The Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) baseball team saw its 2025 season come to an end after battling through two elimination games May 15 in Salina, Kan. during the NJCAA Plains District Tournament.
Last year, the Blue Devils were knocked out of the tournament in their third game by the Hutchinson Blue Dragons. This time, however, KCKCC flipped the script and eliminated the Blue Dragons with a commanding 11-3 win. The victory earned them a spot in the evening quarterfinal matchup against the winner of the (3) Cloud County vs (8) Coffeyville game. Cloud County advanced easily, defeating Coffeyville 13-0 in just five innings.
In the first game of the day, KCKCC started strong, scoring one run in each of the first three innings. Freddie Nolen IV opened the scoring with an RBI double that drove in Frankie Santiago. In the second inning, Colton Kirkham made a statement in his first plate appearance of the tournament with a solo home run to double the Blue Devils' lead. The third inning saw Nolen IV ground into a double play, but he still managed to bring home Tanner Pachorek from third, notching his second RBI of the game.
Hutchinson answered with three runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game 3-3. KCKCC responded decisively in the top of the fifth, putting up five runs to take an 8-3 lead. The rally began with Pachorek's double to right-center, scoring Sawyer Tolk. Nolen IV followed with a two-run home run, his second of the game. Ian Woita and Braden Horn kept the momentum going and both came around to score after Spenser Smock delivered an RBI single up the middle to cap the inning.
The Blue Devils added two more runs in the sixth. Santiago hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Tolk from third, and Horn doubled to score both Marcus Dierks and Pachorek, putting KCKCC in position to close the game early under the 8-run mercy rule. Pitcher Carter Beach kept Hutchinson scoreless in the seventh to seal the 11-3 win.
Caleb Deer earned the win, pitching 4.1 innings while allowing three runs on three hits. He issued two walks and hit five batters. Beach took over for the final 2.2 innings, allowing just one hit, no runs, and striking out three.
Later that evening, it was a rematch of both teams' opening game of the tournament. KCKCC won that opening matchup with a final score of 8-5. This time, the Thunderbirds started strong, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Blue Devils responded in the fourth, scoring twice. Ian Woita hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Nolen IV, and Kirkham singled to left center to score Horn.
Cloud County quickly regained control by adding two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 5-2. The next two innings went scoreless for both teams, but the Thunderbirds tacked on another run in the seventh to make it 6-2. KCKCC showed late life in the eighth inning, hitting back-to-back solo home runs. The first from Santiago, then from Nolen IV, cutting the deficit to 6-4. However, the Thunderbirds answered with a solo shot of their own in the bottom of the eighth, and KCKCC went down scoreless in the top of the ninth, ending their tournament run with a 7-4 loss.
Tanner Warner got the start and took the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits, four walks, and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Dylan Blazer came in for 4.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits while striking out four of the 14 batters he faced. Weston Fries entered in the eighth, recording one out but giving up two hits, including the solo home run. Gavin Killion closed the inning on just eight pitches, retiring the final two batters.
The Blue Devils finished the 2025 season with a 39-22 overall record and a 19-13 mark in conference play. Marcus Dierks led the team with a .421 batting average, Nolen IV tallied a team-high 63 RBIs, and Caleb Reed posted a team-best 2.16 ERA (the lowest in the All-KJCCC).