By ALAN HOSKINS
KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Kansas City Kansas Community College and Johnson County Community College will collide today for a berth in the 2014 NJCAA World Series.
JCCC reached the championship game by winning two games Monday, eliminating Garden City 3-1 and then rallying for a 12-inning 8-7 win over Cowley County at Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
The only unbeaten team in the double elimination tournament, KCKCC (39-20) handed No. 1 seeded JCCC (48-12) its only defeat 3-2 in the tournament opener.
Freshman righthander Geoffrey Birkemeier (8-4), who allowed just six hits and no earned runs in the 3-2 win, will start for KCKCC in today’s 5 p.m. championship game. If a second game is necessary, freshman southpaw Hunter Phillips (9-6) will get the call for the Blue Devils.
The game will be streamed on the Jayhawk Conference website at www.kjccc.org and clicking on baseball, 2014 NJCAA super-regional tournament and “live game stats.”
The game will be the sixth meeting between the two teams this season. JCCC won the first four games as the Blue Devils got off to a 2-10 Jayhawk Conference start but then won 21 of their last 24 conference games.
After opening super-regional play with the 3-2 win over JCCC, KCKCC defeated Garden City 12-8 and Cowley County 7-1 in the Blue Devils’ bid for their first World Series berth since 1976.
