Kansas City Kansas Community College

Kansas City Kansas Community College twice did something Thursday Cowley College opponents seldom do – rally from big deficits. Unfortunately, neither comeback was enough as the Tigers escaped with 9-8 and 7-5 wins at Community America Ballpark.

The sweep tightened Cowley’s hold on first place in the Jayhawk East at 12-4 and dropped KCKCC (4-5) into sixth heading into a doubleheader at Johnson County Saturday at 1 p.m. At 15-5 overall, the Blue Devils are on the road for six twin bills in a row including five in the Jayhawk.

Guilty of five errors and trailing 8-1 in the opener, the Blue Devils rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie it only to lose it in the eighth on a leadoff walk, sacrifice, fly ball and two-out infield single. Down 4-0 in the nightcap, the Blue Devils pulled even 5-5 with three runs in the fourth and two in the sixth only to have Cowley win it in the seventh on a two-run single by Tyler Hancock after a pair of inning-opening walks.

Former Piper star Mike Rezin led KCKCC in both games. His 2-run home run ignited the 7-run rally in the sixth and his two-out single tied it as he finished with three hits and three RBI and then added a pair of hits and an RBI in the nightcap. Jake Kretzer and Dale Ricketts also had key singles and Scott Hull and Nate Wilder sacrifice flies in the 7-run rally.

A two-out, three-run rally got the Blue Devils on the board in the fourth inning of the nightcap. After a two-out walk and a single by T.J. Lorson, Rezin and Laramie Kirkwood produced run-scoring singles. The Blue Devils pulled even in the sixth on a walk, single by Rezin, sacrifice fly by Kirkwood and a two-out, two-strike single by Hunter Johnson. The Blue Devils played errorless ball behind Tyler Robertson in the nightcap but four of Cowley’s eight runs off Rick Ideus in the opener were unearned.