By ALAN HOSKINS
KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Kansas City Kansas Community College’s baseball team took to the road to Fort Scott Monday in hopes of snapping a four-game Jayhawk Conference losing streak.
Neosho County completed a four-game sweep of the Blue Devils Sunday, pounding out a total of 23 hits in 9-2 and 12-6 wins. The sweep dropped the Blue Devils to 1-5 in the Jayhawk and 4-9 for the season while Neosho improved to 7-1 in league play and 17-3 overall.
KCKCC led twice in the second game, taking a 1-0 lead in the second and going ahead 4-2 in the fifth only to have Neosho score four times in the sixth and six in the seventh in the 12-6 win. Seven Panther runs came on home runs, 3-run shots by Dylan Christie and Justin Warne and a solo shot by Casey Johnson.
Garrett McKinzie drove in three runs on a pair of singles for the Blue Devils while Christian Arnold rapped his second home run of the season and singled. Daniel LaMunyon, Sam Baxter, Tanner Foerschler and Mitch Glessner had the other Blue Devil hits. E.J. Merlo worked the first 5.2 innings, giving up six hits and four runs before Neosho e used four hits and two walks to score six times off Eric Hinostroza in the sixth and seventh.
The Panthers grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second inning and added two more runs in both the third and fourth on the way to the 9-2 win behind Casey Quinlan in the opener.
The Blue Devils were limited to just six hits, two by Tanner Foerschler, a double by Daniel LaMunyon and singles by Lucas Norton, Garrett McKinzie and Danny Kralicek, Preston Bailey (1-2) took the loss, giving up five runs in 2.1 innings before Jonathan May finished the 7-inning game.
