Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Xavier softball team rebounds against Jeff

A new day made a world of difference for the Xavier softball team Wednesday.

The Saints were drubbed by Jefferson, 17-4, in the first game of their Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader that began Tuesday night, but they rebounded for a 6-3 victory over the J-Hawks Wednesday in the rain-delayed twin-bill at Xavier.

Charlotte Richards and Steph Wehr belted home runs and had three RBIs for Xavier in the 6-3 victory. Keera Ball and Wehr had two hits and Ball scored two runs.

Maria Steffen tossed six shutout innings for the Saints before Jefferson rallied for three runs in the seventh inning.

Xavier raised its records to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the MVC. Jefferson, which is ranked No 5 in Class 5A, fell to 4-2 overall and 4-2 in the league.

Winker will be UI lecturer, ad salesman

Mike Winker will be leaving Xavier High School in a few weeks with 30 state titles in the trophy case and a lifetime of memories as the only athletic director in school history.

Winker is justifiably proud of all the success, but says he's proudest of the students, coaches, families and administrators who have given the Saints a chance to compete at such a high level.

Winker, 51, will retire from Xavier in June and has accepted two jobs that undoubtedly will keep him busy in the years to come. He'll be a lecturer at the University of Iowa in the Sports Management and Recreation Department, and he'll also serve as sales director in Eastern Iowa for the Varsity Group, a company that sells advertising for high school scoreboards.

"I'm excited about both ventures," he said last week. "I've kind of got the best of both worlds. Both of them are going to keep me in contact with the high schools. I'm excited about both opportunities, I'm excited about the change."

Winker decided it was time in his life to step away from those incredibly long hours as a high school athletic director, days that often stretch from early in the morning until late at night. He announced his retirement last May to give Xavier a chance to conduct a thorough search for his replacement to keep the department functioning at a high level.

Steve Lueck, currently the principal and activities director at St. Mary's High School in Storm Lake, will officially succeed Winker on July 1, although he's expected in town a little earlier than that.

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Xavier softball beats Center Point

The Xavier softball team topped Center Point-Urbana, 10-1, in 4 1/2 innings Saturday afternoon in a non-conference game at Xavier.

The game was supposed to be part of the Jefferson tournament, but the teams decided to play at Xavier after the Jefferson tournament was canceled due to wet grounds.

Keera Ball went 2-for-3 with a single, double, walk and three runs for the Saints (1-4). Hannah Helms and Charlotte Richards were 2-for-3 with a single, double and three RBIs.

Jamie Feltes and Katie Langholz went 2-for-2. Ellie Malecek got the victory.

Center Point-Urbana is ranked No. 5 in Class 3A. Xavier is unranked in Class 4A.

Xavier softball swept by IC West

IOWA CITY - The Xavier softball team lost both games of its doubleheader against Iowa City West Tuesday in the season opener.

Iowa City West captured the first game, 10-0, and took the nightcap, 7-4, in the Mississippi Valley Conference games.