Blue Devils take one-game lead into playoff finals Monday

By ALAN HOSKINS

Kansas City Kansas Community College grabbed the early lead in opening Region VI playoffs Sunday, riding the strong pitching of Zac Butler and an opportunistic defense to an 8-3 home win over Butler County.

The second game of the best-of-three playoff is set for noon today with a third game if necessary 30 minutes following the finish of the first game.

All games are 9-inning contests.

Butler, who ran his record to 10-1, allowed only one run and six hits over the first eight innings and came within one out of his ninth complete game of the season.

Cisco Medina came on to get the last out in the ninth after the Grizzlies had scored twice on two of his three walks for the day, a hit batsman and a single.

His only trouble through the first eight innings came when he gave up a triple to Tory Bell and a double to Trever Ezell to lead off the fifth inning but the Blue Devil defense bailed him out of further trouble as catcher Garrett McKinzie threw out runners attempting to steal at third and second and shortstop Landon Teal cut down a third runner attempting to advance to third.

Defensively, the Blue Devils were errorless and turned two double plays.

First baseman Dean Long and McKinzie swung the big bats in a 9-hit KCKCC attack. Long drove in two runs with two doubles, a single and sacrifice fly while McKinzie droe in three with a two-run home run and a double.

The Blue Devils took advantage of wildness by Butler starter Brad Day, who walked in two runs in the first inning after loading the bases on a single by Long, a hit batsman and a walk. KCKCC made it 3-0 in the second on back-to-back doubles by Long and McKinzie and 4-0 in the fourth on a walk, Andrew Kreiling’s single and Long’s sacrifice fly.

KCKCC’s final three runs came in the eighth on a single by Teal, a sacrifice by Lucas North, an RBI double by Long and McKinzie’s two-run homer down the line in left. It was his third of the season.