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

4/4/2008
Story by Tyler Cundith

Cavaliers playing solid baseball

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- The Johnson County Community College enters the month of April playing outstanding baseball.  The Cavaliers are currently 19-11 overall and ranked 46th in the NJCAA in winning percentage.  The also stand 14-6 in the East Jayhawk Conference standings, good for second-place.

However, the Cavaliers have been nearly unbeatable in recent weeks, winning 13 of its of last 16 games.   Strong pitching and timely hitting have been the keys to the Cavaliers recent winning ways.  JCCC has outscored its opponents 61-to-13 during a recent eight-game win streak over that span.

In addition to moving to the top of the conference standings, the Cavaliers have also made their presence known on a national scale, with several individuals showing up in the statistical rankings in the NJCAA.

Last year’s pitching staff was one of the best in all of college baseball (2.51 ERA), and this year is no different.  The pitching staff is currently again one of the top ranked staffs at any level with a 2.33 earned run average.   The Cavaliers’ staff is led by freshman Nick Holtgrieve of Independence, Mo.  He currently is ranked first in the nation with a ERA of 0.37.  Freshman Brandon Droge of Topeka, Kan., is not too far behind with a 1.15 ERA, which has him ranked 34th in the NJCAA.  Sophomore left-hander Travis Blankenship of Lawrence, Kan., and sophomore right-hander Dustin Holthaus of Topeka, Kan.,  lead the staff in victories with six and five respectively.  All of Blankenship’s wins came in the month of March.  Four of Holthaus’ were in March, and his fifth just occurred on April 1.  The record for wins in a season is 11 set in 1974 by JCCC Hall of Famer Bob Downs.  The second highest season total is nine held by eight pitchers.

The offense is currently ranked 32nd in the nation with a .331 batting average.  The offense is led by freshman John Lenherr of Windom, Kan., leads the team in average (.431) hits (44) and RBI (28).  Three other Cavaliers are hitting above .400.  Sophomore Andy Chamberlain of Lee’s Summit, Mo., is hitting 422, sophomore Doug Otto of Jefferson City, Mo., is hitting. .402, as is sophomore Parker Amos of Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.   Otto leads the team with 11 RBI, and ranks second with 25 RBI.

“We pride ourselves on being one of the hardest working programs,”  said head coach Kent Shelley.  “We are also glad to see our hard work pay off.”