OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The 15th-ranked Johnson County Cavaliers baseball team improved to 14-2 on the season after taking all three games in the series with Minnesota West Community and Technical College March 7-8. Johnson County outscored Minnesota West 45-to-4 and outhit the Bluejays 35-to-14.
Freshman centerfielder Landen Wood had the big bat for the Cavaliers in his team's 15-2 win in the opening game. Wood was 4-for-4 with a double and two triples, a three runs scored and four driven in.
Sophomores Malik Williams, Chris Esposito and freshmen Evan Bergman, Noah Cook and Derek Abeln each ripped a double. Williams and Bergman also drove in two runs each.
Sophomore right-handed ace Zachary Ebert improved to 4-0 on the season. He allowed two runs off five hits and struck out 11 in a five inning shortened game.
Johnson County followed with a 14-0 five inning shutout. Sophomore right-hander Dylan Bierman, freshman right-hander Paul Rector and sophomore left-hander A.J. Shaw combined for a one-hitter and five strikeouts. Bierman earned the victory pitching three no-hit innings to start the game. He also had four of the five strikeouts in the game.
Wood, Abeln and sophomore Anthony Amicangelo each had two hits. Wood had a single and a double, scored twice and drove in one run. Abeln had a single and home run scored three times and drove in two, and Amicangelo ripped two singles to drive in two runs.
Freshman third baseman Garrett Wood and sophomore shortstop Blake Shannon both crossed the plate three times in the game.
Johnson County closed out the series with a 16-2 win over seven innings. Garrett Wood was 2-for-5, with two runs and two RBI. Amicangelo also collected two singles and an RBI, and freshman Jaxon Walls drove in two.
Freshman right-hander Trey Zeigenbein got the start and allowed just two runs off three hits with 10 strikeouts over four innings of work. The win improved his season mark to 4-0. Sophomore right-hander Sloan Thomsen and freshman right-hander Matt Olson pitched the final three scoreless innings.z