 strikeouts and just one walk.

Cal Clark went 2-for-2 for the Eagles and scored a run. Colin Kreiter and General McArthur had RBIs.

Ross Kramer tossed six shutout innings for Kirkwood in the 1-0 setback in the second game. Kaden Wadle allowed just one run in three innings in relief, but was charged with the loss.

Kirkwood collected only three hits in the second, including two by Korry Howell.

The split left Kirkwood with a 9-4 record.

GAME 1

UConn-Avery Point    000 000 2 - 2 3 1

Kirkwood             000 003 x - 3 6 1

W - Lee. L - Vincent.

GAME 2

Kirkwood             000 000 000 0 - 0 3 2

UConn-Avery Point    000 000 000 1 - 1 4 1

W - Nemcheck. L - Wadle.

KCC's Goods tops all-region team

Kirkwood sophomore Simone Goods has been honored as the best player on the Region XI all-star basketball team.

Goods, a 6-foot-2 center from Omaha, leads the top-ranked Eagles at 16.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Deleyah Harris and Shaneequah Watkins of Kirkwood joined Goods on the first team. Harris is averaging 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds, while Watkins is contributing 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Tay Tay Wilson and Olivia Usher of Kirkwood were named to the second all-region team. Rylee Voss was named to the third unit.

Kirkwood (33-0) will compete in the NJCAA Division II national tournament in Arkansas beginning March 21.