The first week of February was an exciting one for Kirkwood as the baseball and softball teams began their season. The baseball team started the season off hot offensively, while the softball team commenced with a learning curb. The basketball teams combine for a 3-1 record on the week and continue to show their dominance.
Men’s Basketball:
Feb. 4
Iowa Western 73 at Kirkwood 77 (OT)
The Eagles began their week facing off against the Reivers (19-3) for a tough conference matchup. The two teams had a strong back and forth game. Kirkwood won the first half by three points, so Iowa Western took it amongst themselves to win the second half by three points. This pushed the game into overtime, where sophomore forward Manasse Kasongo put up six points, outscoring the entire Reivers team (four points in overtime). Kasongo, who finished the night with 18 points, was joined by sophomore guard Chris Coleman (17) and freshman guard Kayvion Hodges (10) with double digit points. The Iowa Western Reivers record falls to 19-4.
Feb. 7
Kirkwood 76 at Western Iowa Tech 88
After a strong home win, the Eagles traveled to Sioux City to face the Comets (8-16) for a conference matchup. Kirkwood was comfortably controlling the tempo of the game. With 15 minutes left in the second half, the Eagles were up by 14 points. However, Western Iowa Tech never gave up and fought back with resilience by going on a 46-20 run to end the game, beating Kirkwood by 12 points. Four Eagles finished the night in double digit points: Grayson Wollum (21), Chris Coleman (13), Ben Bockman (12) and Richard Lindsay Jr. (12). The Western Iowa Tech Comets record improves to 9-16.
After splitting the week with one win and one loss, the Eagles record currently stands at 19-6. This week, they will face off against Iowa Central Community College (Feb. 11) and Northeast Community College (Feb. 14).
Women’s Basketball:
Feb. 4
Iowa Western 44 at Kirkwood 77
The Eagles hosted their week opener against the Reivers (13-8) for a conference matchup. Kirkwood started off blistering hot, scoring 25 points in just the first quarter. From there, the Eagles maintained a healthy lead and never looked back due to their strong perimeter defense. Iowa Western shot 13.6% from three-point range and was never given an opportunity to catch back up. Sophomore forward Whitney Sullivan (12) and sophomore guard Kennedy Blakely led the team in scoring. The Eagles were also able to put up an impressive 11 steals. The Iowa Western Reivers record falls to 13-9.
Feb. 7
Kirkwood 106 at Southeastern 47
The Eagles drove to West Burlington to set off against the Black Hawks (7-17) for a conference matchup. Kirkwood’s first half consisted of 54 points, which alone outscored Southeastern’s 47 points on the day. Four Eagles scored in double digit points: Claire Hudson (8), Whitney Sullivan (16), Erianna Moestcher (13) and Kaci Crum (12). The Southeastern Black Hawks record falls to 7-18.
After another dominant week, the Eagles record improves to 21-3. This week the Eagles will take on Iowa Central Community College (Feb. 11) and Northeast Community College (Feb. 14).
Baseball:
Feb. 7
G1: Kirkwood 4 at Seward County 14
G2: Kirkwood 16 at Seward County 7
Feb. 8
G3: Kirkwood 16 at Seward County 5
G4: Kirkwood 14 at Seward County 9
The Eagles opened their season in Liberal, Kansas with a four- game series against the Seward County Saints, dropping the opener 14-4 before bouncing back to win the final three games. After early season struggles in game one, Kirkwood’s offense came alive, scoring 16 runs in back-to-back wins and adding 14 more in the finale to close the week with 16-7, 16-5, and 14-9 victories.
Offensively, Brady Blake (7 hits), Landon Frost (4), Alex Altmann (4), Jax Theeler (4), Will Nuss (3), and Wrigley Matthys (3) all contributed during the series, with Blake homering in the opener. Nuss, Jasper, Matthys, Theeler, Landon Frost and Tyne Weeden each left the yard as part of the Eagles’ power surge. On the mound, Tate Proskovec, Reid Burkle and Jordan Woodhouse earned wins as Kirkwood finished the week strong.
After opening their season with three wins, the Eagles record sits at 3-1. This week, the Eagles will have a week off until their next scheduled game on Feb. 20 versus Southwestern Illinois College.
Softball:
Feb. 7
Kirkwood 3 at LSUE 5
Kirkwood 7 at LSUE 8
Feb. 8
Kirkwood 1 at LSUE 4
Kirkwood 14 at LSUE 4
The Eagles launched their season in Louisiana, playing against the Louisiana State University Eunice Bengals for a four- game matchup. Kirkwood started off cold with a three-game, losing skid against LSUE, but they came back in game four, winning 14-4. Despite losing three of the four games, Kirkwood had a +4-run differential (runs scored – runs allowed), indicating more sustainability than their 1-3 record suggests.
Freshman Alley Gorsh had herself a week to remember. In 14 at bats, she compiled an impressive eight hits — including one home run — accumulating to a .571 batting average. Even more impressively, the utility player had herself 10 runs batted in. The following players finished the week with more than three hits: Mischa Reiners (5), Shannon Finn (4), Breckin De La Rosa (3), Taylor Dieterich (3) and Sophie Link (3). Freshman outfielder notably had herself a home run this week. Sophomore pitcher Carley Cavanagh threw five innings and had herself the Eagles’ first win of the season. Freshman pitchers Dieterich, Libby Trewin and Ada Wood all had solid weeks in the pitching circle, combining for 19 and a third of the innings pitched.
After a week of hard- fought close games, the Eagles record sits at 1-3. This week, they will face Jones College (Feb. 9) for a doubleheader. They won’t have another game until Feb. 20 against Hinds Community College.
Eagles of the Week:
Blake Lundholm: .714 AVG, .857 OBP, 1.286 OPS, 2 2B, 1 3B
Sophomore shortstop Blake Lundholm had 15 plate appearances this week, only getting out in four of them. Compiling five hits and six walks, Lundholm found a way to get on base over 85% of the time. The second-year infielder only struck out once in this span as well. Strong batted ball results paired with elite plate discipline resulted in an extremely impressive week for Lundholm.
Alley Gorsh: .571 AVG, .647 OBP, .778 SLG, 3 2B, 1 HR
Freshman utility player Alley Gorsh had a great start to her collegiate career. Leading the Eagles with eight hits, she made her presence known on the diamond. Half of her batted balls resulted in extra base hits, and she even showed off her power with her first home run of the season. The switch-hitter looks forward to continuing the impressive start to her college career in the following weeks.
Categories: Eagles Weekly, Sports
