Johnson County Community College
Press Release

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

3/31/2008
Sotry by Tyler Cundith

JCCC softball team off to hot start

OVERLAND PARK, KS -- The  Johnson County Community College softball team, ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA Division II Coaches Poll, are off to a solid start to the 2008 campaign, winning 14 of its first 16 games.  A major reason is how well the team has been swinging their bats.   JCCC is hitting an impressive .352 as a team.  Seven players are hitting above .300, and three players are hitting .400 or better.

Leading the way is Kristin Wallace, a freshman infielder from Chapman, Kan.   Wallace is hitting .517 on the season (15-for-29) with three doubles, four triples and 12 RBI.  Her .517 average ranks tied for 26th in the NJCAA.

Sophomore Debbie Schlagel of Spring Hill, Kan., is second with a .500 average (11-for-22). She also has a double, three RBI and scored nine runs.  Her .500 average places her in a tie for 30th in the NJCAA.

Krista Cummings, a returning NJCAA and NFCA All-American from Liberty, Mo., is also off to a strong start.   She is hitting at a .475 clip (28-for-59) with two doubles, five home runs and 15 RBI.  Her .475 average ranks 47th nationally, and her five home runs tie for 11th in the nation. As a freshman, Cummings set the JCCC single season record for home runs with 17, which ranked her fourth in the NJCAA.  She also hit .429 on the season.  Cummings has moved into the No. 2 spot all-time at JCCC with 23 career home runs. She needs just four more to surpass Jill Peters as the Cavaliers career home run leader.

Sophomore outfielder Kristin Kluge of Wichita, Kan., and sophomore infielder Lindsay Bowers of Abilene, Kan., are hitting above .390.  Kluge is at .393 (22-for-56) and Bowers is just behind at .392 (20-for-51).  The two also share the team lead with five doubles.  Bowers is tied with Cummings with 15 runs driven in, and is second on the team with two home runs.

Freshman Lindsey Tuter of Louisburg, Kan., is hitting .361 (13-for-36) with two doubles and six runs scored.  She also is 4-0 as a pitcher.

Freshman Sam Neely of Blue Springs, Mo., is hitting .340 (18-for-53) with four doubles, a home run, nine RBI and 12 runs scored.

Just under the .300 mark  at .298 is sophomore Kacee McDonald, an outfielder from Harrisonville, Mo.  McDonald has 17 hits, including a double, a triple and 12 RBI.  She also tied for the team lead in runs scored with 16.  Also with 16 runs is freshman Brittany Bax of Wardsville, Mo.  An outfielder, Bax is hitting .271 (16-for-59) with four RBI.

In the circle, freshman Katie Ford of Garden City, Kan.,  ranks 12th in the nations with an earned run average of 0.84. She has worked 50 innings, and leads the team with 45 strikeouts and a 9-0 record.

Freshman pitcher Jamin Landreth of Seneca, Mo., has a 4-0 record, and is second to Ford with an ERA of 1.76, which currently ranks her 29th in the NJCAA.