OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Johnson County Community College softball team had a big week posting doubleheaders sweeps over Fort Scott, Neosho County and Independence to movie into first place in the standings with a 10-0 mark.
They opened its 2023 Kansas Jayhawk Conference season on Tuesday, April 11, with a sweep over Fort Scott, winning 5-1 and 9-1. On Thursday, April 13 JCCC defeated Neosho County 2-1 and 9-1 and capped the week at Independence Saturday, April 15 with wins of 13-2 and 4-1.
At the plate, freshman utility player Kate Ediger batted .667 (12-for-18) with a double, two homers, four runs scored, two stolen bases and 11 RBI. Her home run against Neosho County was a grand slam. She also was perfect in the field with 34 putouts and one assist.
Sophomore outfielder Taryn Burkhardt was fantastic at jumpstarting the offense as the lead off hitter. She hit .563 (9-for-16) with a double, seven walks, 10 stolen bases, an RBI and nine runs scored. She also extended her current hitting streak to 14 games.
Sophomore catcher Gaige Pinkerton batted .643 (9-for-14) while extending her hitting streak to 10 straight games. She also had two doubles, scored five runs and drove in eight runs.
Freshman outfielder Eve Morris extended her hitting streak to 11 games going 8-for-17 with three doubles, two triples, five runs scored and five RBI. She also stole three bases.
In the circle, sophomore right-handed pitcher Jordan Harrison ran her record to 12-1 on the season with three complete-game victories last week. She allowed just four runs, two earned and struck out 28 batters moving her over 100 strikeouts for the season. Harrison currently leads the conference in ERA (1.18), tied for second in wins (12) and complete games (11) and is third in strikeouts (103).
Freshman right-hander Maggie McNally matched Harrison with three complete-game victories as well. She allowed just five hits, three runs, two earned with 18 strikeouts. She is now 9-3 on the season with 84 strikeouts.
The Lady Cavaliers (21-5/10-0) will continue conference play this week hosting a doubleheader against Hesston (6-26/0-10) on Wednesday, April 19 followed by a road trip to Highland (17-14/2-6) on Saturday, April 22.