Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Associate Vice President, Marketing Communications, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

5/27/2008
Story by Tyler Cundith

Cavaliers eliminated from World Series, tie for ninth overall

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. --  The dream season for the Johnson County Community College baseball team came to an end over the weekend, as the Cavaliers were eliminated from the 2008 Alpine Bank Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.  The Cavaliers ended the 2008 campaign with an overall mark of 41-18, tied for ninth in the World Series.

JCCC drew Shelton State Community College in Game 1 on Saturday, but lost 8-4 after a late-inning pitching collapse. The Cavaliers then became the first team to go home, falling 20-7 to Central Arizona College on Sunday. JCCC did hold leads in both games. Against Shelton State, JCCC had a 4-3 lead entering the bottom of the eighth inning, but two errors and hit batter led to a five-run inning for the Buccaneers.

In the elimination loss, the Cavaliers led 6-5 when sophomore left-hander Travis Blankenship left the game after five innings. The bullpen, which had been very strong for JCCC all season, gave up 15 runs over the final three innings.

“It certainly is disappointing,”  JCCC head coach Kent Shelley said in an interview with Patrick Bahr of The Daily Sentinel. “We expected to do a little better than we did. Nothing will take away from this experience. To have 5,000 people out her on Sunday morning in an elimination game speaks volumes to the class of the city.”

Despite the team’s disappointment, several individuals had impressive performances in their first World Series appearance. Sophomore shortstop Doug Otto, the East Jayhawk Conference MVP in 2008, hit a team-best .667, going 4-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI, five runs and three walks. He also was 3-for-3 in stolen bases.

Freshman John Lenherr and sophomore Parker Amos also were solid at the plate. Lenherr hit .500 (4-for-8) with a double and three runs, and Amos hit .444 (4-for-9) with a run and a team high four RBI.