The Kansas City Kansas Community College baseball team opened the NJCAA Plains District Baseball Tournament with a dramatic 12-11 win over No. 11 Dodge City Community College May 7. The victory gives the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, putting them one win away from advancing to the next round in Salina, Kan. Game two is set for 1 p.m. May 8 at the KCKCC baseball field. A win would secure the series for KCKCC, while a Dodge City win would force a decisive Game 3 on Friday.
KCKCC got the scoring started early, plating three runs in the bottom of the second inning. With Ian Woita on third and Braden Horn on first, Harrison Barham lifted a deep sacrifice fly to center field, bringing Woita home for the first run of the game. Carter Towns followed with a line drive single to center, moving Horn into scoring position. Spenser Smock wasted no time, jumping on the first pitch he saw and driving a grounder through the left side of the infield to score Horn. Marcus Dierks capped off the inning with a ground ball up the middle, scoring Barham from second to give KCKCC a 3-0 lead.
Dodge City responded quickly in the top of the third, launching a grand slam to take a 4-3 lead. But the Blue Devils answered right back in the bottom half of the inning. Freddie Nolen IV worked a leadoff walk and was driven in on a deep double to center by Woita, tying the game at 4-4.
The game remained knotted until the fifth inning, when KCKCC pushed across three more runs. Towns delivered again with a line drive over the first baseman's head, scoring Horn from third and Barham from second. Following a Dodge City pitching change, Tanner Pachorek executed a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to the right side, allowing Towns to score and giving the Blue Devils a 7-4 lead.
KCKCC kept the momentum going in the sixth. Horn drove in Frankie Santiago with a single up the middle, and Barham added another RBI with a ground ball to short that scored Woita, pushing the lead to 9-4.
Dodge City chipped away with two runs over the seventh and eighth innings, but KCKCC matched them with three runs of their own to carry a 12-6 advantage into the ninth.
The top of the ninth inning brought plenty of drama. Dodge City scored one run and then loaded the bases with two outs. A series of base hits, a KCKCC defensive miscue, and a pitching change brought the score to 12-10 with runners on first and second. Reliever Carter Beach came in and gave up a single to left, allowing another run to score and cutting the lead to one. With the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second, Beach induced a soft ground ball to shortstop Tanner Pachorek, who fielded it cleanly and made the throw to first to end the game.
Bryson Vawter got the start for KCKCC, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out four. Gavin Killion recorded one out in the sixth on a single pitch, while Caden Howell tossed 1.2 innings in relief, surrendering six runs (five earned) on five hits, one walk, and one home run. Beach earned the save by securing the final out of the contest.
As a team, the Blue Devils tallied 15 hits and committed two errors. Dodge City finished with 11 hits and two errors of their own.