Xavier Baseball

Mack Mattke wins $1,000 Adenhart Scholarship

Mack Mattke of Xavier High School has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 Nick Adenhart Memorial Scholarship, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Kernels Foundation announced Thursday.

Mattke is a senior on the Xavier baseball team. He was selected for the $1,000 scholarship based on his school activities, academic record and baseball accomplishments.

Mattke will honored during a pre-game ceremony this Sunday at Veterans Memorial Stadium before the Kernels play Beloit at 2:05 p.m.

Adenhart pitched for the Kernels in 2006 and was a rising star in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He was tragically killed at age 22 by a drunk driver on April 9, 2009, just a few hours after his season debut for the Angels on the mound.

Mack Mattke and his parents, Mark and Inez, served as a Kernels host family in 2006 and Mack had an opportunity to know Adenhart when he was with the Kernels.

Adenhart's family established the scholarship in Nick's memory.

Mattke plans to attend Purdue University, where he will study engineering and join the baseball team as a walk-on who can pitch, play first base and catch.

Schemmel helps Saints top Clinton

Eric Schemmel made his first start on the mound a good one for the Xavier Saints Wednesday night.

Schemmel allowed only four hits in six innings as the Saints topped Clinton, 5-2, in a non-conference ballgame at Ken Charipar Field.

The Saints (13-9) scored three runs in the first inning and two more in the third. Schemmel made them stand up, with relief from Mitch Keller in the final frame.

“It was my first start and I was nervous at first, but I settled in and as long as I kept hitting my spots and my team was making the plays, it went fine,” said Schemmel, a junior. “I really had to focus on keeping the ball down."

Jordan Ratz went 2-for-3 for Xavier with an RBI double in the first inning and an RBI triple in the third.

“It felt good to keep the hitting going," said Ratz. “I went up there looking for a good pitch to hit and they gave me two.”

Adam Ebensberger touched Schemmel for a two-run double in the third inning for Clinton (12-11), but that was it for the River King offense.

“Eric pitched well,” said Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel, who is Eric Schemmel’s uncle. “The key was that he threw strikes and didn’t walk a batter. We got some timely hits and that was what it took.”

Xavier visits Jefferson Friday for a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at 5 p.m.

CLINTON (2)
Morehead, dh/1b, 3 1 1 0, Ebensberger, c, 2 0 1 2, Judge, 3 0 0 0, Driscoll cf, 2 0 0 0, Collender, lf, 2 0 0 0, Stumbaugh, ss/p, 3 0 1 0, A.Caldwell, p/ss, 3 0 1 0, D.Caldwell, 3b, 3 1 0 0, Nolan, 1b, 3 0 0 0. Totals 26 2 4 2.

XAVIER (5)
Grimm, cf, 4 0 0 0, Woods, ss, 4 0 1 0, Pick, dh, 3 1 0 0, Schemmel, p, 0 0 0 0, Keller, p, 0 0 0 0, Mattke, 1b, 4 1 1 0, Brown, 3b, 2 1 1 1, Ratz, rf, 3 2 2 2, Meaney, lf, 3 0 1 0, Hammerberg, c, 2 0 1 0, Helms, c, 0 0 0 0, St. Andrews, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Tipton, 2b, 0 0 0 0. Totals 27 5 7 3.

Clinton    002 000 0 - 2 4 3
Xavier     302 000 x - 5 7 2

A. Caldwell, Stumbaugh (6) and Ebensberger; Schemmel, Keller (7) and Hammersberg, Helms (7).  W - Schemmel. L - A.Caldwell. S - Keller. 2B - Ebensberger, Ratz. 3B - Ratz.

Saints pound Bettendorf, 15-5

BETTENDORF - The Xavier Saints shared the wealth in their 15-5 victory over Bettendorf Tuesday night in a non-conference baseball game at Bettendorf.

Everybody in Xavier's starting lineup and at least one hit and scored at least one run in the five-inning contest.

Jordan Ratz went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs. Mitch St. Andrews was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Ben Helms had two hits for the Saints (12-8).

Xavier scored six runs in the second inning and scored six more runs in the third for an early 12-0 lead. The Saints finished with 15 hits.

Xavier         066 30 - 15 15 3
Bettendorf   001 40 -   5  6 2

Ratz helps Saints split with City High

IOWA CITY - Iowa City High did almost everything right Monday evening. They came up with big hits, had solid pitching and made plays on defense.

But all of that went down the drain with one costly mistake: They made Jordan Ratz a little angry.

City High intentionally walked Xavier’s Zach Brown in order to face Ratz in the top of the seventh inning with the Saints trailing by on run in the second game of their Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader.

With the bases loaded, Ratz unleashed on the first pitch he saw and hit a two-run single that helped the Saints defeat the Little Hawks, 5-4, at Mercer Park.

City High took the first game, 8-5.

Ratz was in the on-deck circle taking practice cuts when he witnessed the Little Hawks intentionally send Brown to first. He walked to the plate with conviction.

“I wanted to make them pay,” said Ratz, “and also just make the most of the opportunity. I was looking first-pitch fastball all the way. It felt great.”

Ratz scorched Little Hawk pitcher Mitch Wieland’s first pitch over the first baseman’s head down the right field line, scoring Adam Pick and pinch runner Reggie Schulte for a 5-4 lead. Mitch Keller recorded the win as he shut City High down in the bottom of the seventh.

“There were a few times where we blew opportunities or botched a catch or something,” said Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel. “But I am really glad that Ratz was ready to swing on that first pitch, that was a key hit.”

Xavier (11-8, 8-6) also got a steady performance out of starting pitcher Tyler Hines, who allowed only five Little Hawk hits over five innings.

“He pitched a great game,” said Ratz. “He kept us in it the entire game down to the end.”

Hines, who has a quick fastball, gave up his usual closing duties to take the starting gig on Monday.

“That’s the first time he has started,” said Schemmel. “Usually he is our closer but he did a really nice job out there. That probably just earned him another start in the future.”

These two high-octane teams proved to be quite a match. Xavier put a run on the board in the first inning of the nightcap when Corbin Woods walked with the bases loaded and one out, but Wieland got out of the jam and no further damage was done.

City High answered with power. Little Hawk first baseman Josh Crosby sent a lumbering two-run home run over the center field fence, putting City High up 2-1.

Xavier was the beneficiary of multiple City High errors. The Saints scored a run in the third and one more in the fourth due to Little Hawk blunders, putting them ahead 3-2.

Then in the sixth Crosby struck again, smashing a two-run double over the left fielder's head to give City High a 4-3 lead. That set up Ratz’s heroics.

The opening game had a fairytale ending, but not for Xavier. Despite the Saints scoring three in the first inning, City High won.

With the score knotted at five in the bottom of the sixth, the wheels fell off for Xavier. There were runners on second and third for Crosby, who hit a sharp ground ball to Woods at shortstop. Woods fielded it cleanly and made the throw to first baseman Adam Pick.

City High runner Ryan Duncan broke for home right as Pick got the ball, and Xavier catcher Ben Helms let Pick’s throw get away. Two runs scored and City High (16-7, 11-3) took a 7-5 lead. The next batter was pitcher Austin Mrstik and he smashed a solo home run over the right field fence for a little insurance in the late-inning win.

But Xavier ended up stealing the second game with a little late-game magic of its own.

“Against Iowa City West, we had a chance to win both of those games with just one hit here or there and we didn’t get it. So it was nice to do that tonight,” said Schemmel.

GAME ONE

XAVIER (5)
Grimm, cf, 4 1 1 0, Woods, ss, 2 2 0 0, Mattke, p, 3 0 0 0, Brown, 3b, 4 1 3 1, Pick, 1b, 3 0 2 1, Harriot, rf, 4 0 2 1, Hammerberg, dh, 4 0 0 0, Meaney, lf, 3 1 2 1, St. Andrews, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Helms, c, 0 0 0 0. Totals 30 5 10 4.

IOWA CITY HIGH (8)
Frakes, 2b, 3 1 3 1, Duncan, cf, 4 1 1 0, Wieland, ss, 4 1 0 0, Crosby, dh, 4 0 0 0, Hassler, 3b, 0 0 0 0, Mrstik, p, 3 2 2 1, Stika, c, 3 1 1 0, Simpson, rf, 4 1 2 0, Kenney, 1b, 2 1 1 0, Mills, lf, 3 0 1 1.  Totals 30 8 11 3.

Xavier      301 001 0 - 5 10 4
City High  023 003 x - 8 11 2

Mattke and Helms. Mrstik, Duncan (6) and Stika. W - Duncan. L - Mattke. 2B - Frakes (2), Stika. 3B - Mrstik. HR - Meaney, Mrstik. SB - Woods.

GAME TWO

XAVIER (5)
Grimm, cf, 3 1 1 0, Meaney, lf, 4 0 0 0, Pick, dh, 4 2 2 0, Mattke, 1b, 2 1 2 0, Woods, ss, 2 0 0 1, Brown, 3b, 4 0 0 0, Ratz, rf, 4 0 2 2, Hines, p, 2 0 1 0, Keller, p, 1 0 0 0, St. Andrews, 2b, 4 1 0 0, Hammerberg, c, 0 0 0 0. Totals 30 5 8 3.

IOWA CITY HIGH (4)
Frakes, 2b, 4 1 1 0, Duncan, cf, 4 1 1 0, Wieland, p, 3 1 1 0, Crosby, 1b, 2 1 2 3, Mrstik, ss, 3 0 0 0, Stika, lf, 2 0 0 0, Simpson, rf, 3 0 0 0, Hassler, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Reineke, c, 2 0 1 0, Kenney, dh, 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 4 6 3.

Xavier        101 100 2 - 5 8 1
City High    200 101 0 - 4 6 3

Hines, Keller (6) and Hammerberg. Wieland, Duncan (7) and Reineke. W - Keller. L - Duncan. 2B - Mattke, Wieland, Crosby. HR - Crosby.