April 30, 2023
KCC BASEBALL SWEEPS INTO CONTENTION
The Kirkwood baseball team swept a three-game series from Ellsworth by a combined scored of 47-1 and climbed into contention for the ICCAC title.
The Eagles defeated Ellsworth, 17-1, to finish the sweep Sunday on a cold, blustery day at Kirkwood.
Kirkwood won both games Saturday, 10-0 and 20-0, raising its records to 32-16 overall and 19-10 in the incredibly tight conference race. Iowa Central leads the ICCAC standings at 19-8-1, but Kirkwood is
right behind coming down the stretch.
There is a four-way tie for second place at 19-9, with Kirkwood just a half-game back at 19-10 in sixth place.
Trenton Burkhalter led the assault for Kirkwood by going 6-for-9 with six runs, two homers, and 10 RBIs. Joe Simpson went 7-for-11 with a homer, eight runs, and five RBIs.
Noah Furcht was 5-for-8 with a homer, five runs, and three RBIs. Cael Frost was 5-for-12 with a homer, five runs, and four RBIs.
Jack Lux finished the weekend at 4-for-8 with six runs and five RBIs. Kyle Hayes was 4-for-9 with three runs and five RBIs. Alex Ritzger went 5-for-11 with four runs and three RBIs. Miles Risley was 3-for-8
with three runs and two RBIs.
Logan Runde (6-0), Alec Nigut (7-3), and Ganon Archer (3-1) were the winning pitchers. Runde tossed five shutout innings with five strikeouts. Nigut pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts.
Archer went four shutout innings with six strikeouts.
Ellsworth fell to 18-24 overall and 12-16 in the league.
