March 28, 2024

Spartans fall 16-1 to No. 12 Johnson County

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OVERLAND PARK, Ks. – Southwestern baseball made the trip to Kansas Wednesday afternoon, hitting the road for a 9-inning contest that did not make it the full nine, with Johnson County run-ruling the Spartans 16-1 in seven innings.

For the Spartans, it just wasn’t their day against the 12th ranked team in NJCAA Div. I.

“We just weren’t ready to go,” said Southwestern head coach Kenneth Namanny. “I don’t know what it is. ... For some reason we kind of came out flat, and that’s kind of how it played out for us. We just didn’t get a lot going.”

Namanny noted that the Cavaliers barreled a lot of balls up, hitting the ball hard, but also found their way on base through infield hits and executing situational plays, causing Southwestern to fall in a hole early that it could not climb out of.

The change in schedule for the Spartans due to weather also may have had an effect on the teams performance Wednesday.

“I think everything has been a little up in the air, as far as when we were going to get our game in against Johnson County. ... Having it switched a couple of different times and also not knowing what’s going to happen with Hesston this weekend (didn’t help us),” said Namanny. “... A lot of different things.”

Namanny also noted the limbo of having limited places to practice with Southwestern’s baseball field not quite ready for spring and the indoor gym getting renovations.

Tough Road Trip

The Spartans opened the ballgame getting set down in order on strikes, giving a Cavaliers team that has scored in the first inning 11 times an opportunity to get on the board in the first inning.

The Cavs scored their first on a fielders choice and then brought in another run on a single into left field to give Johnson County a quick 2-0 lead.

The Spartans relieved starter Ronnie Wigginton of his duty, changing hands on the mound after one inning of work. The Spartans did the same for ever inning thereafter, calling it a “staff day” for the Southwestern pitching staff. Each pitcher threw one complete inning.

“We were kind of treating it as bullpens, I guess you can say,” said Namanny. The Spartans strategy to limit use for their pitchers worked, with three of their six arms throwing under 20 pitches in their outing. Gianpaul Torres had the most action on the mound, throwing 42 pitches in his single inning of relief.

The Cavaliers were able to ramp up their scoring as the game progressed, scoring two runs off of Dan Kenealy in the second inning and scoring six runs off of Torres, only two of which were earned.

Johnson County’s starter Jon Moll set the tone of the Spartans offense in his four innings of work, keeping them at bay while the Cavaliers extended.

“Their starter (Moll) was good,” said Namanny. “He was throwing a lot of strikes. I think we were a bit hesitant at the plate and I think we just got a little overwhelmed with everything going on. We were playing a really good team and that’s just what happens.”

The Spartans scored their only run in the sixth inning by way of a Levi Avery two out double, scoring Chris Palomo.

UP NEXT – The Spartans will host Hesston Friday and Saturday, playing doubleheaders on both days. This would be the first home game for the Spartans in over a full season. This is, of course, pending field conditions and weather.

“The plan is to get out and take a look at the field and maybe doctor it up as best we can,” said Namanny. “If we mess with it for a couple hours and we come to the conclusion that we’re not going to be able to play, then we’ll probably be loading up and heading down to Hesston.”

Johnson County 16, Southwestern 1

R  H  E

SWCC  000  010  0  —  1 4  2

JCCC  242  602  X  —  16  17  1

JCCC: Jon Moll 4IP 8K, Anthony Jordan Shaw 1IP 1K, Drew Garrett 1IP 3K. SWCC: Ronnie Wigginton 1IP 2K 1BB, Dan Kenealy 1IP, Elier Santana 1IP, Gianpaul Torres 1IP 3BB, Matt Smith 1IP 2K 1BB, Quincy Collier 1IP. W — Moll. L - Wigginton. HR — JCCC: Vince Donato. 3B — JCCC: Mason Hartman. 2B – JCCC: Reid Briney. SWCC: Levi Avery. RBI – JCCC: Mason Hartman (3), Vince Donato (3), Derek Abeln (3), Reid Briney (2), Evan Bergman (2), Chris Esposito, Alec McGehee, Athony Amicangelo. SWCC: Avery. Stolen bases – JCCC: Jacob Owens, Esposito, Abeln.