Jefferson Baseball

Jellison, Dee lead J-Hawks to sweep

One guy knocked in the winning run in both games, the other got off his sickbed to pitch his second complete game in as many starts.

And Jefferson snapped a four-game losing streak.

Dylan Jellison's bad-hop single gave Jefferson an 11-10, eight-inning win in the opener, and Jordan scattered five hits in a 4-3 win in the nightcap as the J-Hawks swept Cedar Falls on Friday night at the J-Hawk baseball diamond.

Jellison had five hits in the twin-bill and scored three runs. His sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave the J-Hawks a 4-2 lead and plated what proved to be the game-winning run.

"I haven't had many opportunities to drive in runs," said Jellison, the J-Hawks' scrappy lead-off hitter. "It's good to get two wins, and it's good to finally have a zero in that (error) column."

Jefferson (5-10, 4-4 MVC) has been plagued by errors, but had only two Friday night. Both came in the opener.

"I'd have to say the defense was what really helped me out tonight," said Dee, who struck out five.

Dee was sick Wednesday that he did not make the trip with the J-Hawks to Davenport West.

"Every time I ate something I vomited," he said. Tests were run Wednesday to check for a possible ulcer or gluten problem, Dee said. Those results have not come back.

Dee said he spent Thursday on the couch and wasn't sure how long he could go Friday night.

"I told coach I could go a couple of innings," Dee said. "Then we got to the fourth and my elbow started tiring. I told coach in the fifth to get a guy ready, but after the fifth I told him I'm going the rest of the way."

Cedar Falls (7-8, 1-7) scratched out a run in the sixth on Clint Fletcher's RBI single, but Dee set the Tigers down in order in the seventh for his second straight win. He beat Washington last Friday night, 5-1.

"That was a gutsy pitching performance," Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba said. "It was a tribute to him to be able to keep the ball down like he did."

The J-Hawks won a wild opener that featured four home runs when Jellison bounced a grounder toward the hole at short that took a crazy hop over the glove of Cedar Falls shortstop Colby Creger and scored courtesy runner Ben Koering from second base. It was Jellison's third hit of the game.

"I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could," Jellison said.

"I am so proud of Dylan Jellison," Kuba said. "He really made a commitment to baseball this year and put in a lot of hard work and it really paid off tonight. He came through for the team, but more importantly, he came through for himself."

Sam Techau's three-run home run in the first inning staked the J-Hawks to a 4-2 lead.

Jeff Daniels' two-run double in the sixth inning gave Cedar Falls an 8-5 lead.

Chance Tiedtke's two-run home run in the Jefferson sixth cut the lead to 8-7, but Cedar Falls responded with a two-run home run by Shawn Hagarty in the top of the seventh that gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead.

But Hagarty misplayed Ky Kramer's fly ball to center leading off the Jefferson seventh for a two-base error and Jellison followed with a single. Christian Knox then lined a game-tying, three-run home run off the scoreboard in left-center field.

"That was awesome," Jellison said of the blast.

It was almost as awesome as winning a pair of games.

"It definitely was critical to get these wins," Jellison said "Now we have to go get two more Monday night."

Jefferson hosts Linn-Mar on Monday. The Lions crushed the J-Hawks 15-2 in five innings to open the season in the Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament back on May 21.

"It's good to get to .500 in the conference," Kuba said. "It should give us some confidence coming into Monday when we play a very good Linn-Mar team. We're going to have to bring our A-plus game, because our A game won't be good enough."

GAME ONE

CEDAR FALLS (10)
Dylan Paup, cf-rf, 3 2 0 0, Jared Deines, 1b, 4 3 4 0, Luke Mozena, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Shawn Hagarty, cf, 3 1 2 2, Jared Farley, 3b, 3 1 0 0, Clint Fletcher, lf, 3 1 1 1, JT Sole, c, 3 0 0 0, Jeff Daniels, rf-2b, 4 0 1 2, Michael Kuntz, p, 3 1 1 1, Jacob Seehase, cr, 0 0 0 0, Nick Hagedorn, p, 1 0 1 0, Colby Creger, ss, 5 1 1 0. Totals 32 10 10 6.

JEFFERSON (11)
Dylan Jellison, 2b, 5 1 3 1, Christian Knox, cf, 4 2 2 3, Jordan Dee, 1b, 4 2 2 0, Austin Goodell, p-rf, 3 1 1 1, Aaron Gruwell, cr, 0 1 0 0, Chance Tiedtke, lf, 3 1 1 3, Sam Techau, 3b, 4 1 1 3, Colten Jourdan, c, 4 0 1 0, Ben Koering, cr, 0 1 0 0, Layne Sullivan, rf-p, 2 0 0 0, Dylan Wright, p, 1 0 0 0, Ky Kramer, ss, 4 1 0 0. Totals 34 11 11 11.

Cedar Falls     200 213 10 --  10  10   5
Jefferson      401 002 31 --   11  11  2
(Two outs when winning run scored)

Kuntz, Hagedorn (7) and Sole. Goodell, Wright (6), Sullivan (8) and Jourdan. W - Sullivan. L - Hagedorn. 2B - Daniels, Kuntz, Knox. HR - Hagarty, Knox, Tiedtke, Techau. SB - .

GAME TWO

CEDAR FALLS (3)
Paup, lf, 3 0 2 0, Deines, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Hagarty, cf, 2 1 1 0, Farley, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Fletcher, dh, 2 1 1 1, Creger, p, 0 0 0 0, Sole, c, 3 1 1 2, Daniels, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Mozena, ss, 3 0 0 0, Kuntz, rf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 24 3 5 3.

JEFFERSON (4)
Jellison, 2b, 3 2 2 1, Knox, cf, 2 0 0 0, Dee, p, 3 0 1 1, Gruwell, cr, 0 0 0 0, Tiedtke, lf, 2 0 0 0, Techau, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Jourdan, c, 3 1 2 0, Koering, cr, 0 0 0 0, Wright, 1b, 3 1 1 0, Kramer, ss, 2 0 0 0. Totals 23 4 6 2.

Cedar Falls      010 101 0 --  3  5  2
Jefferson        101 200 x --  4  6  0

Creger and Sole. Dee and Jourdan. W - Dee. L - Creger. 2B - Paup, Jellison. SB - Hagarty, Fletcher, Gruwell.

J-Hawks drop 4th straight

DAVENPORT -- The third night was not the charm Wednesday for Jefferson's baseball team.

The J-Hawks scored three runs in the top of the first inning, gave back four in the bottom of the frame and were beaten by Davenport West, 6-4, in a non-conference game.

It was the fourth straight loss in three nights for the J-Hawks (3-10), who lost a pair against Iowa City High on Monday and an extra-inning game to Pleasant Valley on Tuesday.

"We just have to put seven innings together," said Jefferson senior Chance Tiedtke, who was 1-for-4. "We have to start thinking that the other team is not going to come back on us, and we have to keep hammering the ball."

Jefferson used four hits and a West (5-7) error to score three runs in the first inning. Colten Jourdan had an RBI double and Sam Techau a run-scoring single.

But the J-Hawks managed only two hits over the next five innings and fell behind, 6-3. They scored a run on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh, but left two runners on base.

"We got three runs in the first but nothing in between," Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba said. "We need to get a lot more aggressive and get ready for Cedar Falls on Friday."

Jefferson hosts Cedar Falls in a Mississippi Conference doubleheader Friday.

"We have to keep our heads up and stay positive," Tiedtke said. "We are going to be hard to beat when we put seven innings of ball together."

Junior Ky Kramer pitched six strong innings for Jefferson, allowing six hits and three earned runs. While he struck out only two, Kramer issued only one base on balls. Control had been an issue for Jefferson pitchers in the last three games, when they issued 20 bases on balls in 23 innings.

"That was my best outing," Kramer said. "My curveball was the best I've ever thrown it. I was just trying to throw strikes."

Jefferson again had problems fielding the ball, committing four errors.

"(Kramer) did a nice job," Kuba said. "He had much better command and kept the ball down. He pitched with confidence. We just didn't help him out."

JEFFERSON (4)
Dylan Jellison, 2b, 4 2 1 0, Christian Knox, cf, 4 1 1 0, Austin Goodell, rf, 4 0 0 1, Chance Tiedtke, lf, 3 0 1 0, Colten Jourdan, c, 4 0 1 1, Aaron Gruwell, cr, 0 1 0 0, Sam Techau, 3b, 2 0 1 1, Dylan Wright, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Ky Kramer p-ss, 1 0 0 0, Layne Sullivan, cr, 0 0 0 0, Ben Koering ss-p, 1 0 1 0. Totals 26 4 7 3.

DAVENPORT WEST (6)
Vinny Cannavo, ss, 4 1 0 0, Nolan Clark, 2b, 3 1 1 0, Alex Riessen, 3 3 3 1, Andew Wiese, 1b, 3 1 2 2, Shawn Simmons, dh, 2 0 0 1, Brandon Wheeler, lf, 0 0 0 0, Luke Latham, p, 1 0 0 1, Kyle Dittmer, p, 1 0 0 0, Tommy Dorton, p, 0 0 0 0, Dayne Rodriguez, 3b, 3 0 1 0, josh Thiessen, c, 3 0 0 0, Jake Black, rf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 25 6 7 5.

Jefferson                300 000 1 -- 4  7  4
Davenport West      401 010 x -- 6  7  2

Kramer, Koering (7) and Jourdan. Latham, Dittmer (4), Dorton (7) and Thiessen. W - Dittmer. L - Kramer. Sv - Dorton. 2B - Tiedtke, Jourdan. 3B - Riessen. SB - Jellison.

Pleasant Valley outlasts J-Hawks

Jefferson executed three sacrifice bunts, got two clutch two-out RBI hits and still got beat Tuesday night by Pleasant Valley in a non-conference baseball game at Jefferson.

Austin Fink's one-out RBI double in the top of the ninth inning sent Pleasant Valley past the J-Hawks, 8-7.

Jefferson (3-9) held a 5-3 lead after Ky Kramer's two-run home run in the fourth inning.

Pleasant Valley (8-4) scored twice in the sixth and single runs in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to finally put away the J-Hawks. Jefferson answered with runs in the seventh and eighth innings, both on two-out RBI singles, that tied the game. Fink retired the J-Hawks in order in the ninth to pick up the win.

Like Monday night, when the J-Hawks dropped a pair of games to Iowa City High, bases on balls and errors proved costly for Jefferson. J-Hawk pitchers issued eight bases on balls and four of them scored. A hit batsmen also scored. Jefferson had three errors and only three of Pleasant Valley's runs were earned.

"We're still battling to do the little things," Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba said. "But I thought we did a better job tonight.

"We had a little luck on our side and they had a little luck on their side and we weren't able to pull it out. This would have been a nice win to come away with."

The J-Hawks had their chances. Trailing 6-5, they had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh inning and No. 3 batter Jordan Dee at the plate. Dee struck out, but Austin Goodell followed with an infield single that tied the game. Chance Tiedtke, who had three of the J-Hawks' 11 hits, fanned to end the inning.

After Pleasant Valley scored to take a 7-6 lead in the top of the eighth, the J-Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the frame when Dylan Jellison served an RBI single into shallow left. Ben Koering, who had reached on catcher's interference, advanced to third on Jellison's hit, but was stranded their when Christian Knox flied out to right to end the inning.

"We tell the kids we don't want them to stop competing and for nine innings we gave them everything we had," Kuba said. "We put ourseleves in some situations that, hopefully, will pay dividends down the road."

Jefferson eighth grader Spencer Van Scoyoc made his second start on the mound and worked four-plus innings. He was lifted after issuing back-to-back walks leading off the Pleasant Valley fifth.

"He was around the plate a whole lot better and for the second time left with a chance to get a 'W'," Kuba said.

Kramer and Colten Jourdan were 2-for-3. Jourdan had a sacrifice fly and RBI single to knock in two runs.

Jefferson plays a JV/varsity doubleheader at Davenport West on Wednesday. The J-Hawks host Cedar Falls in an MVC doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. It is Junior J-Hawk Night.

PLEASANT VALLEY (8)
Collin Banks, lf, 4 0 0 0, John Syverud, rf, 1 0 0 0, Tanner Ennis, p-2b, 3 0 2 0, Josh Cobler, cr-rf, 0 1 0 0, LJ Redmond, lf, 1 0 0 0, Casey Addelia, ss, 2 2 0 0, Ben Trewyn, 3b, 4 1 1 1, Cory Clark, cf, 3 2 3 2, Mike Brown, rf-p-1b, 4 0 0 0, Trent Kress, 1b, 3 1 0 0, Brock Neuhaus, p, 0 0 0 0, Austin Fink, p, 1 0 1 1, Mitch Koellner, cr, 0 0 0 0, Brandon Sheeder, c, 4 1 1 0, Jordan Kinning, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Adam O'Brien, rf, 3 0 1 2. Totals 35 8 9 6.

JEFFERSON (7)
Dylan Jellison, 2b-p-2b, 4 0 1 1, Christian Knox, cf, 3 1 0 0, Jordan Dee, 1b, 5 0 1 0, Austin Goodell, rf, 5 0 1 0, Chance Tiedtke, lf, 5 2 3 0, Sam Techau, 3b-p, 3 1 0 0, Colten Joudan, dh-c, 3 1 2 2, Spencer Van Scoyoc, p, 0 0 0 0, Ky Kramer, ss, 3 1 2 2, Aaron Gruwell, pr, 0 1 0 0, Ben Koering, c-2b-3b, 2 0 1 0, Gruwell, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 33 7 11 5.

Pleasant Valley   003 002 111 --  8   9  4
Jefferson          110 300 110 --  7  11  3

Ennis, Brown (3), Neuhaus (7), Fink (8) and Sheeder. Van Scoyoc, Jellison (5), Techau (7) and Koering, Jourdan (5). W - Fink. L - Techau. 2B - Clark, Fink, O'Brien, Tiedtke. 3B - Clark. HR - Kramer. SB - Addelia 2, Trewyn, Sheeder 2, Techau.

J-Hawks swept by Little Hawks

After sweeping Washington to end last week, Jefferson had high hopes when it hosted Iowa City High in a Mississippi Valley Conference baseball doubleheader Monday.

But seven errors by the defense and 12 bases on balls by the pitching squashed thoughts of an early season turnaround.

City High swept the J-Hawks, 8-5 and 6-2, dropping Jefferson to 3-8 overall and 2-4 in the MVC. The Little Hawks improved to 9-4, 5-1.

"We let them have their outs and we let them have their runs," said Jefferson senior center fielder Christian Knox, who had four hits, including a solo home run. "If they're bamming the ball and we're not making errors, then hats off to them.

"We have to stop giving 'em runs. I know we can beat a lot of these teams we have lost to."

A big problem for Jefferson on Monday was playing from behind. City High scored three runs in the first inning of the opener and started the scoring with four runs in the third inning of the nightcap. The J-Hawks never got closer than two runs in either game.

"We got down tonight and it's tough," said Jefferson senior Colten Jourdan, who caught the first game and pitched the final four innings of the nightcap. "You have to come back and score some runs and when you don't, it gives the other team a chance to relax and build confidence.

"When we played Washington, we got ahead and we made good swings in 2-0 counts. Tonight we were a little quiet."

Too quiet to suit Coach Mike Kuba.

"We faced much better pitching than we did against Wash, but it was nothing that we shouldn't have been able to make things happen," he said. "We're not getting our bunts down, we're getting picked off, we're not doing the mental things that you need to do to win games.

"It's not just one guy, it's the whole team. We need to get better at the basic fundamentals because that's what is coming back to bite us."

City High, meanwhile, is off to a quick start under first-year coach Brian Mitchell.

"We set our expectations that we have to play the right way. We have to play like Pete Rose and be grittier than everybody else to win," Mitchell said. "The kids have bought in. They understand what we're telling them and we appreciate their effort."

The Little Hawks got good starting pitcher from Sam Mrstik and Mitch Wieland, who each pitched four innings. They got just enough help to get to closer Ryan Duncan, who picked up saves in each game.

"That was gutsy by him," Mitchell said.

City High junior catcher Tyler Stika was injured with two outs in the bottom of the sixth of the nightcap, when a foul tip came up under his mask and hit him in the jaw. Stika reeled around the field before he was subdued by Little Hawks coaches.

"He was out of it," Mitchell said. "I think he was knocked out for a moment."

Jefferson hosts Pleasant Valley in a non-conference game Tuesday. The JV/varsity doubleheader starts at 5 p.m.

GAME 1

IOWA CITY HIGH (8)
Jack Frakes, 2b-p-2b, 3 2 0 0, Mitch Wieland, ss-2b-3b-lf, 3 1 1 1, Josh Crosby, 1b, 4 2 3 1, Sam Mrstik, p-ss, 2 2 1 0, Jared Fountain, cr, 0 0 0 0, Ryan Duncan, cf-p, 3 1 2 0, Tyle Stika, c, 2 0 0 1, Grant Simpson, rf, 2 0 0 0, Erick Kenney, dh, 3 0 1 1, Alex Mills, lf-cf, 0 0 0 0, Mitch Hasler, 3b-p-3b, 4 0 0 0. Totals 26 8 8 4.

JEFFERSON (5)
Dylan Jellison, 2b, 3 2 1 0, Christian Knox, cf, 4 2 1 1, Jordan Dee, 1b, 4 1 2 0, Austin Goodell, rf, 4 0 2 1, Chance Tiedtke, p, 2 0 0 0, Layne Sullivan, cr-p, 0 0 0 0, Sam Techau, 3b, 4 0 1 0, Colten Jourdan, c, 4 0 0 0, Ky Kramer, ss, 1 0 0 0, Aaron Gruwell, lf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 28 5 7 2.

Iowa City High 301 031 0 -- 8 8 4
Jefferson        101 010 2 -- 5 7 3

Mrstik, Frakes (5), Hasler (7), Duncan (7) and Stika. Tiedtke, Sullivan (6) and Jourdan. W - Mrstik. L - Tiedtke. Sv - Duncan. 2B - Wieland, Crosby. HR - Knox. SB - Mrstik, Duncan, Kenney, Dee.

GAME 2

IOWA CITY HIGH (6)
Frakes, 2b-cf, 3 1 2 2, Wieland, p-rf, 3 0 2 0, Fountain, cr, 0 0 0 0, Crosby, dh-c, 3 0 1 1, Mills, lf-cf, 0 0 0 0, Mrstik, ss, 4 1 1 0, Duncan, cf-p, 3 1 1 0, Stika, c, 3 1 1 2, Parker Reineke, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Simpson, rf-p-lf, 2 1 1 1, Freeman Brenner, pr, 0 0 0 0, Kenney, 1b, 4 0 1 0, Hasler, 3b-2b, 3 1 1 0. Totals 29 6 11 6.

JEFFERSON (2)
Jellison, 2b, 3 1 0 0, Knox, cf, 4 0 3 0, Dee, 1b, 1 0 0 0, Jourdan, p, 3 0 1 1, Hunter Kloubec, cr, 0 0 0 0, Goodell, dh, 1 0 0 0, Sullivan, rf, 0 0 0 0, Tiedtke, lf, 2 0 0 0, Techau, 3b, 1 0 1 0, Ben Koering, c, 2 0 0 0, Gruwell, cr, 0 0 0 0, Kramer, ss, 3 0 0 0, Dylan Wright, p-1b, 3 1 1 0. Totals 23 2 6 1.

Iowa City High   004 000 2 --  6  11  1
Jefferson          000 020 0 --  2   6   4

Wieland, Simpson (5), Duncan (6) and Stika, Crosby (6). Wright, Jourdan (4) and Koering. W - Wieland. L - Wright. Sv - Duncan. 2B - Frakes 2, Stika, Simpson, Kenney, Techau. SB - Stika.