(Photo by: Vaughn Wheat)

The steaming hot Johnson County Cavaliers batting offense charges into April ranked no. 1 overall in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division One National poll for week six with a record of 36-2 overall. This is the third straight week the team has been ranked no. 1 overall, having previously been ranked first in both weeks four and five, and ranked second at the start of March.

The Cavaliers, led by Head Coach Eric Horner, began the month of March as the number two-ranked team in the country. The team started strong on the road in Highland, KS, against Highland Community College on March 5 with an 8-0 and 22-2 victories in a doubleheader against the Scotties, followed up by 10-0 and 14-2 victories at home on March 7 to sweep the season series against the Scotties. Those games against the Scotties to begin conference play were just a preview of how dominant the team would be during the month.

The Coffeyville Community College Red Ravens, led by head coach Jake Martin in his 11th year, were the Cavs’ next opponent with doubleheader home games on Thursday, March 12. They won game one 13-3, then ended game two with a score of 19-7. Both games ended via the run rule. Following the home doubleheader, the series shifted south to Coffeyville for another doubleheader on Saturday, March 14, where the Red Ravens proceeded to give the Cavaliers their first and only challenge during the month, with the first game ending in a 12-8 victory for Johnson County. Game two in Coffeyville was yet another blowout 12-run victory for the Cavaliers, with the final result being 14-2.

Next up for the Cavaliers’ dynamic offense was a road trip to Parsons, KS, to face the Labette Community College Cardinals on Thursday, March 19. In two games, JCCC batters scorched the Cardinals’ pitching for 27 runs while the Cavaliers’ defense wound up allowing only four runs total. The doubleheader results were 13-3 and 14-1, respectively. Labette’s pitching troubles against JCCC continued as the series shifted back to Overland Park on Saturday, March 21, with game one ending in a 13-4 nine-run victory, followed by game two having even more chaos on the basepaths as nineteen Cavalier batters would touch home plate, ending in a 19-7 victory.

Johnson County ended March just as strong as they started, with two games at home against the Neosho Community College Panthers on Thursday, March 26. There must’ve been some extra protein in the Cavalier’s breakfast that day, as the team hit four home runs in the first game, courtesy of sophomore third baseman Logan Groh (19), freshman right fielder Ryan Bradford (29), designated hitter Colin Coonradt (4), and catcher Boston Bruce (27), resulting in a 13-3 victory in game one.

In game two of the doubleheader, JCCC pitching and hitting were both dynamic in a 28-0 victory as the Cavaliers’ offense would light up the sky, hitting an unprecedented 11 home runs, with second baseman Briggs Roe (10), outfielder Brayden Giesler (17), and shortstop Lukas Wilson (23), each having two home runs in the game. The team then traveled to Neosho on Saturday, March 28, for another doubleheader.

The Cavalier offense took a little bit of a “chill pill” in game one at Neosho with an 8-0 victory, and then went on to win game two 20-0, completing their fourth series sweep in a row.

In total, the Cavaliers went undefeated in March, going a perfect sixteen for sixteen with four series sweeps, ending the month on an 18-game winning streak (since extended to 20 straight games) along with having the nation’s best record in the NJCAA at 36-2, with infielder Logan Groh ending the month with the most hits so far this season with sixty-five.