Linn-Mar Baseball

Linn-Mar drops pair to Pleasant Valley

The Linn-Mar baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Pleasant Valley on Saturday, 4-2 and 11-3, at the Linn-Mar field.

The Lions (5-5) trailed 4-0 going into the bottom of the seventh inning of the opener and rallied for two runs, but the rally ended there. Keaton Blackford went 2-for-3 for Linn-Mar and drove in a run.

Pleasant Valley scored seven runs in the second inning of the nightcap and led 10-0 after three innings. Austin Stroschein drove in two runs for the Lions in Game 2.

Game 1

PLEASANT VALLEY (4)

Addelia, ss, 4 1 1 1, Cobler, lf, 4 1 1 1, Trewyn, 3b, 3 0 1 1, Fink, dh, 1 0 0 0, Clark, cf, 3 0 0 0, Kress, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Sheeder, c, 3 0 1 0, Hanna, rf, 3 1 1 0, Kinning, 2b, 2 1 1 1, Ennis, ph, 1 0 0 0. Totals 27 4 7 4.

LINN-MAR (2)

Greve, dh, Kvach, 2b, 0 0 0 0, 3 0 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Redmond, cf, 3 0 0 0, Stickney, lf, 3 0 0 0, Stroschein, 3b, 2 1 0 0, Bogert, rf, 3 1 1 0, Blackford, p, 3 0 2 1, Banks, c, 3 0 1 1, Strellner, ss, 2 0 0 0.Totals 25 2 4 2.

Pleasant Valley   130 000 0 - 4 7 0

Linn-Mar          000 000 2 - 2 4 1

Neuhaus and Sheeder. Blackford and Banks. W - Neuhaus. L - Blackford. 2B - Sheeder, Hanna, Blackford.

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Stroschein, Banks power Lions by Bettendorf

Austin Stroschein and Austin Banks drove in three runs apiece Friday night as Linn-Mar defeated Bettendorf, 8-1, in the first game of a doubleheader at Linn-Mar.

The second game was rained out.

Justin Wyant struck out six batters in 5 1/3 innings to get the victory. He allowed three hits and four walks.

Mitchell Stickney went 3-for-3. Stroschein was 2-for-2 and scored three runs for the Lions (2-2).

BETTENDORF (1)

Malsam, 2b, 1 1 0 0, Kellums, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Clearman, 3b, 4 0 1 0, Beals, ss, 4 0 0 0, Albert, c,  3 0 1 1, Klabunde, p, 3 0 1 0, Hill, rf, 1 0 0 0, Walters, cf/p, 1 0 0 0, Kelly, p, 0 0 0 0, Ulrich, dh, 2 0 0 0, Muilenberg, lf, 3 0 0 0, Wernentin, 1b, 0 0 0 0, Broyles, rf/cf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 25 1 3 1.

LINN-MAR (8)
Kvach, 2b, 4 1 0 0, Bogert, rf, 4 1 1 0, Redmond, cf, 2 2 1 0, Stickney, lf, 3 1 3 0, Stroschein, 3b, 2 3 2 3, Banks, c, 3 0 1 3, Roth, dh, 3 0 1 0, Stolley, 1b, 2 0 1 1, Strellner, ss, 3 0 0 0, Kane 0 0 0 0. Totals 27 8 10 7.

Betendorf 100 000 0 - 1 3 0
Linn-Mar  003 014 x - 8 10 2

Klabunde, Walters (5), Kelley (6) and Albert. Wyant, Greve (6) and Banks. W - Wyant. L - Klabunde. 2B - Banks. SB - Malsam, Walters, Wernentin, Kvach.

Mattke delivers the long ball for Saints

Mack Mattke is a big, strong guy at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, but he's always had trouble hitting home runs for the Xavier High School baseball team.

Until now.

Mattke slugged a three-run homer Wednesday night and hit a game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh inning as the eighth-ranked Saints clipped Linn-Mar, 9-8, for third place in the Metro Baseball Tournament at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Mattke hit .374 as a sophomore in 2010, but didn't hit any homers. He climbed to .413 last season as a junior, but still didn't knock any out of the park.

Now he's slugged two homers in two days. He collected a four-bagger against Prairie in the semifinals Tuesday night, then hit a mammoth shot to left field against Linn-Mar.

The bats are deader this year due to new bat restrictions, but Mattke has been swinging a lively stick. He credits a regimen of lifting weights, getting in shape and losing about 20 pounds from last season.

"I'm a lot stronger," he said. "I was about 240 last year, I'm at about 220 now. That might have helped a little bit too."

Mattke crushed a three-run homer to give Xavier a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Saints kept marching across home plate and had an 8-2 advantage after four innings, but Linn-Mar rallied and tied the game at 8-8 with six runs over the last three frames.

Mattke came up in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and Mitch St. Andrews on first base with a walk. Mattke walloped a shot to deep left-center and St. Andrews raced around the bases with the winning run.

"It's not really getting the hit, it's getting the win," said Mattke. "That's the thing I think of."

Mattke got his game-winning hit an inning after being spiked on the ankle by a Linn-Mar runner while playing first base. Mattke fell to the ground in pain after getting spiked, but picked himself up and stayed around to get the clutch double.

Mattke will be headed to Purdue University this summer to study engineering and will be joining the Purdue baseball team as an invited walk-on as a pitcher and first baseman.

Mattke stopped by the Purdue baseball office when he visited the campus to meet the coach and let him know he was interested in joining the team. Purdue Coach Doug Schreiber didn't know who he was and didn't know a 6-foot-6 ballplayer would be stopping by that day.

"No. No idea," said Mattke. "My dad and I just showed up at his door and walked into his office."

Mattke was not invited to join the team during that initial visit, but Schreiber has assured him that he's welcome to compete for a spot on the team this fall and winter before the roster is finalized prior to the 2013 campaign. Purdue won the Big Ten this spring and is top seeded in this week's conference tournament with a 41-12 record.

"I know it's going to be a hard road," he said, "but I'm willing to do that to play at a high level."

Corbin Woods went 3-for-5 for the Saints (2-1) and pitched four good innings before moving to shortstop with an 8-2 lead. He didn't get the win, because Linn-Mar rallied to tie the game. Tyler Hines got the victory in relief, even though he gave up the tying runs in the top of the seventh.

Austin Banks hit a two-run homer for Linn-Mar (1-2).

LINN-MAR (8)
Kvach, 2b, 4 1 0 1, Bogert, lf, 3 1 1 1, Redmond, cf, 4 0 0 0, Stickney, rf, 3 1 2 1, Stroschein, p/3b, 4 1 1 0, Banks, c, 3 1 1 2, Meier, cr, 0 1 0 0, Wyant, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Blackford, p, 1 0 1 1, Digmann, cr, 0 2 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Meier, pr, 0 0 0 0, Strellner, ss, 1 0 1 0, Roth, ph, 1 0 1 1. Totals 29 8 9 7.

XAVIER (9)
Grimm, cf, 5 1 1 0, Woods, p/ss, 5 0 3 0, Harriott, cr, 0 2 0 0, Mattke, 1b, 3 1 2 4, Herder, pr, 0 1 0 0, Ratz, rf, 3 0 0 0, Pick, dh, 4 1 2 2, Keller, ss, 0 0 0 0, Scott, p, 0 0 0 0, Hines, p, 0 0 0 0, Brown, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Hammerberg, c, 4 0 1 0, Dlouhy, cf, 0 0 0 0, Meaney, lf, 3 1 1 0, St. Andrews 3 2 2 0. Totals 33 9 12 6.

Linn-Mar    000 213 2 - 8  9 1
Xavier       320 300 1 - 9 12 2

Stroschein, Blackford (4) and Banks. Woods, Scott (5), Pick (6), Hines (7) and Hammerberg. W - Hines. L - Blackford. 2B - Blackford, Mattke. 3B - Pick, Meaney. HR - Banks, Mattke. SB - Bogert 2, Harriott, Meaney.

Lloyd tames Lions; No.1 Cougars reach finals

Adam Lloyd did not see Linn-Mar score 15 runs against Jefferson in the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament Monday night, but he heard about it.

It didn't faze him a bit.

Lloyd tossed a two-hitter Tuesday night as top-ranked Kennedy tamed the Lions, 12-2, in five innings in the semifinals at the Linn-Mar Field.

The Cougars (2-0) will face Prairie (2-0) in the championship game Wednesday at approximately 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Linn-Mar (1-1) will meet Xavier (1-1) in the third place game at the stadium at 5 p.m.

Linn-Mar scored 11 runs in the first inning against Jefferson Monday night and hit line drives all over the park. Most of the Cougars watched that game with rapt attention, but not Lloyd.

"No, I wasn't here for that," he said.

Lloyd arrived later Monday night, in time to play left field for Kennedy in its 4-0 victory over Washington in the first round, but he heard all about the hard-hitting Lions from his teammates, coaches and a friend at Jefferson.

"I knew they swing the bats well," he said. "I've had varsity experience before. I just tried to work the outside of the plate."

The Cougars got off to a shaky start on defense in the first inning and helped Linn-Mar take a 2-0 lead, but Henry stayed calm. Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer took a slow walk to the
mound in the middle of the mayhem to say a few soothing words to his pitcher, catcher and infielders.

"Coach Hoyer always stresses that," said Lloyd, a senior lefthander. "He's big on whatever happens, just flush it and move on to the next pitch and take it a pitch at a time. I was just really working on that."

Lloyd took control on the mound, giving Kennedy's patient hitters a chance to get the Cougars back in the game. It didn't take long.

Kennedy scored four runs in the second inning, four more runs in the third inning, three more in the fourth inning and made it 12-2 in the top of the fifth, setting the stage for the mercy rule to take effect after the bottom of the fifth.

The Cougars drew nine walks and stole 10 bases, exposing Linn-Mar's inability to stop a well-executed running game. The Cougars collected only five hits, but made them count.

Cody Bell hit a two-run double in the second inning to snap a 2-2 tie and give Kennedy the lead for good. Devon Jacobus and Chico Lizarraga also had two RBIs.

Logan Ambrosy went 2-for-4 and stole three bases, but was nabbed trying to steal home in the fourth inning, the only time the Cougars were caught stealing all night.

Hoyer said he was thrilled with the victory.

"To come into their place with as strong a team as they've got and to win the way we won, yeah, I'm extremely proud of the club," he said.

Alex Hayden pitched a strong game for Kennedy Monday night with 14 strikeouts, then Lloyd followed with his two-hitter. The Cougars plan to throw Nick Appleget, another experienced senior, in the championship game against Prairie.

Hoyer applauded Lloyd for his work.

"We made some mistakes defensively, but he didn't let that bother him," said Hoyer. "He's a three-year starter, he's a veteran, he knows what it means to move on to the next pitch. It was great for our younger players to watch him out there."

Linn-Mar committed seven errors in five innings. The Linn-Mar pitchers threw five wild pitches and were called for four balks in addition to walking eight batters.

KENNEDY (12)
Jahlas, cf, 3 2 1 1, Ambrosy, rf, 4 2 2 1, Bell, 1b, 3 0 1 2, Unash, pr, 0 0 0 0, Devon Jacobus, 2b, 2 0 1 2, Maiers, dh, 4 0 0 0, Staton, pr, 0 1 0 0, Lloyd, p, 0 0 0 0, Derek Jacobus, ss, 1 2 0 0, Skow, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Hayden, pr, 0 1 0 0, Lizarraga, c, 2 0 0 2, Seubert, cr, 0 1 0 0, A.Johnson, lf, 1 3 0 0. Totals 23 12 5 8.

LINN-MAR (2)
Kvach, 2b, 2 1 0 0, Bogert, rf, 2 0 0 0, Redmond, cf, 3 1 1 1, Stickney, lf, 3 0 1 0, Stroschein, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Banks, c, 1 0 0 0, Digmann, cr, 0 0 0 0, Roth, dh, 1 0 0 0, Greve, p, 0 0 0 0, Wyant, p, 0 0 0 0, Blackford, p, 0 0 0 0, Stolley, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Strellner, ss, 2 0 0 0. Totals 18 2 2 1.

Kennedy    044 31 - 12  5 2
Linn-Mar     200 00 -  2  2 7

Lloyd and Lizarraga. Greve, Wyant (3), Blackford (4) and Banks. W - Lloyd. L - Greve. 2B - Bell, Redmond. SB - Jahlas 2, Ambrosy 3, Bell, Devon Jacobus, Derek Jacobus 2, Seubert.