Going into the DI NJCAA Softball World Series many did not expect much from the Kaskaskia College Blue Angels. The team was ranked at 14 of 16 teams that made the World Series and while other schools were making their yearly trip to softball nationals the Blue Angels where arriving for the first time in program history. If the team would have gone out with two straight losses no one would be disappointed or think anything less of the 2023 season. So in typical Blue Angels fashion the team took it upon itself to turn heads and give reasoning for spectators to learn how to pronounce Kaskaskia correctly.
In game one of the tournament the team was loose and ready to play. Sure the 3rd ranked Wallace State Lions had talent, but so did KC. After a close game from start to finish KC defeated Wallace State for the team’s first ever World Series win 1-0. The win was intense and brought extreme joy to the players, coaches, as well as the spectators that made the eight hour drive to central Alabama. Plus the win made the Jersey Mike’s taste that much better after. With full stomachs and some down time in the ac the second game of the day was up in a contest with Grayson College. Under the lights both teams brought what they had to give after a long, hot, sun filled day, but Grayson had a little bit more in their tank, taking down KC with a final of 6-3. Splitting the day was a win for the Blue Angels, but it did send the team down to the loser’s bracket in an elimination game against the Angelina College Roadrunners the following day. The winner would advance to the Elite 8 in all of Division I Softball.
It was all hands on deck for this game. They say you dance with the one who brought you and following that motto Karlie McKenzie would start the game against Angelina and hold them at bay enough to keep KC in the lead for the first five innings. The Blue Angels piled up the hits when they needed them and plated six runs in the game. Sophomore Sydnee Garrett would again come in to relieve McKenzie and hold the Roadrunners to two runs in her frames on the day. When the last out was squeezed on a pop fly to right field the Blue Angels did it again and tallied another win in Oxford beating Angelina 6-4. This win sent the Kaskaskia Blue Angels to the Elite Eight!!! Again the team was PUMPED for what they just accomplished and the positive vibes were running high! The smiles and laughs came from every direction as the wait commenced for the next game on the day. The Blue Angels were enjoying the experience. They were watching other teams play and cheering for great plays while soaking in the atmosphere around them.
The fourth game of the tournament placed the Seminole State College Trojans in front of the Blue Angels. This team out of Oklahoma was ranked 7th overall and was a solidly coached softball club. The Blue Angels came out of the blocks in great fashion, plating a run in the first inning off an RBI single from Sophomore Mikayla Healy. Like earlier in the day Karlie McKenzie started the game for KC and did great in the first few frames, posting zeros on the scoreboard in support of the Blue Angels’ cause. In the top of the third inning Healy would come through again for KC belting a solo home run BOMB to dead center field, putting the Blue Angels up 2-0. McKenzie would go back out in the bottom of the frame facing the Trojan’s line up for the second time, and this go round the talented Seminole team would unlock the answer to the KC ace. Seminole State would score three in the third, four in the fifth, and another in the sixth to go up 8-2. The Blue Angels’ bats would make a little bit of noise over the final innings of the game, but with quality pitching from the Seminole State thrower the scoring dried up in Oxford and the Blue Angels pitching staff just ran out of steam. With a final ground out on the infield the Kaskaskia College Blue Angels’ softball season would come to an end. The team would go 2-2 in the World Series, exceeding all expectations and representing Kaskaskia College in the finest fashion possible on a national stage. The 2023 Blue Angels Softball team ended their season 49-18 overall and 30-10 in conference play. This is the best record the program has ever reached.
This team faced adversity all year and the road to Oxford was full of twists and turns, potholes and detours. Each player had a role in the success that came to the Blue Angels this 2023 Season and several made a name for themselves among all Division 1 programs on national leader boards.
Sophomore Mikayla Healy concluded her season and KC career with an overall batting average of .474. This was tops in all of the Great Rivers Athletics Conference and 35th overall in the nation.
Third year Sophomore Josie Grunloh swiped 66 bags on the year and that allowed her to reach 4th in all of DI softball.
Freshman Karlie McKenzie finished the 2023 campaign 3rd among all Division 1 NJCAA pitchers with 264 strikeouts. She averaged a tic over 12 strikeouts per 7 inning contest, which is mindboggling, and McKenzie was named GRAC Freshman of the year.
Academically the team achieved an average GPA of 3.42 with four members posting 4.0 marks including Megan Bailey, Maddie Bailey, Josie Grunloh, and Karlie McKenzie in the semester their sport was played.
What a season it was. This team provided great entertainment and quality play for anyone that made it out to a game this year. The ladies held themselves to a high standard both on the field and off. They played the game of softball not for the fans in the stands or the coaches in the dugout, but for each other out on the field. With each at bat taken, with each pitch placed, and with each ball caught, the Blue Angels worked to be the best they could and to learn all that was possible to evolve with the season.
Congratulations to Head Coach John Barnes, Assistant Coach Joe Healy, Assistant Coach Shawn Garrett, and to the entire Blue Angels Softball Team on a truly fantastic season. You have accomplished more than any team that has come before and you have made the entire KC community proud and full of pride for our school and athletics programs.
