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In 2005 the Graceland University baseball team competed to a record of 24-33 and received some respect on the field as a hard-hitting team that can beat any team on any day. Two players proved, that on the field, they could beat any team every day and they each finished high on the list of national statistical leaders.

Sophomore outfielder Adrian Kerr finished the 2005 season tied for third in the NAIA in total doubles as he smashed out 24 in his second season for the Yellowjackets. The mark of 24 doubles in 57 games gave Kerr an average of .42 doubles per game which landed him fifth amongst the nation’s leaders.

Junior pitcher Josh Meyer continued to dominate on the hill and he managed to find himself in the number 12 spot amongst NAIA pitchers for strikeouts per nine innings pitched as he fanned 33 batters in 29 2/3 innings for an amazing 10.77 Ks per nine.

Individual statistics can help a team but team stats such as 12th for fewest errors by a team (72), 13th fewest errors per game (1.26), 16th team homeruns (41) and 19th in team doubles (106) will help a team go a long way.

The Yellowjackets graduated one defensive player after the 2005 season so Coach Brady McKillip looks to have another record breaking season in 2006 as he has a large group of returners that will be complimented by a great class of incoming talent.

Matt Calcagni, an infielder at Graceland University, will play baseball for the Toms River Black Sox in New Jersey throughout the summer of 2005.

Calcagni, a junior infielder from Brampton, Ontario, Canada, will play for the 2004 Atlantic Baseball Confederation Collegiate League (ABCCL) regular season champions and playoff co-champions.

According to the website – www.abcd.com – the ABCCL is a competitive collegiate summer league whose goal is to improve the players by maximizing playing opportunity. As a result, they will improve their performance upon returning to school and increase their awareness among the professional scouting community.

Calcagni, who was awarded honorable mention all-conference, batted .350 during his first year with the Graceland Yellowjackets. Playing in 54 games, Calcagni had 180 at bats, 63 hits, 45 runs and 45 RBI. Matt hit 19 doubles and 10 homeruns, along with being walked 16 times. Calcagni led the team in runs batted in, home runs and stolen base percentage.

Prior to his arrival at Graceland, Calcagni played for the Canadian Thunderbirds, of the Canadian Elite Baseball Club, hitting .433, with a .567 slugging average and .506 on base percentage. Calcagni, a five-foot-eleven-inch shortstop and second baseman, was selected as a team captain and starting short stop at NCAA Division I High Point University in High Point, N.C. and is a graduate of Notre Dame Secondary School.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference honored four Graceland Yellowjackets as all-conference athletes for the 2005 baseball season. Sophomores Adrian Kerr and Tyler Moe are second team award winners and sophomore Matt Calcagni and freshman Jason Goff were placed on the honorable mention team.

Kerr, an outfielder from Brampton, Ontario, led the Yellowjackets in seven categories this season, including: 51 runs scored, 24 doubles, 19 stolen bases, 224 total plate appearances, 196 at bats, 57 games played and 57 games started. Kerr batted .327 in his 57 games, with 24 doubles, 2 triples and 4 home runs. He had 32 RBI and 104 total bases for the 2005 season.

Moe, who has been recognized as the Yellowjacket team MVP for the second year in a row, is an infielder from Oakville, Ontario. Moe held Graceland’s highest batting average at .418 in 182 at bats. Moe hit 14 doubles, 1 triple and 9 home runs to total 44 RBI this season. Moe’s slugging percentage (.654), 76 hits and 119 total bases led the Jackets for the 2005 season. He was the HAAC Player of the Week for his games from April 10-17 in 2005, and was an honorable mention all-conference selection in 2004.

Calcagni, from Brampton, Ontario, batted .350 during his first year with the Graceland Yellowjackets. Playing in 54 games, Calcagni had 180 at bats, 63 hits, 45 runs and 45 RBI. Matt hit 19 doubles and 10 homeruns, along with being walked 16 times. Calcagni led the team in runs batted in, home runs and stolen base percentage.

Goff is a red-shirt freshman from Blue Springs, Mo. In 129 at bats, Goff batted .295 with 38 hits, including 8 doubles, 2 home runs and 27 RBI. Goff was walked 21 times this season and had a .403 slugging percentage.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference has recognized 32 Graceland University athletes as All-Conference Scholar-Athletes for 2004-05.

The Yellowjacket softball, women’s track and football teams led the way with four scholars each, followed by the women’s volleyball, men’s track, men’s cross country and men’s soccer teams with three scholar-athletes apiece.

The following is a list of Graceland’s 2004-05 HAAC Scholar-Athletes:

Athlete -- GPA -- Sport -- Major
Matthew Riley -- 3.41 -- Baseball -- Business Management
Vincent Fedorowich -- 3.69 -- Baseball -- Athletic Training/Physical Education

Article from The Oakville Beaver newspaper

Oakville's Tyler Moe, a sophomore with the Graceland University baseball team based out of Lamoni, Iowa, earned player of the week honours for the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) for the week ending on April 17.

Moe went 9-for-18 (.500 BA) at the plate with a double and seven RBI and scoring two runs. The Iroquois Ridge grad had three multi-hit games, including a three-for-four game against Grand View and a three-for-four outing against Avila. Moe finished the week with a .556 slugging percentage.

In addition, north of the border, Moe, who plays third base, was also named the Slam Sports Canadian Baseball college player of the week by Bob Elliott.

The honour recognizes the best of the 638 Canadians playing south of the border.

Through 53 games, Moe sported a .420 batting average. In 169 at bats, he had recorded 71 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 40 RBI's.

Last year, Moe was a HAAC all-conference designated hitter as a freshman. He broke two school records in the process (at bats and games played).

Last summer Moe represented the U.S. at the 2004 German Baseball Open, in Regensburg, Germany.

Moe plays his summer baseball with the Brantford Red Sox of the InterCounty Baseball League.

This season, Moe has already broken two school records (hits, total bases) and is on pace to break two more. He has four games remaining.

Moe has two other Oakville natives as teammates, both in their freshman year.

Chris Hayes, a Loyola grad, has a 4-4 record on the mound and also wields a good bat, with four hits in 18 at-bats.

Catcher Henry Duke, a White Oaks Secondary School grad, has played in 13 games, with four hits in 13 at-bats.

Click here to read an article about Tyler Moe in The Oakville Beaver newspaper: http://www.haltonsearch.com/hr/ob/sports/story/2750198p-3183103c.html

Senior David Anderson and sophomore Tyler Moe took Player of the Week honors for the Heart of America Athletic Conference for the week ending on April 17. Anderson, a six-foot pitcher, received the Pitcher of the Week award, and Moe, a six-foot third baseman, was the Player of the Week.

This week Anderson threw a complete game shut-out in a 9-0 win over Avila, and worked 1.1 innings in relief to earn a win over Grand View. For the week, Anderson worked 8.1 innings allowing no runs on eight hits, walking five and striking out five. The Independence, Mo. native earned two wins with a perfect 0.00 ERA for Graceland this week.

Moe was 9-for-18 (.500 BA) at the plate this week with a double and 7 RBI and scoring two runs. The Oakville, Ontario native had three multi-hit games, including a three-for-four game against Grand View and a three-for-four outing against Avila. Moe finished the week with a .556 slugging percentage.

Graceland next plays against Baker University on Saturday, April 23. The first pitch is at 1:00 p.m. in Lamoni, Iowa.

In a crucial away-and-home series versus Avila University the Graceland baseball team lost three of four games that all but squashes their 2005 playoff chances.

In the first two games of the series the Jackets traveled to Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday and senior Aaron Kentner took the hill in game one, suffering a 6-2 loss. Kentner threw the complete game giving up six unearned runs on seven hits. Kentner fanned seven batters while walking two and hitting one. The senior starter threw well enough to win but three errors by the usually steady Yellowjacket defense was too much to overcome.

The Jackets offense managed to equal the Eagles seven hits but they only scored two runs. All of the Jackets hits were singles and the only player with a multiple hit game was Vince Fedorowich who went 2-3 with one RBI. HAAC player of the week Tyler Moe picked up the other Graceland RBI as he went 1-3 in the game.

In game two frosh Chris Hayes took to the hill and came up short in the 2-1 ballgame. Hayes pitched five innings giving up two runs on five hits. John Stewart threw the final inning to shut out the Eagles and keep it close.

The Jackets out-hit the Eagles seven to five and three Jackets had multi hit games. Matt Calcagni went 2-4 with a double and both Mark Jurczynski and Kalev Betancourt hit 2-3 in the game.

Sunday afternoon the Jackets returned to North Park and head coach Brady McKillip had his hands full as the Jackets got beat 13-3 in game one of the double header. The Graceland pitchers gave up 11 hits while the defense committed two errors.

The Yellowjackets only managed four hits in the game. Tyler Moe went 2-2 with a double and two RBIs. Adrian Kerr hit his fourth homerun of the season as he went 1-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. Matt Proctor picked up the only other hit as he went 1-2 with a double.

In the final game of the series, HAAC pitcher of the week David Anderson threw a gem as he went the distance and earned a complete game, seven inning shut out over the Eagles. Anderson earned his second win of the week and improved his record to 4-4 on the season.

The Jackets bats came alive Sunday afternoon as they scored nine runs on eight hits. Matt Calcagni hit his team leading tenth homerun as he went 1-4 with three RBIs. Tyler Moe went 3-4 in the game with one RBI and Kyle Olson continued to swing a hot bat as he went 2-3 with a double and an RBI. Bob Mosel and Mark Jurczynski picked up the other Jackets hits in the ballgame.

The Jackets playoff chances have dwindled but with 10 games left, eight of which are conference, the team can play spoiler to other HAAC team’s playoff hopes. The Yellowjackets return home on Saturday, April 23 where they will take on Baker University. First pitch is at 1:00 p.m.

The Graceland University baseball team took on HAAC rival MidAmerica Nazarene University in a four game, home-and-away series over the weekend. Graceland came away with a 1-3 record for the series.

The Jackets won game one in thrilling fashion as they scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh, the final two came by way of Kyle Olson’s bat as he hit a two run blast to left-center. Adrian Kerr got the final hit for the Jackets that sealed the victory for Josh Meyer who improved his record to 3-2 out of the bullpen.

The Jackets won game one by a score of 7-6 but that was the last victory of the weekend for the Yellowjackets. In game two Aaron Kentner took the mound and pitch well enough to win but the Jackets would fall by a score of 5-2. Adrian Kerr and Aaron Fuller eached pick up a couple of hits in the game but it was not enough to power the Jackets past the Pioneers.

The Jackets traveled to Olathe, Kan., on Saturday for the last two games of the weekend set and in game one the Jackets struggled on the hill as the Pioneers would score 14 runs on 13 hits while the Jackets managed to score seven runs of their own on 10 hits. Kalev Betancourt led the way for Graceland as he went 4-4 with three singles and a double.

In the final game of the set left handed pitcher David Anderson threw a complete game but came up with a 4-1 loss at the hands of the Pioneers. Anderson struck out four of the 28 batters he faced and only gave up one earned run of the four scored.

The Jackets only managed three hits in the game which were all singles by Tyler Moe, Jason Goff and Tyler Belanger.

Head coach Brady McKillip has his work cut out for him as the Jackets have to win most of their remaining conference games if they are to have any chance of making the 2005 playoffs.

The Yellowjacket baseball team’s next action will be non-conference games versus Grand View College on Wednesday, April 13 in Lamoni. Game one is set for 2:00 p.m.

The Jackets will resume their conference schedule on Saturday, April 16th in Kansas City, Mo. as they square off with Avila University and then return home Sunday when they will play the second half of the home-and-away set with Avila. The first pitch is at 1:00 p.m. both days.

The 18-20 Graceland University baseball team heads into the weekend with a home-and-away match-up versus the Pioneers of MidAmerica Nazarene University on Friday in Lamoni, and Saturday in Olathe, Kan. The Jackets look to improve on their overall record but more important they want to improve their conference record of 5-9.

The Pioneers head into the four-game set with an overall record of 15-20 and a HAAC record of 5-9. “This is a key match-up for both teams as we are both battling for one of the four playoff spots available,” commented Graceland’s head coach Brady McKillip.

The Yellowjackets lost their last four conference games to the Ravens of Benedictine College who are currently ranked #10 in the nation. Prior to the Benedictine games, the Jackets beat HAAC teams Evangel University and Central Methodist in double header sweeps.

The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at North Park in Lamoni on Friday and 1:00 p.m. in Olathe, Kan. on Saturday.

The Graceland baseball team finished off a six-game weekend at home versus the Storm of Simpson College (Des Moines, Iowa) on Sunday in Lamoni. The Jackets split with the Storm, with a 7-9 first game loss, but picking up the second game win 12-4.

Game One
Simpson 9
Graceland 7

For the third game in a row a Graceland starting pitcher got roughed up on hill. Freshman Chris Hayes gave up nine runs on 12 hits in five and two-thirds innings. Hayes picked up the loss as he struck out three and walked three before he gave way to Tanner Stone who shut out the Storm to finish off the game.

The Jackets punched out nine hits in game one of the double-header. Short stop Matt Calcagni went 3-4 with two homeruns, a double and three RBI’s. Adrian Kerr went 2-4 with one RBI and four other Jackets had hits, all of which were singles.

Game Two
Graceland 12
Simpson 4

The Jackets got the quality pitching performance they needed in the final game of the weekend from junior Buddy Cronk who scattered seven hits over four innings while giving up four runs and picking up the win. The always steady Josh Meyer picked up his third save of 2005 as he came in to shut the door and shut out the Storm for three innings giving up just one hit and striking out seven.

The high powered Jacket offense scored 12 runs on 16 hits in game two and once again short stop Matt Calcagni led the way at the plate with a 3-5 performance. Calcagni hit two doubles, drove in two runs and swiped two bases. Lead off batter Adrian Kerr went 2-5 with two doubles and a stolen base while Kalev Betancourt hit three singles and two RBI’s in a 3-4 day. Third baseman Tyler Moe went 1-2 with a double and two RBI’s. Jason Goff hit a pair of singles as did Henry Duke and both players picked up an RBI each. Nine different Jackets had hits in the game, eight of which drove in runs.

The Jackets went 2-4 over the weekend and their record is set at 9-5 after the second week of play. The team next takes the field in Kirksville, Mo. where they will play the Bulldogs of Truman State University on Tuesday, March 8th at 1:00 p.m.

The Jackets traveled to Bolivar, Mo. to take on an NCAA Div. 2 team in the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist University on Saturday. Graceland lost both games, 2-12 in the first and 3-9 in the second game.

Game One
Graceland 2
SBU 12

Graceland starter Ryan Brickman got roughed up by what head coach Brady McKillip called a “great hitting line-up” in the Bearcats. Brickman gave up nine runs on 12 hits while striking out six in the four and one-third innings pitched. Reliever John Stewart gave up three runs on two hits in the final inning and two-third for the Jackets.

The Jacket offense was able to punch out eight hits scoring two runs. Three Jackets had two hits a piece: third baseman Tyler Moe, outfielder Kalev Betancourt and catcher Mark Jurczynski. Jason Goff and Chris Hayes added solo efforts from the plate.

Game Two
Graceland 3
SBU 9

In game two the Jacket pitching staff took it on the chin again as starter Aaron Kentner gave up five runs on six hits. Kentner surrendered six walks and hit one batter while striking out four. John Stewart made his second appearance of the day and surrender four runs on four hits in two innings while Kyle Palmer pitched the final inning where he didn’t give up a hit.

The Jackets struggled at the plate as they managed to get only six hits. Jason Goff had two of the Graceland hits, one of which was a double. Tyler Moe and Tyler Belanger picked up the two RBI’s for Graceland.

The Jackets suffered their first sweep of the young season but the coaching staff cannot be too disappointed by the team’s effort as they faced a good team with a great offensive lineup.

The Graceland University baseball team split games with Park University on Friday afternoon, losing the first 12-17, but coming back for a 5-4 win in the second game.

Game One
Park 17
Graceland 12

The Jackets took on the Pirates of Park University (Parkville, Mo.) in their 2005 home opener. The 7-1 Jackets are off to a great start and looked to improve their season record on the home field.

The Jackets have scored a lot of runs so far in 2005 and in the first inning they continued the trend by jumping on the Pirate’s starter for five runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Jackets added two more runs in the second and another in the fifth to take an 8-3 lead. Graceland’s starting pitcher Matt Riley left the game after five innings with a strong lead but the wheels fell off as the Jacket bullpen gave up 14 runs in the final two innings. The Jackets walked 11 Pirate batters and hit another six over the seven innings. Tanner Stone picked up the loss to even out his record at 1-1 early in the season.

At the plate the Jackets did everything they could to stay in the game but in the end the 12 runs scored on 12 hits were not enough. Shortstop Matt Calcagni led the way for Graceland as he went 3-5 with two singles, a homerun and four RBI’s. Aaron Fuller also had three hits, two of which were homeruns and he drove in three. Catcher Mark Jurczynski had two doubles and outfielder Adrian Kerr went 2-4 in the lead-off spot.

Game Two
Graceland 5
Park 4

In game two senior David Anderson took the mound for the Jackets. Anderson scattered six hits over seven innings and give up three runs, all of which were unearned. Of the 26 batters Anderson faced, he struck out six while walking one and hitting one.

Anderson got a no-decision in game two but sophomore Kyle Palmer picked up the win out of the bullpen as he threw a strong two innings surrendering one run and one hit.

The Jackets out hit the Pirates 12-7, leading the way was Kyle Olson who went 3-4 with two RBI’s. Jason Goff went 2-4 with a homerun and three RBI’s. Kalev Betancourt was the other Jacket who had a multi-hit game as he went 2-3 in the contest.

Head Coach Brady McKillip was not happy with the split but his team did improve their record to 8-2.

Game One
Graceland 5
Ozarks 6

The Graceland baseball team traveled to Point Lookout, Mo., to take on the Bobcats of College of the Ozarks on Sunday, Feb. 27th. In game one the Jackets were out-hit 9-8 by the Bobcats in what would prove to be an evenly matched game.

Junior pitcher Buddy Cronk got his first start on the mound in 2005. Cronk only gave up five hits but they all were costly as the Bobcats scored five earned runs in Cronk’s two and a third innings pitched. Josh Meyer came in to mop things up and surrendered one unearned run on four hits in three and two-thirds.

Senior Kalev Betancourt had the Jackets only hit for extra bases as hit a homerun and drove in three RBI’s. Kyle Olson and Tyler Moe each picked up a pair of hits in the game.

Game Two
Graceland 7
Ozarks 1

Freshman hurler Chris Hayes took the mound in the final game of the Jacket’s road trip. Hayes scattered five hits over six innings and gave up one earned run while striking out seven Bobcats. “It’s a nice surprise to have a freshman step up and pitch so well,” commented Head Coach Brady McKillip. “We knew he had the stuff to do it but we didn’t expect it in his first college start.”

The Jackets had seven hits in game two of the twin bill. Leading the way was Tyler Moe who had a single and a double with two RBI’s, and Matt Calcagni picked up a single and a double also with two RBI’s. Adrian Kerr, Matt Prignitz and Kalev Betancourt were the other Jackets that picked up base hits in the game.


The Jackets improved their record to 7-1 early in 2005 and statistically they have dominated their competition. As a team the Jackets are batting .395 while scoring a whopping 71 runs. The team has out-homered the opponents 7-0 and has hit a total of 30 extra base hits.

Early in the season errors are expected in the field but the Jackets have played well defensively committing only 12 total errors in eight games.

The Jacket coaching staff looked to the senior heavy pitching staff to lead on the field and with a 1.76 team earned run average and an opposing batting average of .185 the Jacket hurlers are off to a phenomenal start.

The Jackets have another busy weekend as they open at home Friday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m. versus Park University then hit the road Saturday, March 5 at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. The Jackets will return home Sunday, March 6 to take on Simpson College at 1:00 p.m. in Lamoni.

The Graceland University baseball team not only swept Oklahoma Wesleyan University, they crushed the Eagles in a four game set over the Feb. 25-26 weekend in Bartlesville, Okla. In four games the Jackets punched 53 hits and scored 47 total runs, all while giving up a measly 11 hits and 3 runs in the same stretch.

02-25-05 Game One
Graceland 17
Ok. Wes. 1

The Jacket offense continued where they left off last weekend by scoring 17 runs on 19 hits. Leadoff batter Adrian Kerr went 4-5 in the game and hit his fifth and sixth doubles from the top spot. Shortstop Matt Calcagni also went 4-5 in game and picked up a game high seven runs batted in game one of the twin bill. Kalev Betancourt went 3-4 with a triple and two singles. In total five Jackets had multiple hit games while four more Jackets got in on the hit parade.

Senior Matt Riley gave up one un-earned run and struck out three Eagle batters to earn his first win of the 2005 season. Jason Bennett pitched a flawless fifth inning as the Jackets went on to mercy rule the Eagles in five total innings.

One big plus in the game for the Jackets was a triple play in the third inning after committing two straight errors in the same inning. Aaron Fuller caught a soft line drive, stepped on second and threw the ball to Kyle Olson at first to record the team’s first triple play.


Game Two
Graceland 7
Ok. Wes 0

The Jackets only scored seven runs in game two but that was a lot more than they needed as senior pitcher David Anderson threw a one-hitter and shut out the Eagles, 7-0. Anderson struck out 12 of the 22 batters he faced and as Head Coach Brady McKillip noted, “David was dealing it today, he showed us that he can dominate any line-up if he is on.”

Kyle Palmer threw the seventh inning for the Jackets where he struck out two of the five batters he faced.

The Jackets had 13 hits in the game. Betancourt, Aaron Fuller, Matt Proctor and Tyler Moe each had two hits in the game; both of Moe’s were doubles. Betancourt and Jason Goff each drove in two runs, while Fuller and Moe each had one RBI.


02-26-05 Game One
Graceland 13
Ok. Wes. 0

After a good night sleep the Jackets returned to the field ready to go back to battle. Unfortunately for the Eagles senior pitcher Ryan Brickman was more than ready as he threw a five inning complete game no-hitter. Brickman struck out four Eagle batters and only walked one. The Eagles only managed to get two men on base in the game, the second via a Jacket error.

“Ryan didn’t strike out a lot of guys, but he was down in the zone and with his slider he got eight ground outs and three fly balls,” said McKillip. “He pitched a great game.”

The Jackets got more than enough offence to help Brickman get the win as they slammed the Eagles with 16 hits, six of which were for extra bases.

Jason Goff was the leader in offense as he went 3-4 with a double and a homerun. Aaron Fuller and Tyler Moe each had two hits and a double a piece while Mark Jurczynski and Chris Hayes each had two hits including a homerun a piece. Adrian Kerr went 2-3, and Betancourt, Tyler Belanger and Kyle Olson each added singles for the Jackets.


Game Two
Graceland 10
Ok. Wes. 2

The final game of the weekend set was another Jacket victory by a score of 10-2, but each team made four errors in what would prove to be a sloppy game. The Jackets scored their ten runs on only five hits. “The guys were putting the ball in play, and we capitalized on the other team’s mistakes,” said McKillip.

Senior pitcher Aaron Kentner threw well as he picked up his second win of the season. Kentner would strike out five Eagles and surrendering one walk and giving up one unearned run. Kentner struggled last year in the win column as he had the lowest run support of the Jacket pitching staff, 1.3 runs per outing. In 2005 he is 2-0 with 8.5 runs per game support.

With the team scoring a lot of runs per game and the senior led pitching staff the Jackets are off to a 6-0 start in 2005.

02-20-05 Game 1
Graceland University 7
Bethany College 3

The Yellowjacket baseball team took to the road and the field on Sunday, Feb. 19th where they played the Swedes of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.

Head Coach Brady McKillip has a great cast of returning players and some new faces that will be ready to make an impact immediately during the 2005 campaign.

Senior Aaron Kentner took the hill in game one for the Jackets. Kentner came out throwing hard and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning where he tired and gave up two hits but did not surrender a run to the Swedes. Frosh Chris Hayes and senior David Anderson were the middle men for the Jackets and junior Josh Meyer came in to close things out and earn his first save of the season. In total the Jackets fanned 10 Swede hitters with Kentner leading the way with seven strike outs.

At the plate the Jackets had a great showing for their first day on the yard. Four Jackets had multiple hit games in game one of the double header. Sophomore Adrian Kerr had two doubles in the lead off spot as he went 2-4 in the contest. Sophomore Aaron Fuller also had two hits, one of which was a mammoth homerun over the left-center field fence. Tyler Belanger also had a homerun to go with a single in the game and senior Kalev Betancourt punched out a couple base hits. The Jackets had a third homerun by the way of sophomore third baseman, Tyler Moe’s bat, while sophomore transfer Matt Calcagni got the Jackets’ other base hit and he recorded the teams only stolen base.

02-20-05 Game 2
Graceland University 5
Bethany College 2

The Jackets continued their offensive outburst in game two as they scored five runs on 11 hits. Kerr once again had two doubles out of the lead off spot, Calcagni, Moe and frosh catcher Henry Duke also had doubles in the second game of the twin bill. Betancourt and Belanger joined Kerr with consecutive two hit games while frosh Matt Prignitz had a big pinch hit single late in the game.

Senior pitcher Ryan Brickman got the start in game two and pitched four solid innings. Brickman didn’t have his best stuff but he did strike out two Swede batters and he didn’t give up any earned runs. Junior transfer Tanner Stone got the win out of the bullpen while junior Buddy Cronk got the hold and Josh Meyer got his second save on the day.

The Jackets pounded out 21 hits in the double header and showed some pop at the plate as they had three homeruns and seven doubles. The pitchers gave up three earned runs and the defense only made two errors in two games. The Jackets are off to a great start and if they play a solid all-around game every day they should have plenty of success in 2005.

The Jackets travel to Bartlesville, Okla., to take on Oklahoma Wesleyan Friday, Feb 25th and Saturday, Feb 26th; then they travel to Point Lookout, Mo. to play the College of the Ozarks on Sunday, Feb. 27th.

Despite winning the first two games of the series the Blue team was unable to hold off the Gold team once they got the taste of victory. The Gold Team rattled off four straight victories to take the fall world series and wrap up this years fall workouts.

Game 2
Blue 4 Gold 3
Chris Hayes picked up his second victory in relief of junior Buddy Cronk who went 3 and 2/3 innings giving up 3 ER and striking out 6. Chris entered the game for a little over 2 innings and only gave up 1 hit. Senior Ryan Brickman threw the last inning for the save. Offensively for the Blue team sophomore Adrian Kerr went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Senior David Anderson had the start for the Gold team going 4 innings allowing 4 runs and 3 hits while striking out 4. Senior Josh Chernoff finished the game allowing 1 hit. Mark Jurczynski was the offensive star for the gold going 2 for 2 with a triple and an rbi.

Game 3
Gold 7 Blue 6
Senior Aaron Kentner was 1 out away from a complete game victory in game 3 when the blue team mounted a comeback forcing them to go to Kyle Palmer for the save. Kentner went 6 2/3 innings allowing 6 earned and 9 hits while striking out 5. Senior Ryan Brickman took the loss for the Blue team allowing 7 hits and 4 runs over 4 innings. Junior Tanner Stone came on in relief allowing 3 earned runs over 2 innings. Offensively for the Gold team sophomore Matt Calcagni was 3-4 with 2 runs scored and junior Derek Gallier was 3-4 with 3 runs scored and an rbi. The blue team was led by senior centerfielder Kalev Betancourt who was 2-3 with two runs scored.

Game 4
Gold 2 Blue 0
Senior lefty David Anderson was spectacular tossing a 1 hit shutout allowing just 1 walk while striking out 6. Red shirt freshman Jason Goff led the way offensively going 2-2 and catcher Mark Jurczynski had a solo home run for his first of the series. Senior Matt Riley was impressive as well going 5 2/3 allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits and striking out four. Offensively for the Blue team Francis Ambrosia logged the only hit in the game. The series is tied 2-2.

Game 5
Gold 11 Blue 7
Game 5 was the ugliest game of the series so far as the two teams combined for 6 errors. Chris Hayes took the loss allowing 9 runs only 3 earned over 4 innings while striking out 4. Buddy Cronk threw the final 2 innings for the blue giving up 2 runs. Sophomore 3rd baseman Tyler Moe led the way offensively for the blue team going 3-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Josh Chernoff went 5 to pick up the victory for the gold team allowing 5 runs and 6 hits. John Stewart and Kyle Palmer finished off the game with Palmer picking up his 2nd save of the series. Offensively the first 3 batters for the gold combined to go 5-8 with six runs scored and 3 rbi’s. Bob Mosel hit his first homerun of the fall and contributed 3 rbi’s at the plate to lead the way.

Game 6
Gold 8 Blue 7
Despite being down 8-3 going into the top of the 7th inning the blue team mounted a comeback that saw them fall 1 run short of tying the game and gave the gold team the series victory. Aaron Kentner went 5 innings to pick up his second victory of the series and earn MVP honors for the series. Kyle Palmer came on to pick up his 3rd save and clinch the victory. Offensively the gold was led by Matt Calcagni who was 3-4 with 3 runs scored. Ryan Brickman went 6 giving up 6 runs on 5 hits and striking out 3. Kyle Olson and Kyle Finley were both 2-3 with 2 runs scored for the blue and Kalev Betancourt was 1-3 with 2 rbi’s for the blue team.

With the series being over and fall ball being wrapped up Coach McKillip had this to say about his squad: “I am very happy with where we ended up compared to where we started in the beginning. We are a much better defensive team than we were last year and the pitching staff impressed me a lot with their performances during the series. Offensively we have room for improvement but if we can pitch and play defense the way we did this fall we will be in a lot of games come spring. We have a couple pieces to fill in before spring but I am very optimistic about this clubs future.”

Thank you for your support!

The Blue team took a 1 – 0 lead in the Blue/Gold Fall World Series for the Yellowjacket baseball squad.

Taking a 4-3 lead into the top of the 7th inning, the Blue team brought in freshman Chris Hayes to close out the game. But on the first pitch freshman center fielder Chris Ricketts took a fastball over the left field fence to tie the game. Chris managed to settle down and get out of the inning still tied where the Blue team won the game on an RBI single by senior centerfielder Kalev Betancourt.

Several players had multiple hits for both teams. Chris Hayes gets the win, while red shirt freshman Kyle Palmer gets the loss. Senior pitchers Matt Riley and Aaron Kentner both pitched into the fifth inning getting no decisions.

The World Series is an annual event, matching the varsity players against one another during the fall season. Coach McKillip splits the players into equal teams and plays a seven-game world series over the span of two weeks.

The Graceland varsity baseball team beat the alumni team 10-9 Sunday afternoon in Lamoni, Iowa.

The alumni team included Nick Bott, Chris Coffin, Lane Sires, Jimmy Proehl, Billy Dudek, Jeremy Yeamans, Adam Clarke, Gary Jelinek, Shawn Cochran, Ryan Wood, Brady McKillip and Matt Nordhagan.

The Jackets will finish fall season practice next week, then will off-season train until late January. The men’s first spring season games are February 19-20 against Bethany College in Kansas.