Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No. 8 Eagles roll to regional title

The Kirkwood Eagles have such a good-hitting team that Lexi Quandt hit ninth in the batting order Monday in the regional finals with a .347 average.

On most teams, she'd hit in the middle of the order.

Five Eagles were hitting above .400. Chasney Jenkins was well over .500. As a team, the club was hitting .410 when the day began. They lead the nation with 109 home runs (a school record) and are averaging more than 10 runs per game.

"We were saying in the dugout before the game that we would hate to be on any other team besides Kirkwood," said third baseman Alicia Crivaro. "This is the best junior college in the conference and I can't imagine playing for another team, just because of our competitiveness.

"I would be scared if I were on the other team," she said.

The eighth-ranked Eagles left Southwestern quaking in their spikes, 17-3, in the lopsided championship game of the regional tournament at Kirkwood Monday.

Kirkwood (43-8) will host North Platte (Neb.) in the district playoffs this Friday at 2 p.m. in a best 2-of-3 series, with the winner advancing to the national tournament.

"We're clicking," said Coach Joe Yegge. "We just have to stay hungry."

Lexie Biehl belted two home runs and drove in six runs Monday, giving her 25 homers and 79 RBIs. Crivaro socked her 12th home run, a three-run blast in the fourth inning.

The Eagles are so good that Natalie Clark, an All-American last year, began Monday's game on the bench. She contributed to the onslaught with a two-run homer as a pinch-hitter.

Thirteen different Eagles have walloped a home run this year. Biehl ranks second in the country with her 25.

"It's just nice that every one of them can do it," said Yegge. "It's pretty awesome to see the power we have this year. And I didn't think we had any."

Jenkins led off Monday with a .538 batting average. She was followed by Biehl (.449), Brooke Prior (.493), Jasmine Ragusi (.455), Tara Walls (.401), Crivaro (.370), Erin Weno (.370), Riley Ogden (.350) and Quandt (.347).

Prior has 18 homers. Crivaro has 12 now. Jenkins and Ragusi have connected nine times. Clark has seven homers and she's only a part-time starter now. Walls has six homers. Quandt, Ogden and Weno have five.

Pick your poison.

Want some speed? Jenkins is 64-for-64 in stolen bases, a school record and second in the nation.

It's been a special team and now the Eagles are two victories away from making the national tournament.

"It's been a blast," said Ragusi, a strong catcher who is batting fourth in the lineup as a freshman. "I love these girls. It's a family. I don't want to see it end."

Nicky Simpson (18-5) got the victory Monday. She and Prior (13-0) have ERAs under 2.00, giving Kirkwood a solid 1-2 punch in the circle to complement their fabulous hitting and excellent defense.

Eagles sweep twinbill at Ellsworth

IOWA FALLS - Kirkwood scored three runs in the top of the seventh to rally for a 3-1 win over Ellsworth in the opener of an ICCAC baseball twinbill on Monday.

The Eagles (28-19 overall, 13-11 ICCAC) got the offense cranking in Game 2, winning 15-6.

Randy Perez and Ozzie Adams each had RBIs in the key seventh-inning rally in the opener. Both had doubles in the game as Kirkwood had eight hits.

Jamison Steege pitched 6 1/3 innings of five-hit baseball. Dariel Checo got the final two outs on just six pitches to earn the save.

In Game 2, Kirkwood broke open a close game late, scoring 10 runs over the final three innings.

Perez had four of Kirkwood's 16 hits, driving home five runs. Sulliamn Rios Reyes had three hits and drove home four runs. Bryce Grimm scored four runs for the Eagles.

Austin Clemens pitched six innings to get the win, striking out seven.

Game 1

Kirkwood  000 000 3 - 3 8 0
Ellsworth   000 100 0 - 1 5 0

WP - Steege. LP - Alverez. SV - Checo

Game 2

Kirkwood  201 020 244 - 15 16 4
Ellsworth  000 100 500 -  6   8  3

WP - Clemens. LP - Cardenas

No. 8 Eagles near regional title

The Kirkwood Eagles cruised to a pair of easy victories in the regional softball tournament Sunday and need only more victory to capture the regional title.

The eighth-ranked Eagles defeated Ellsworth, 10-0, and stopped Southwestern, 10-2, on the opening day of the tournament at Kirkwood.

Kirkwood (42-8) will face Southwestern (26-18) again at 2 p.m. on Monday in the championship round. If the Eagles win that game, they'll take the regional title. If the Eagles lose that game, the two teams will play again at 4 p.m. for the title in the double-elimination tournament.

Chasney Jenkins belted her eighth home run of the season and drove in three runs for Kirkwood against Ellsworth. Brooke Prior was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs. Alicia Crivaro also drove in two runs. Prior (12-0) pitched a two-hitter with seven strikeouts for the victory.

Crivaro went 3-for-4 against Southwestern. Jenkins, Tara Walls, Jasmine Ragusi and Erin Weno had two hits. Walls had three RBIs and Riley Ogden had two RBIs. Nicky Simpson (17-5) was the winning pitcher.

Kirkwood just misses out on sweep

IOWA FALLS - After winning the opener 13-3, the Kirkwood baseball team saw a 7-3 advantage slip away in the bottom of the ninth inning of the nightcap as Ellsworth rallied to gain an 8-7, 10-inning triumph.

The Eagles (27-20, 12-2) dominated the opener. Randy Perez had four hits and three RBIs. Former Xavier standout Bryce Grimm had two hits, including a home run, and drove home four runs. Sulliam Rios Reyes had two hits and two RBIs as did Luke Hassman.

Another former Xavier prep, Nick Drahozal, pitched six innings to get the win, allowing five hits, while striking out six.

Adam Barbarich three hits and three RBIs in Game 2. Perez and Eric Willis had hits apiece.

The teams conclude the four-game series with a doubleheader Monday at 1 p.m.

Game 1

Kirkwood  300 311 5 - 13 16 1
Ellsworth  000 020 1 -   3  7  2

WP - Drahozal. LP - Aponte

Game 2

Kirkwood  000 110 302 0 - 7  9  4
Ellsworth  200 010 004 1 - 8 14 6

W - Christopherson. L - Neuhaus

Eagles tied for lead at Scot-Fire

GALESBURG, Ill. - Carson Whittington shot a 69 to share the individual lead, helping Kirkwood to a share of the team lead after one day of the Scot-Fire Invitational.

Friday's action was held at Soangetaha Country Club.

Whittington and St. Francis' Hutson Gass both shot 69 on Friday. The Eagles and St. Francis share the team lead a 292, five shots better than Black Hawk College. Kirkwood's Dan Cuttcomp is tied for fourth after shooting a 71.

The final round is scheduled for Saturday at Gibson Woods Golf Course in Monmouth, Ill.

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Kirkwood set for softball regional

The eighth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles will host a regional softball tournament this weekend with three teams competing at the Kirkwood field.

Southwestern (25-17) will play Ellsworth (4-42) at noon on Saturday. Kirkwood (38-8) will face the loser of Game 1 at 2 p.m. and the Eagles will play the winner of Game 1 at 4 p.m.

The double-elimination tournament will continue Sunday at noon.

The regional champion will advance to a two-team district tournament next week. The district champion will advance to the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

Kirkwood sweeps baseball twinbill

MARSHALLTOWN - The Kirkwood baseball team got good hitting and good pitching Tuesday and swept a non-conference doubleheader from Marshalltown, 8-2 and 12-4.

The Eagles (25-18) collected 14 hits in both games. Ozzie Adams led the offense with six hits.

Bryce Grimm went 2-for-5 with three RBIs for Kirkwood in the opener. Adams was 3-for-4. Sulliam Rios Reyes was 2-for-3 with two doubles. Eric Willis and Adam Barbarich also had two hits.

Ethan Howard allowed two runs in four innings and got the victory in Game 1. Nolan Even pitched three shutout innings for a save.

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Biehl & Prior: Beware of Sluggers!

Lexie Biehl and Brooke Prior blend in with all the other students at Kirkwood Community College, attending classes and working toward a degree like everyone else.

Biehl is about 5-foot-3. Prior stands 5-foot-6.

"Not very big," Prior noted with a smile.

But when the two sophomores step on a softball field, they become giant-sized sluggers for the 10th-ranked Eagles. Biehl leads all junior college players at the Division II level with 22 homers this season. Prior ranks fourth with 18.

As a team, Kirkwood leads the nation with 101 home runs in 46 games. It's one of the big reasons they won the ICCAC Conference title with a 23-1 record and why the 10th-ranked Eagles have an excellent chance of making the national tournament.

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Coe's Gunderson takes 4th at AIB golf

DES MOINES - Tyler Gunderson of Coe tied for fourth at the AIB golf tournament Monday with a 4-over-par 76.

Blaine Buhr shot a 5-over 77 to help the Kirkwood Eagles finish fifth in the tournament.

Bellevue won the team championship at 311. Kirkwood finished at 315, just four shots behind the champion on the crowded leader board.

Coe placed 16th out of 17 teams.

Kirkwood: Blaine Buhr 77, Dan Cutkomp 78, Eddie Doyle 78, Drew Slings 79, Ben Jones 81, Carson Whittington 82, Dylan Daxon 83.

Coe: Tyler Gunderson 76, Anthony Worden 88, Seth Inman 91, Alex Everhart 93, Hunter Mulnix 93, Tim Palmer 95.