Kennedy pitcher Blake Hargens thought it was strange when he struck out seven batters in the first three innings Monday night against Iowa City

High.

Strange, but good.

"It was weird, because I'm normally a groundball pitcher," he said. "And getting all those strikeouts, I was like 'Geez.'"

Hargens tossed a one-hitter with eight strikeouts as the third-ranked Cougars blanked the Little Hawks, 8-0, in the first game of their Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill at Herkelman Field.

Kennedy won the second game, 6-3.

Hargens (5-0, 1.21 ERA) pitched six innings in the opener before giving the ball to Tyler Dralle for a 1-2-3 seventh.

"I was just throwing fastballs and curveballs," said Hargens. "I was locating my pitches right."

Iowa City High (9-13, 5-8) scored three earned runs against Sawyer Neuhaus in the second game, but runs have been hard to come by against the Kennedy pitching staff this season.

The Cougars (16-2, 12-2) have a team earned run average of 2.05, which is the primary reason they are ranked third in the state with an impressive record.

Zach Daniels, Jimmy Lizarraga and Hargens started on the mound for Kennedy last year as sophomores and all three have improved this season. Neuhaus, Dralle and Jacob Henry give the Cougars a deep and effective staff.

Henry pitched three perfect innings in relief in the nightcap Monday.

Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer did not think his pitching would be this good at the midway point of the season.

"Not this early, no," he said. "We were hopeful, but we like to build for July.

"We hope that after the 4th of July we'll get consistent pitching. It's happened a little earlier than we anticipated."

Dralle ripped a three-run triple in the fifth inning of the opener to give Kennedy a 6-0 advantaqe. Derek Jacobus went 3-for-4 with three runs and three stolen bases. Lizarraga was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Neuhaus (3-1) had a rocky third inning in the nightcap, but he gave the ball to Henry in the fifth inning with a 6-3 lead. Henry closed the door with nine straight outs and three strikeouts.

"That was very encouraging," Hoyer said of Henry's outing.

Daniels and Lizarraga both had two hits and two RBIs in the second game. Ethan Divis had a two-run single in the third inning.

Kennedy plays a doubleheader at Xavier Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Game 1

Iowa City High   000 000 0 - 0 1 1
Kennedy          200 042 x - 8 10 1

W - Hargens (5-0). L - Ringen.

Game 2

Iowa City High   003 000 0 - 3 3 2
Kennedy          132 000 x - 6 8 1

Neuhaus (3-1). L - Haring.