The Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School baseball team prides itself on good pitching and tight defense, but there wasn't much of either for the Cougars on Tuesday night.

The top-ranked Cougars walked 20 batters and committed eight errors during their Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader against No.5 Iowa City West and were danger of being swept away until Cody Bell stepped to the plate.

Bell smashed a towering two-run homer over the scoreboard in left field to snap a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning and give the Cougars an 8-6 victory in the nightcap, salvaging a split of a sloppy twinbill at the Kennedy diamond.

Iowa City West (6-2, 1-1) won the opener, 16-12.

Bell went 4-for-4 in the nightcap with a single, two doubles, the two-run homer and four RBIs to lift the Cougars (6-1, 1-1). His batting prowess helped make amends for his pitching woes in the opener, which saw him allow seven runs in four innings.

Kennedy pitchers walked 14 batters in the first game, a highly unusual total for a Bret Hoyer ballclub. Toss in the four errors and the Cougars had problems all game, despite plating 12 runs of their own. Bell and

Devon Jacobus homered in the opener, and Bell's home run in the nightcap gave him three in the last three games.

Kennedy trailed 6-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning of the second game, but the Cougars plated two runs to get even. It stayed tied until Bell hit his bell-ringer in the bottom of the sixth.

Nick Appleget allowed six runs in six innings, but got the victory when Bell delivered. Zach Johnson got the save.

Game 1

IOWA CITY WEST (16)

Reiners, cf, 4 3 1 0, McDowell, lf, 0 0 0 0, Siems, dh, 4 3 1 0, Yoder, p, 0 0 0 0, Searls, p, 0 0 0 0, Scott, ss, 0 0 0 0, Nash, cr/cf, 0 2 0 0, Bonner, 2b, 3 3 2 1, Doyle, 1b, 4 2 2 2, Harder, pr, 0 1 0 0, Baker, c, 2 0 1 3, Crimmins, ss/p, 3 0 0 1, Slocum, ph, 0 0 0 0, Allen, lf/p, 2 1 1 2, Wilson, pr/lf, 1 0 1 1, Adkins, 3b, 3 0 0 1, Grimsman, rf, 5 1 1 0. Totals 31 16 10 11.

KENNEDY (12)

Jahlas, cf, 4 2 3 1, Ambrosy, rf/p, 4 1 0 0, Oltmann, rf, 0 0 0 0, Bell, p/1b, 3 2 1 2, Unash, cr, 0 1 0 0, Devon Jacobus, 2b, 2 3 2 4, Skow, 3b, 4 0 0 0, Derek Jacobus, ss, 2 1 0 0, Hayden, dh, 4 0 2 3, Maiers, c, 0 0 0 0, Staton, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Z. Johnson, rf, 1 0 0 0, Smetzer, p, 0 0 0 0, King, p, 1 0 0 0, A. Johnson, lf, 4 2 2 1. Totals 32 12 10 11.

IC West     520 053 1 - 16 10 2

Kennedy     320 022 3 - 12 10 4

Yoder, Searls (5), Crimmins (6), Allen (7) and Baker. Bell, Ambrosy (5), Smetzer (5), Jurgensen (6), King (7) and Maiers. W - Yoder. L - Bell. 2B - Reiners, Doyle, A. Johnson. HR - Aller, Bell, Devon Jacobus.

Game 2

IOWA CITY WEST (6)

Reiners, cf/p, 3 1 1 1, Siems, dh, 3 1 2 2, Grimsman, p/cf, 0 0 0 0, Bonner, 2b, 3 1 1 0, Doyle, 1b, 3 1 0 0, Baker, c, 4 0 2 0, Wilson, cr, 0 1 0 0, Crimmins, ss, 3 1 0 0, Aller, lf, 2 0 0 0, Harder, pr, 0 0 0 0, Yoder, 3b, 3 0 1 1, Nash, rf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 26 6 7 4.

KENNEDY (8)

Jahlas, cf, 4 1 1 0, Ambrosy, rf, 2 3 1 0, Bell, 1b, 4 3 4 4, Devon Jacobus, 2b/3b, 1 1 1 0, Smetzer, pr, 0 0 0 0, Skow, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Seubert, pr, 0 0 0 0, Unash, pr, 0 0 0 0, Z. Johnson, p, 0 0 0 0, Derek Jacobus, ss, 3 0 0 0, Hayden, dh/2b, 3 0 1 1, Appleget, p, 0 0 0 0, A. Johnson, lf, 1 0 0 0, Lizarraga, c, 1 0 0 0, Lloyd, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 22 8 9 5.

Iowa City West   210 120 0 - 6 7 0

Kennedy          301 022 x - 8 9 4

Grimsman, Reiners (6) and Baker. Appleget, Z. Johnson (7) and Lizarraga. W - Appleget (2-0). L - Reiners. S - Johnson. 2B - Siems, Bell, Hayden. HR - Siems, Bell.