OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – On Monday, the NJCAA released its final baseball poll of the regular season and the bracket for the NJCAA Region 6/Plains District Tournament was revealed. Johnson County Community College moved up two spots in the ranking to No. 4 behind Walters State, LSU-Eunice and Weatherford.
The Cavaliers also learned their first round opponent for the NJCAA Region 6/Plains District Tournament. JCCC will host the Pratt Beavers in a best-of-three series May 9-11. First pitch is schedule for 1 p.m. for each game. The winner will advance to the next round at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina, Kansas, May 13-17.
The Cavaliers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed, finishing the regular season with a record of 45-11 while capturing its third consecutive Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference championship. Pratt is the 16th seed with a 13-41 mark and a last place finish in the West Division.
The Cavaliers hold a commanding lead in the all-time series with the Beavers, winning 15 of the 18 meetings. They have meet in the postseason 12 times, with Johnson County winning 10 games, including a sweep in the first round last season. Pratt's two victories came during the first round of the 2012 tournament.
About the teams
As a team, the Cavaliers lead the East Jayhawk in hitting with a team batting average of .358. They also lead in hits (630), RBI (480), slugging (.562), runs (541), stolen bases (145). They are tied for second in extra base hits (210), Nationally, JCCC ranks tied for sixth in batting average, second in his, 11th in RBI, 14th in slugging, 10th in extra base hits, 10th in runs and tied for 15th in stolen bases.
Pratt enters postseason having lost 12 of its previous 13 games, including 10 straight from April 12 to May 1. As a team, the Beavers are batting .278 with 429 hits, 267 RBI, a .435 slug percentage, 305 runs and 59 stolen bases. They rank last in the West Division in batting average, RBI, and runs and eighth in hits and slugging.
About the coaches
Eric Horner is coaching is in his fifth season as head coach of the Cavaliers. Prior to taking over he served 22 seasons as an assistant coach at JCCC. Coach Horner has topped 40 wins all five years highlighted by a 56-win in 2023 and a 53-win total last year, with each of those teams punching their ticket to the NJCAA JUCO World Series. Overall, he stands 243-61 (.799). All five of his teams have opened as a top-20 program and ended as a top 10-program. In 2023 they ended the year as the No. 2 team, last year the No. 1 team and this year No. 4.
Pratt head Todd Reller is also in his fifth season as the Beavers head coach. He stands 96-175. His best season came in 2023 when he led the Beavers to a 25-33 mark. Reller is an alumnus of Pratt, playing catcher in the 2010 and 2011 campaigns. His sophomore year he helped the team to a school record 33 wins. He went on to play at Emporia State and Central Missouri.