Panthers score sweep on another historic day ANDREW TOWNE Sports editor The Neosho County Community College baseball team felt like it had a score to settle with Kansas City Kansas Community College on Saturday, and the Panthers settled it in the tune of a 5-3 and 20-8 sweep. "That was big. The kids took offense the other day in the second game when we were down 10-1 and they were trying to steal," Coach Steve Murry said. "They wanted that run rule, and obviously, they hit well."
 
Meanwhile, two more records fell in the course of the sweep. In game one, sophomore closer Drew Johnson broke the school's single season saves mark with 11 in a 5-3 victory.  Neosho County did most of the damage in the bottom of the fourth inning with four of its five runs. Sophomore left fielder Blake Tomasino and freshman shortstop Josh Norlin sparked the big inning with a back-to-back singles. Tomasino later came around to break the 1-1 tie on a wild pitch. Following a walk by freshman third baseman Brylie Ware, sophomore first baseman Ryan Toliver cleared the bases with a double.
 
With a 4-1 advantage, KCK added one run in the top of the fifth and sixth innings, but Johnson came in to record his 11th save of the season, retiring the Blue Devils in order. The save broke a mark which was set in 2012 by Max Ising. Sophomore starter Trent Latta improved to 8-1, going six innings while striking out five and walking one. Offensively, Toliver and Norlin were 2-for-3. Toliver drove in three runs, while Norlin scored once.
 
In the second game, Ware broke the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference single season RBI record on his three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh which secured the 20-8 win, bringing his nations-best RBI total to 122. Ware had two home runs in the game that saw Neosho County hit a combined seven long balls. Freshman Aaron Dees started the home-run fest with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning, handing the Panthers 4-0 advantage. KCK responded with two runs in the second and four in the third inning to tie the game at six apiece. From that point forward, the remainder of the game belonged to Neosho County.
 
The Panthers sprinkled 14 more runs over the final four innings. The fifth inning was highlighted by three straight solo home runs by Ware, Toliver and sophomore right fielder Evan Bourn. "We have the fire power to go five out of six," Murry said. "They all just caught good pitches and hit them pretty good."
He added it has been at least 15 years since the Panthers had an outburst like that. "It was Johnson County way back when," Murry said of the time when NCCC hit seven straight. Tomasino then led off the sixth with a home run over the centerfield fence to extend the Panther lead to 15-7. In the bottom of the seventh, Tomasino smacked a two-out shot over the centerfield wall again. Freshman infielder Will Clark drove in Norlin who had doubled, making the score 17-8.
 
Following another hit by Abram, Ware capped off the game with a 3-run blast to right field, pushing the lead past the run-rule mark promptly ending the game. With the home run, Ware now leads the nation in home runs (29) and extends his RBI lead (122). Since he also leads the nation in batting average (.589), Ware has positioned himself to become the NJCAA's first triple crown winner since 1985.
 
In all, the Panthers pounded out 25 hits, and every batter in the Neosho County lineup tallied at least one hit with eight recurring two or more. Ware went 4-for-5 with five RBIs, and Toliver was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Riley Ulery picked up the win in relief, working 4 2/3 innings.
"KCK is an outstanding team," Murry said. "Coach (Matt) Goldbeck has done a great job with them in his first season with them. They are a very good opponent, and I'm very happy with how we did."

The Panthers concluded the regular season with a 47-9 overall record and a 28-8 mark in the KJCCC, and they now await their first round opponent in the Central District Championship. "It looks like Butler (22-30 and 11-20) or Pratt (19-35 and 9-21), but I don't know for sure," Murry said. "We get them at home in a two-out-of-three series."
The Panthers will being their postseason march on Saturday, May 7 at Hudson Field. "We are in good shape heading into the playoffs. We are basically injury free, and we are looking forward to that," Murry concluded. "It was a tremendous regular season. It's time we put it to bed and get to the playoffs."