Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No. 6 Eagles shrug off Frederick at NJCAA

DANVILLE, Ill. - The Kirkwood Eagles sparkled in the second half Tuesday and dumped Frederick, 86-61, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.

The sixth-ranked Eagles struggled in the first half and trailed 37-35 at intermission, but they pounded Frederick 51-24 in the second half and won easily.

Kirkwood (28-4) will play in the Elite 8 Wednesday night at 8 p.m. against Louisburg (28-5), which defeated South Mountain in its first-round game on Wednesday.

The Eagles blistered the nets in the second half, shooting 71.4 percent from the field and 87.5 percent on 3-pointers. Kirkwood made 15 of 21 shots from the field in the final 20 minutes and was 7-for-8 on 3-pointers.

Josh Meier sparked Kirkwood off the bench with 13 points in 17 minutes. Nick Richards also scored 13 points in a balanced attack.

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Kirkwood pitchers throw two gems

CANTON, Mo. - Nicky Simpson tossed a no-hitter and Lexi Kinnaird pitched a perfect game Friday as the third-ranked Kirkwood softball team swept a doubleheader from Culver-Stockton, 9-0 and 16-0, in Canton, Mo.

Simpson had 11 strikeouts in the 9-0 victory. Emilee Meyer went 3-for-3. Lexi Ferrari and Taylor Nearad had two his and Morgan Frost had two RBIs.

Kinnaird collected 10 strikeouts in her perfect game in the second contest. Nearad was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, home run and five RBIs. Gabi Carter was 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs and four RBIs.

Frost, Mallory Neubauer and Meyer had two hits. Frost hit a home run and drove in two runs for the undefeated Eagles (10-0).

Kirkwood draws Frederick at NJCAA tourney

The Kirkwood men's basketball team has received a favorable pairing for the first round of the NJCAA Division II national tournament next week in Danville, Ill.

The sixth-ranked Eagles (27-4) will play Frederick, a junior college team from Maryland that advanced to the national tournament despite having a 13-16 record for the season. Their game is set for next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Kirkwood has been seeded No. 3 for the 16-team tournament. Triton is the No. 1 seed and Lansing is the No. 2 seed.

The tournament will be held from Tuesday, March 15 through Saturday, March 19.

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS
Tuesday, March 15

9 a.m. - Lansing vs Dakota County
11 a.m. - Essex County vs Columbus State
1 p.m. - Kirkwood vs Frederick
3 p.m. - Louisburg vs South Mountain
6:30 p.m. - Triton vs MCC-Penn Valley
8:30 p.m. - Monroe vs Parkland

Wednesday, March 16

11 a.m. - South Suburban vs Kansas City
1 p.m. - Schoolcraft vs Cecil

Kirkwood sweeps Lewis & Clark

ALTON, Ill. - Kirkwood's Tyler Bordner smacked three home runs, driving home six runs, as the Eagles completed a sweep of Lewis & Clark Community College, 18-6, on Sunday.

General McArthur pounded out a pair of solo homers as the Eagles rallied with two runs in the top of the seventh to win the opener 6-5.

Bryce Grimm had two hits and drove home five in the nightcap. Colin Kreiter had two hits, including a home run and Matt Paciello also had a pair of hits.

Austin Clemens pitched 4 1/3 innings to get the win, giving up eight hits and three earned runs, striking out two and walking two.

Grimm also homered for Kirkwood (4-4) in the opener. Luke Hassman had a homer and three RBI in the game. Jake Faur pitched 2/3 of an inning to get the win, Dariel Checo retired the hosts in order in the seventh to gain the save.

Game 1

Kirkwood 012 010 2 - 6 8 1
Lewis & Clark 023 000 0 - 5 6 1

WP - Checo. LP - Deford. HR: McArthur (2), Grimm, Hassmann

Game 2

Kirkwood 002 522 7 - 18 14 2
Lewis & Clark 050 010 0 - 6 10 5

WP - Clemens. LP - Lee. HR: Bordner (3), Kreiter

Let's hit the road with Mustangs, Eagles

I wish I had a deep bank account and the time to travel during the next two weeks.

If I did, I'd follow the Mount Mercy and Kirkwood men's basketball teams to their national tournaments and watch some of the best action this side of March Madness itself.

The 14th-ranked Mustangs (25-7) will be playing in the NAIA Division II national tournament in Point Lookout, Mo., this week. The 32-team tournament begins Wednesday and ends with the championship game March 15 on ESPN3.

The sixth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles (27-4) will be playing in the NJCAA Division II national tournament in Danville, Ill., next week. That 16-team event begins March 15 and ends March 19.

What a glorious trip that would be. Mount Mercy and Kirkwood have exciting, high-scoring teams that could do some serious damage in their national events, although they'll be facing some very serious competition.

If Mount Mercy beats Southern Oregon in the first round Wednesday, they might have to face top-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.) in the second round on Friday. The Mustangs are capable of beating anyone and that game could be a real humdinger.

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No.3 Kirkwood softball wins twice

ROSEMONT, Ill. - The third-ranked Kirkwood softball team raised its record to 8-0 Saturday with a pair of victories at the Rosemont Dome.

The Eagles whipped Waubonsee, 9-0, in their first game behind a strong pitching effort by Nicky Simpson, who tossed a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Maddie Hansen went 2-for-2 with a double, triple and two RBIs.

Kirkwood topped Rock Valley, 9-1, in its second game Saturday. Lexi Ferrari went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and had the game-ending base hit. Taylor Nearad was 2-for-3 with a triple and scored twice.

Lexi Kinnaird allowed one earned run on three hits, with nine strikeouts and no walks.

Kirkwood baseball team sweeps twinbill

ALTON, Ill. - The Kirkwood baseball team swept a doubleheader from Lewis & Clark, 10-4 and 9-1, Saturday in a junior college twinbill in Alton, Ill.

Matt Paciello went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Eagles in the first game. Luke Hassman was 2-for-4 and scored twice. Joey Verstegen went 2-for-2.

Ethan Howard pitched 4.1 innings in the opener for the victory. He allowed three runs on seven hits, but only one of the runs was earned. He struck out six batters and walked one.

Nick Drahozal pitched five strong innings for Kirkwood in the nightcap. He allowed one unearned run on one hit, with five strikeouts and five walks.

Jack Fitzgerald went 3-for-4 and scored two runs in the nightcap. 
Paciello, Brandon Brittain and Hassman had two hits. Hassman drove in three runs and Bryce Grimm had two RBIs.

Kirkwood (2-4) is scheduled to play another twinbill against Lewis & Clark on Sunday.

No.6 Eagles earn trip to JUCO nationals

Kirkwood guard Hunter Rhodes was covered in blue body-paint Saturday afternoon and loving every single messy smear on his jersey, arms and hands.

It happened after Kirkwood students, some of whom painted G-O E-A-G-L-E-S on their bare chests, rushed the court after Kirkwood beat Iowa Lakes in the regional finals and hugged as many players as they could.

"I'm bleeding blue now, I guess," Rhodes said happily.

Rhodes was named the MVP of the regional tournament after the sixth-ranked Eagles dumped the 18th-ranked Lakers, 80-64, to win the regional title and earn a spot in the NJCAA Division II national tournament for the first time since 2011.

The national tournament will be held in Danville, Ill., from March 15-19.

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No. 6 Eagles roll into regional finals

Kaliph Fagan has a mop of unruly hair at the top of his lanky 6-foot-4 frame, something he humorously calls the Kaliph 'Fro, but there's nothing unruly about the way he plays for the Kirkwood men's basketball team.

Fagan brings a ton of creative energy to the club when coach Bryan Petersen summons him off the bench like he did Thursday night.

Fagan scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the sixth-ranked Eagles stomped Iowa Central, 90-61, in the regional semifinals at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (26-4) will host 18th-ranked Iowa Lakes (25-7) in the regional finals at 3 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

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