OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Johnson County Community College softball team is ranked No. 11 in the 2019 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Preseason Top 20 Poll, released by the NJCAA last week. Johnson County is in the preseason poll for the fifth straight year, and for the 24th time since 1995.
The Lady Cavaliers are joined by two other Kansas Jayhawk Conference opponents in the Top-20 rankings. Cowley College came in at No. 5, and Highland Community College is ranked 14th.
Head coach Aubree Brattin-Volkens returns eight players from a team that finished 31-16, won a Region/District title and finished seventh at the NJCAA D-II National Tournament in 2018.
Leading this group is first baseman/pitcher Kerrigan Dixon of Maize, Kan. Last season, Dixon was selected honorable mention All-Kansas Jayhawk D-II Conference and first-team All-District D. She batted .391 (50-for-128) with 24 runs, 10 doubles, a triple, three home runs and a team-best 39 RBI. She led the team in hits, ranked second in batting average, tied for second in home runs and was third in doubles. In the circle, Dixon had a record of 15-8 with 59 strikeouts in 135.0 innings with an ERA of 3.42. She made 27 appearances, 23 as a starter, with 15 complete games and three shutouts.
Other key returnees are catcher/utility player Kerry Murphy of Oxford, Kan., utility player/pitcher Kelsy Orender of Osage City and infielder Alli Heiman of Wichita, Kan.
Murphy was selected second-team All-District as a designated player last year after batting .328 (21-for-64) with nine doubles, a home run, 10 runs scored and 20 runs driven in. She has seven multiple-hit and four multiple-RBI games. With her glove, she posted a fielding percentage of .953, committing just wo errors in 43 chances.
Orender was also a second-team All-District pick as a designated player last season. She ended the year batting .344 (22-for-64) with five doubles, two triples, a home run, nine runs scored and 19 driven in. She had six multiple-hit and four multiple-RBI games.
Heiman earned second-team All-District at third base last season. She batted .275 (30-for-109) with five doubles, a home run, 24 runs scored and 18 runs driven in. She had six multiple-hit and three multiple-RBI games. She also swiped five bases in five tries.
Three other returnees who saw some significant field time last year are flex player Torey Burkhart of Silver Lake, Kan., first baseman/outfielder Jordan Clough of Leawood, Kan., and infielder/utility player Manny Johansen of Overland Park, Kan.
Burkhardt is a two-sport athlete at JCCC also competing in volleyball. She started 33 games last year, but only made seven plate appearances serving as JCCC's flex player. She had a single and a double, scored four times and drove in a run.
Clough played in 22 games, 15 as a starter, and batted .273 (12-for-44) with a double, home run, 11 runs scored and six driven in. She also drew 11 walks and committed just one error in 28 fielding chances for a fielding percentage of .964.
Johansen also appeared in 22 games, 18 as a starter. She batted .281 (9-for-32) with seven runs and three RBI. She had a .929 fielding percentage, committing just five errors in 70 chances.
The final returning player is utility player Allie Beswick of Abilene, Kan. She played in 12 games last season, seven as a starter. She had one hit, scored a run, drove in three and drew four base-on-balls.
Brattin-Volkens has added 11 newcomers to the roster this season, and all are expected to battle for key innings and plate appearances.
Johnson County opens its 2019 season at the Cowtown Classic in Fort Worth, Texas Feb. 15-16. They face Ranger College, Vernon College and Blinn College on the first day, and close out against Navarro College and Des Moines Area Community College on the 16th. Their first home game is March 3 against Iowa Western Community College