Linn-Mar Baseball

Lions blanked by Cascade on 2-hitter

CASCADE - The Linn-Mar Lions were shut out by Cascade, 2-0, Wednesday night on a two-hitter by senior Nick Hunt.

Michael Redmond and Travis Kvach had the only hits for the Lions (16-8).

Hunt collected five strikeouts and did not walk anyone in his complete game for Cascade (11-11).

LINN-MAR (0)
Greve 3 0 0 0, Bogert 3 0 0 0, Redmond 3 0 1 0, Stickney 3 0 0 0, Stroschein 3 0 0 0, Strellner 2 0 0 0, Stolley 2 0 0 0, Kane 1 0 0 0, Kvach 2 0 1 0, Blackford 1 0 0 0. Totals 23 0 2 0.

CASCADE (2)
Kleitsch 3 0 1 0, Gehl 3 1 2 0, Hoffman 4 1 1 0, Frey 4 0 1 0, Manternach 3 0 2 0, Takes 2 0 0 1, Weber 1 0 0 1, Rausch 2 0 0 0, Bergfeld 2 0 0 0. Totals 24 2 7 2.

Linn-Mar    000 000 0 - 0 2 1
Cascade     002 000 x - 2 7 1

Kane, Blackford (3); Hunt. W - Hunt. L - Kane. 2B - Kvach. SB - Gehl.

Stroschein helps Lions trip No. 1 Cougars

Linn-Mar junior Austin Stroschein was so excited about walloping the ball with the bases loaded against top-ranked Kennedy Monday night that he tripped over first base and fell flat on his face.

He got up grinning.

Stroschein socked a grand slam at a key moment to help the 10th-ranked Lions split a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Kennedy in a showdown for first place.

The Cougars won the first game, 4-1, behind a strong performance by right-hander Nick Appleget, but Linn-Mar rallied from a 5-0 deficit to grab the nightcap 7-6.

Kennedy snapped Linn-Mar's 10-game winning streak in the opener, then Linn-Mar snapped Kennedy's nine-game winning streak in the nightcap. The split left both clubs 11-3 in the Mississippi Division of the MVC, locked in a three-way tie for first place with Iowa City High with 12 games left in the league campaign.

The Cougars were leading 5-1 in the sixth inning of the second game when Stroschein strode to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out. He ripped the first pitch he saw from Kennedy's Zach Johnson to deep center field.

"I wasn't expecting it to go out, so I was just trying to get as many bases as I can," said Stroschein. "Yeah, I tripped a little bit on first base. I wiped out."

He dusted himself off with a big smile and was able to trot around the bases, tying the game at 5-5. Kennedy thought he missed first base and appealed, but the umpire said Stroschein hit the bag when he tripped and Stroschein heartily agreed.

It was Stroschein's first homer of the season, but he slugged four round-trippers last year and normally makes it around the bases without getting his uniform and face all dusty.

Linn-Mar took a 7-5 lead in the top of the seventh inning with two runs. Travis Kvach led off with a pinch-hit single, stole second base and scored on a short passed ball for a 6-5 lead. Michael Redmond scored an insurance run on an RBI single by Mitch Stickney.

Kennedy pulled within 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh on a solo home run by Logan Ambrosy. The Cougars put runners on first and second with one out, but Keaton Blackford relieved Justin Wyant and got the final two outs.

Alex Hayden hit a rocket to left field with two outs for the Cougars, but Nate Greve made a leaping catch to end the game and give the Lions (16-7) a precious split.

"I knew Greve was there," said Blackford. "I didn't think the ball was out and Greve is fast. For some reason I just knew it was going right to him. So I felt good about it."

Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner was happy to go home with a split.

"That's fantastic," he remarked. "We said to the kids in between innings, 'I know it's hot, but you guys are still playing for a conference title if you split with them. I mean, you're right there.'"

Kennedy (18-3 overall) touched Wyant for five runs in the first two innings of the nightcap, but Wyant buckled down and gave his team a chance to rally.

"He's kind of taken on that M.O., where he seems to get stronger as games wear on," said Lechner.

Blackford pitched one inning in relief in the first game and was ready to pitch again in the nightcap with the game hanging in the balance. He took the ball from Wyant with a 7-6 lead, runners on first and second and only one out.

"I love the situation," he said. "The crowd's in every pitch, especially against Kennedy, the top-ranked team. I always love playing Kennedy. You have to love those moments."

Cody Bell took a 5-1 lead into the top of the sixth inning for Kennedy in the nightcap, but Coach Bret Hoyer went to his bullpen after Bell allowed a leadoff single. Bell had thrown only 66 pitches at that point, but Hoyer decided it was time for a change to give his relief pitchers some work in a key game.

"We've never asked Cody to go that far. We thought, 'Well, this is an oppportunity to get those guys some work,'" said Hoyer. "Our guys who have been pitching at the end have done real well this year. This one got away from us."

Johnson and Devon Jacobus, two of Kennedy's top relief pitchers, gave up five runs in two innings as the game slipped away from the Cougars.

Appleget (5-0) pitched a complete game for Kennedy in the opener. He spaced five hits, struck out seven batters and allowed an unearned run in the 4-1 verdict. Appleget topped Greve, one of Linn-Mar's top pitchers who took the loss.

Derek Jacobus drove in two runs for Kennedy in the opener.

GAME ONE

LINN-MAR (1)
Greve, p/lf, 3 0 1 0, Kvach, cr, 0 1 0 0, Bogert, rf/cf, 3 0 0 0, Redmond, cf/2b, 3 0 0 0, Stickney, lf/rf, 3 0 1 1, Stroschein, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Banks, c/ss, 3 0 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Roth, 2b, 3 0 2 0, Ollinger, c, 0 0 0 0, Blackford, dh/p, 3 0 1 0, Strellner, ss, 0 0 0 0. Totals 27 1 5 1.

KENNEDY (4)
Jahlas, cf, 3 0 1 0, Ambrosy, rf, 3 0 1 0, Bell, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Dv Jacobus, 3b, 1 1 0 0, Staton, pr, 0 0 0 0, Lizarraga, c, 2 0 1 0, Smetzer, cr, 0 2 0 0, Lloyd, dh, 1 1 0 0, Hayden, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Dr Jacobus, ss, 1 0 0 2, A.Johnson, lf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 18 4 3 2.

Linn-Mar       100 000 0 - 1 5 0
Kennedy      030 001 x - 4 3 2

Greve, Blackford (6) and Banks, Ollinger (6). Appleget and Lizarraga. W - Appleget (5-0). L - Greve (5-2). 2B - Roth, Lizarraga. SB - Jahlas.

GAME TWO

LINN-MAR (7)
Greve, lf, 4 0 1 0, Bogert, cf, 2 1 1 0, Redmond, 2b, 4 2 1 0, Stickney, rf, 3 2 2 1, Stroschein, 3b, 4 1 2 5, Banks, c, 3 0 0 0, Ollinger, ph, 1 0 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Strellner, ss, 3 0 0 0, Wyant, p, 2 0 0 0, Kvach, ph, 1 1 1 0, Blackford, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 30 7 9 6.

KENNEDY (6)
Jahlas, cf, 4 1 2 0, Ambrosy, 1b/rf, 3 2 2 1, Bell, p/1b/3b, 2 0 1 1, Staton, cr, 0 1 0 0, Smetzer, pr, 0 0 0 0, Dv Jacobus, 3b/p, 2 1 1 0, Staton, pr, 0 0 0 0, Lizarraga, c, 4 0 1 1, Smetzer, cr, 0 1 0 0, Lloyd, rf, 3 0 2 0, Z.Johnson, p, 0 0 0 0, Maiers, p, 1 0 0 0, Hayden, 2b, 2 0 0 1, Dr Jacobus, ss, 3 0 0 1, A.Johnson, lf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 27 6 9 5.

Linn-Mar       000 104 2 - 7 9 1
Kennedy      410 000 1 - 6 9 0

Wyant, Blackford (7) and Banks. Bell, Z.Johnson (6), Dv Jacobus (7), Maiers (7) and Lizarraga. W - Wyant (4-1). L - Dv Jacobus (0-1). S - Blackford (1). 2B - Stickney, Jahlas. HR - Stroschein, Ambrosy. SB - Kvach, Ambrosy, Staton.

Lions 10th in new baseball poll

The surging Linn-Mar Lions popped into the new IHSBCA rankings Monday morning in the No. 10 spot, just in time for their big Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at top-ranked Kennedy Monday night.

The Lions (15-6) have won 10 straight games. The Cougars (17-2) have won eight straight and have been ranked No. 1 all season.

Linn-Mar and Kennedy are both 10-2 in the Mississippi Division of the MVC, tied for first place with Iowa City High.

Ankeny, Dowling Catholic, Fort Dodge and Waukee are ranked second through fifth in the Class 4A poll. Iowa City West, which leads the Valley Division of the MVC at 10-2, is ranked seventh.

IHSBCA RANKINGS

CLASS 4A

1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy
2. Ankeny
3. Dowling Catholic
4. Fort Dodge
5. Waukee
6. West Des Moines Valley
7. Iowa City West
8. Southeast Polk
9. Muscatine
10. Linn-Mar

CLASS 3A

1. Dallas Center-Grimes
2. Sioux City Heelan
3. Grinnell
4. Clear Lake
5. Benton Community
6. Harlan
7. Sergeant Bluff-Luton
8. Davenport Assumption
9. Williamsburg
10. Oelwein

CLASS 2A

1. Davis County
2. Saint Edmond, Ft. Dodge
3. Dyersville-Beckman
4. North Polk
5. PCM
6. Iowa City Regina
7. Waterloo Columbus
8. Van Buren
9. Wilton
10. Des Moines Christian

CLASS 1A

1. Council Bluffs-St. Albert
2. Mason City Newman
3. Lawton-Bronson
4. Martensdale-St. Mary’s
5. Preston
6. Lisbon
7. Algona Garrigan
8. Van Meter
9. Pleasantville
10. South O’Brien

Streaking Lions sweep Prairie

The Linn-Mar Lions are young, talented and tied for first place in the Mississippi Valley Conference after sweeping a doubleheader from the Prairie Hawks Friday night.

The Lions are riding a 10-game winning streak after taking care of the Hawks, 2-1 and 12-3, with strong pitching, timely hitting and good defense at the Linn-Mar field.

Linn-Mar was scuffling along a few weeks ago with a 5-and-6 record, but the Lions are sitting at 15-6 overall now and 10-2 in the MVC heading into Monday night's big doubleheader at Kennedy in a showdown for the league lead.

"We're hitting the ball. Pitching. Playing good defense," assessed Jake Stolley, who tossed six shutout innings in the opener. "It's what works."

The Lions used 14 players in the doubleheader, with nine juniors and five seniors taking the field. That youth could bode well for the future at Linn-Mar.

"It's going to be strong. Next year and the year after that," said Stolley, one of the seniors. "Keep going strong."

Stolley, an impressive lefthander, threw 113 pitches and kept Prairie guessing with a fastball, nasty curveball and changeup. "I'll be sore tomorrow morning, but that's usual," he said after the relatively high pitch count.

Nate Greve pitched the seventh inning and got his second save, although the Hawks made him work for it by scoring an unearned run and putting two more runners on base before he put out the fire.

Greve also made a key defensive play in left field, gunning down Tyler Butz at the plate in the fourth inning when Butz tried to score from third base on a fly ball.

"That was a really big play," said Stolley. "You don't get those every day, but that's awesome."

Stolley (3-1, 1.35 ERA) has struck out 43 batters in 31 innings this season. He plans to join the Northwestern University baseball team as a walk-on this fall and is thinking about studying chemical engineering.

Greve (5-1, 0.97 ERA) has struck out 44 batters in 21 2/3 innings and will be one of the starting pitchers against Kennedy Monday night.

Linn-Mar scored both of its runs in the opener in the third inning on an RBI double by Mitch Stickney and an RBI single by Austin Stroschein. Greve and Kevin Bogert began the rally with one-out singles.

Bryce Alberts pitched well for Prairie in the opener but was the hard-luck loser. The game ended with Prairie's Brayton Carlson called out on a bang-bang force play at second base.

If Carlson had been ruled safe, the Hawks would have had the bases loaded with two outs with Brennan Hammer coming to the plate with a chance to give his club the lead. Hammer was already 2-for-2 in the ballgame with a walk.

Prairie Coach Matt Thede disputed the call at second base, to no avail.

The Lions took control of the nightcap with a six-run outburst in the fourth inning. They nearly ended the game by the 10-run rule when they scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth, but fell a run short of enacting the mercy rule.

Bogert and Jimmy Roth drove in two runs apiece in the nightcap for Linn-Mar. Michael Redmond had two doubles.

Stroschein pitched a complete game for Linn-Mar and collected 10 strikeouts, including three whiffs in the seventh inning, but the junior was called upon to throw 128 pitches (unofficially) in the seven-inning game.

Linn-Mar's 10-game winning streak began on June 4 with a 9-5 victory at Iowa City West in the second game of a doubleheader. Since then, the Lions have defeated Clinton, Cedar Rapids Washington (twice), Muscatine, Fort Madison, Cedar Rapids Jefferson (twice) and now Prairie (twice).

The Lions were delighted to sweep Prairie. "I don't think we were expecting to do that," said Greve.

The Hawks have lost seven of their last 10 games, dropping to 10-10 overall and 6-6 in the conference.

Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner said his club has made some adjustments after suffering a few tough losses early in the season. He likes the way the team is playing now.

"We've been hitting. That's what we've been talking about," he said.

Lechner added two former head coaches to his staff this season with Kyle Rodenkirk and Brent Henry now helping the team. Rodenkirk was the head coach at Anamosa and Henry was the interim head coach at Cedar Rapids Washington last year.

"It's been absolutely fantastic," said Lechner. "I've had some good assistants through the years, but this year has really, really clicked. They've taken on a lot of stuff."

Rodenkirk works with the pitchers and catchers, while Henry has been working with the hitters.

"It's been a blast," said Lechner. "I love those guys. They're doing a great job for us."

GAME ONE

PRAIRIE (1)
Velvick, cf, 2 0 2 0, Carlson, 2b, 4 0 2 1, Mougin, ss, 4 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 4 0 1 0, Hammer, rf, 2 0 2 0, Peters, pr, 0 0 0 0, Alberts, p, 2 0 0 0, Pond, c, 2 0 0 0, Schulte, ph, 1 0 0 0, Votroubek, 1b, 3 1 1 0, Beckman, lf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 27 1 8 1.

LINN-MAR (2)
Greve, lf/p, 3 0 1 0, Wyant, ph, 1 0 0 0, Bogert, cf/rf, 3 1 1 0, Redmond, 2b/cf, 2 1 0 0, Stickney, rf/lf, 2 0 1 1, Stroschein, 3b, 3 0 1 1, Banks,c, 1 0 0 0, Kvach, cr, 0 0 0 0, Stolley, p, 3 0 1 0, Bettman, cr, 0 0 0 0, Kvach, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Strellner, ss, 2 0 1 0, Blackford, 1b, 2 0 0 0. Totals 22 2 6 2.

Prairie        000 000 1 - 1 8 0
Linn-Mar    002 000 x - 2 6 2

Alberts and Pond. Stolley, Greve (7) and Banks. W - Stolley (3-1). L - Alberts (1-3). S - Greve (2). 2B - Votroubek, Stickney, Stolley. SB - Velvick, Carlson, Hammer, Stickney.

GAME TWO

PRAIRIE (3)
Velvick, cf, 3 1 2 0, Carlson, 2b, 2 1 2 1, Mougin, ss, 2 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 4 0 0 0, Hammer, rf, 3 0 2 1, Votroubek, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Alberts, lf, 3 0 0 0, Pond, c, 3 0 0 0, Davison, dh/p, 3 1 0 0, Adams, p, 0 0 0 0, Dean, p, 0 0 0 0, Steffens, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 3 7 2.

LINN-MAR (12)
Greve, lf, 5 1 1 1, Bogert, cf, 4 2 2 2, Redmond, 2b, 4 1 2 0, Stickney, rf, 1 2 0 0, Stroschein, p, 1 0 0 1, Mortensen, cr, 0 1 0 0, Banks, c, 2 0 0 0, Kvach, cr, 0 1 0 0, Stolley, dh, 3 1 2 1, Strellner, ss, 0 0 0 0, Roth, 1b, 2 2 0 2, Wyant, 3b, 4 1 2 1. Totals 26 12 9 8.

Prairie       200 010 0 -  3  7 4
Linn-Mar    010 614 x - 12 9 1

Adams, Dean (4), Davison (6), Steffens (6) and Pond. Stroschein and Banks. W - Stroschein (2-0). L - Adams (1-3). 2B - Carlson, Bogert, Redmond 2. SB - Velvick, Carlson 2.