Kirkwood Baseball

Eagles stay alive at regional tourney

WATERLOO - Ethan Howard pitched a strong game Friday night to help Kirkwood stay alive in the NJCAA regional baseball tournament.

Howard tossed a complete game and allowed only five hits as the 18th-ranked Eagles topped Southwestern, 7-1, in a loser's bracket game at the regional tournament at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo.

Kirkwood (35-19) is scheduled to face DMACC or Southeastern in an elimination game Saturday at 4 p.m.

Kirkwood was scheduled to face Southwestern at 1 p.m. Friday, but the game was delayed until 7:30 p.m. due to rain. The tournament is two games behind schedule and will resume Saturday at 10 a.m.

Brandon Brittain went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs for the Eagles. Jack Fitzgerald was 2-for-3. Bryce Grimm, Matt Paciello and Colin Kreiter collected RBIs for Kirkwood.

Howard (7-3) threw 108 pitchers in the nine-inning game. He allowed one earned run with five strikeouts and one walk.

Kirkwood was upset by Ellsworth, 3-1, in the opening round on Thursday.

Kirkwood baseball stunned in regional

WATERLOO - The 18th-ranked Kirkwood baseball team was stunned by Ellsworth, 3-1, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II regional tournament at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo Thursday.

The Eagles (34-19) fell into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament and are scheduled to play again Friday at 1 p.m. against NIACC or Southwestern.

Kirkwood swept a four-game series from Ellsworth on March 25-26 in Cedar Rapids and Ellsworth entered the regional tournament with a lowly 12-44 record.

Nick Drahozal (4-5) pitched a strong game for the Eagles on Thursday, but he was nicked for three unearned runs in the fourth inning and that was the difference in the game. Drahozal pitched all nine innings, allowing only three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.

Dustin Amos, who began the day with a 2-5 record and 6.94 ERA, handcuffed Kirkwood on Thursday. He pitched a complete game and surrendered only four hits.

Eagles are No. 3 seed for baseball regional

The Kirkwood Eagles split a doubleheader with Southeastern Saturday and will be the No. 3 seed for the regional baseball tournament in Waterloo next week.

Kirkwood (34-18) will face No. 6 seed Ellsworth (12-44) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo.

Kirkwood began the weekend in a three-way tie for first place in the ICCAC standings, but the Eagles lost 3-of-4 games against Southeastern to finish in third place.

Southeastern swept Kirkwood on Friday, 10-0 and 10-4, in West Burlington. Kirkwood rebounded with a 6-5 victory in Game 1 of their twinbill Saturday at Kirkwood, but Southeastern posted an 11-3 victory in the nightcap.

NIACC and Southeastern tied for first place in the conference standings with 22-6 records. Kirkwood finished alone in third place at 20-8, followed by Iowa Central (16-12), DMACC (14-14), Ellsworth (8-20), Southwestern (6-22) and Iowa Lakes (4-24).

The regional tournament is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday in Waterloo. A second championship game, if necessary, would be played on Monday, May 16.

No. 13 Eagles split, fall into 3-way tie

BOONE - The Kirkwood baseball team split a conference doubleheader at DMACC Monday and fell into a three-way tie for first place in the ICCAC standings.

Kirkwood, 12th-ranked NIACC and 18th-ranked Southeastern all have 19-5 records heading into the final week of the season. Kirkwood and Southeastern will finish the season against each other in a pair of doubleheaders Friday and Saturday, while NIACC figures to have an easier time with a four-game series against Ellsworth (7-17 in league games).

DMACC won the first game Monday, 6-4, as Kirkwood managed only two hits.

The Eagles (33-15 overall) got their offense cranked up in the nightcap to salvage the split with a 12-4 verdict. They scored six runs in the fifth inning and added four more runs in the sixth to take control.

Matt Paciello went 3-for-6 in the nightcap with a home run and three RBIs. Luke Hassman was 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Jack Fitzgerald had two hits and Tyler Bordner drove in two runs.

Austin Clemens was the winning pitcher for Kirkwood.

DMACC has an 11-13 record in the conference and is 24-22 overall.