Kennedy Baseball

Cougars have many holes to fill

Kennedy went to the state baseball tournament again in 2012, continuing a run of excellence that put up 33 wins against just seven losses last season.

The Cougars, under the direction of Bret Hoyer, have developed a program to be admired.

Alex Hayden, Nick Appleget, Adam Lloyd and Cody Bell accounted for 30 of those 33 wins and 218 innings last season. Give Devon Jacobus and Zach Johnson 24 more innings and that would mean the seniors accounted for 93 percent of the innings pitched for Kennedy last season.

Bell, Josh Jahlas, Logan Ambrosy and Hayden all hit .386 or better. Jimmy Lizarraga hit .311 and Jacobus added a .310 average. Seniors accounted for 82 percent of the team’s hits, 80 percent of the RBIs, 71 percent of the runs and 100 percent of the home runs.

The graduating seniors will be sorely missed.

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Metro baseball tournament pairings set

The 2013 Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament will be held May 20-22, with the finals scheduled for Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Linn-Mar and Marion High School are the hosts.

The opening-round games at the new Linn-Mar High School field on Monday, May 20 will feature Jefferson against Xavier at 5 p.m. and Prairie against Linn-Mar at 7 p.m.

The opening-round games at Marion on Monday, May 20 will feature Washington against Mount Vernon at 5 p.m. and Marion against Kennedy at 7 p.m.

The second-round games will be played at Linn-Mar and Marion on Tuesday, May 21. The championship and third-place games will be held at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, May 22, with the fifth-place and seventh-place games at Linn-Mar on May 22.

Hoyer named district coach of year

Cedar Rapids Kennedy baseball coach Bret Hoyer was named the Class 4A Northeast District Coach of the Year by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Saturday night at the IHSBCA banquet in Des Moines.

Hoyer led the Cougars to the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament last July. The Cougars tied for the Mississippi Valley Conference title in 2012.

Hoyer also was recognized at the banquet for winning the 600th game of his high school career last season.

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Lizarraga will play ball at Mount Mercy

Chico Lizarraga thought he'd be throwing passes for the Iowa Central Community College football team this fall. Instead, he's decided to throw out baserunners for the Mount Mercy University baseball team next spring.

Lizarraga, an all-state catcher and all-conference quarterback at Kennedy, has changed signals and will pursue a baseball career in college instead of playing football.

Lizarraga hit .320 with 26 RBIs for the Cougars as they compiled a 33-7 record and reached the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament.