Kirkwood Softball

7 Kirkwood softball players pick schools

Seven members of the Kirkwood softball program will be heading to four-year schools after they play for the Eagles this season.

Brooke Prior and Hannah Cole will be heading to William Penn. Lexi Quandt and Alex Finn are going to St. Ambrose. Tara Walls has committed to Upper Iowa, Alicia Crivaro has committed to Northern Iowa and Chasney Jenkins has committed to Savannah State.

Prior, a shortstop from Silvis, Ill., hit .343 with 4 four home runs and 23 RBIs for Kirkwood last season. Cole, a pitcher from West Delaware, joined Kirkwood this season as a freshman.

Quandt, a catcher from Davenport, hit .325 with 38 RBIs last season. Finn, an outfielder from Davenport, hit .387.

Walls, an infielder from Oxford, hit .365 with five homers and 39 RBIs. Crivaro, an infielder from Des Moines, hit .281 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs. Jenkins, an outfielder from East Moline, Ill., hit .446 with two homers and 36 RBIs.

No.3 Eagles fall to No.10 Parkland

PEORIA, Ill. - The third-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team lost to No. 10 Parkland, 62-59, Friday night in the opening round of the Illinois

Centrasl tournament.

Kirsten Larson hit four 3-pointers and led the Eagles (3-2) with 14 points. Cassidy Clark scored 11 points for Kirkwood. Kassidy Alderman led Parkland with 19 points.

KIRKWOOD (59): Sneed 1 0-0 2, Miles 2 0-0 5, Isaac 0 5-7 5, Silva 2 3-4 8, Sudduth 0 1-2 1, Polite 2 0-0 4, Larson 4 2-2 14, Hutchins 1 0-0 2, Martensen 2 1-2 5, Kallenberger 1 0-0 2, Clark 4 1-2 11. Totals 19 13-19 59.

PARKLAND (62): Hartman 1 0-0 2, Alderman 7 0-1 19, Moses 1 0-0 2, Wascher 7 0-4 14, Vaughn 1 2-2 4, Litchfield 1 7-8 9, Zerrusen 2 1-2 5, Cross 1 2-4 4, Mitton 0 3-4 3. Totals 21 15-25 62.

Halftime - Parkland 30, Kirkwood 23. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 8 (Larson 4, Clark 2, Miles 1, Silva 1), Parkland 4 (Alderman 4).

Hansen will join Kirkwood softball

Maddie Hansen, an all-state catcher at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, has accepted an offer to play college softball at Kirkwood.

Hansen has been playing for the J-Hawks since she was a graduated eighth grader. She has a career batting average of .444 with 16 home runs and 163 RBIs in four years.

Hansen batted .500 with seven homers and 69 RBIs as a sophomore when Jefferson finished 33-12 and placed fifth at the Class 5A state tournament. She led Class 5A in RBIs that season and was second in the state.

Hansen hit .441 with seven homers and 46 RBIs this past season when Jefferson went 35-8 and finished seventh at the state tournament.

Kirkwood has one of the top NJCAA Division II softball programs in the country under Coach Joe Yegge.

Saladino, Belz to Canada with all-stars

Two Kirkwood softball stars have been named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Softball All-Star Team.

Graduated sophomores Shyanne Saladino and Sam Belz will compete against the top competition in the world at the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada on July 15-21.

Saladino and Belz, both pitchers, will join 14 other NJCAA players from around the country on the team.

Kirkwood head coach Joe Yegge, who was selected to be on the coaching staff, knows just how tough the competition will be versus international teams.

"These teams are the best in the world," he said. "We're going to have to play at the highest level to advance in the tournament. There is no room for error. If you give a team like USA or Japan too many chances you're going to end up on the losing side."

Saladino, who will continue her college career at Missouri Western State University, ranked in the top 10 in the nation in wins (25) and strikeouts (200) this year. She also boasted an ERA of 1.28.

Belz also ranked in the top 10 in wins (24) and had a 1.50 ERA. She will be continuing her career at the University of Northern Iowa.

"Both Shyanne and Sam did really well for us this year," said Yegge. "Not only were both of them near the top in the country statistically, but they brought a toughness that you expect from your team leaders.

"It's that kind of effort that gets you selected to a top-notch team like this. To have two players make the squad speaks volumes for our program here at Kirkwood."