Kennedy Baseball

4 Cougars top all-district baseball

Four members of the Kennedy baseball team have been named all-district by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Kennedy pitcher Sammy Lizarraga, second baseman Zach Daniels and shortstop Derek Jacobus made the first team on the Class 4A Northeast District honor squad. Pitcher Blake Hargens was named second team all-district for the Cougars.

Kennedy (31-6) will play Southeast Polk in the opening round of the state tournament Wednesday night.

Washington third baseman Johnny Dobbs, Jefferson outfielder Spencer Van Scoyoc and Linn-Mar outfielder Manny Jeffery also made the Northeast District first team.

Washington outfielder Landen Akers made second team all-district. Marcus Colbert of Jefferson and Ryan Wyant of Linn-Mar made second team all-district as utility players.

Three players from Xavier and three players from Marion were honored on the Class 3A Northeast District squads.

First baseman Adam Pick and outfielder Bryce Grimm of Xavier were named to the first team along with Marion pitcher Quinn Cannoy. Pitcher David Kuhn and shortstop Christian Stekl of Marion were named to the second unit with Xavier pitcher Ryan Flaherty.

Jacobus boys help Cougars make state

The Kennedy baseball tradition continues.

By beating Davenport West, 5-1, at home Wednesday night the third-ranked Cougars (31-6) go back to the Class 4A state tournament next week for the seventh time in the last nine years.

And like their last appearance at Principal Park in Des Moines two years ago, when they lost to Fort Dodge in the semifinals, there will be two Jacobus boys in the lineup.

In 2012, it was Devin the senior and Derek the sophomore. Now Derek’s the upperclassman and his burly little brother Dalles the 10th grader.

“Devin taught me so much,” said Derek, who had one of seven Kennedy hits Wednesday and knocked in a run. “Now I’m trying to do the same for Dalles.

"I’ve been in some pressure situations. I try to be a leader for the younger guys.”

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No.3 Kennedy escapes Pleasant Valley

Kennedy junior Mitchell Gaffey was feeling a little down on himself after getting picked off second base in the fifth inning of a tie ballgame Friday night, but he was a happy fellow after he scored the winning run in extra innings.

Gaffey raced home on an infield grounder with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning as the third-ranked Cougars escaped an upset bid by Pleasant Valley, 3-2, in the tense opening round of the Class 4A substate tournament at Kennedy.

The Cougars (30-6) draw a second-round bye and will host Davenport West or Bettendorf in the substate finals Wednesday night.

Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer used Gaffey, who has good speed, as a courtesy runner Friday night, so his entire job was to do a good job on the base paths. He got caught napping in the fifth inning of a 2-2 game, but came through when it counted. Sammy Lizarraga led off the bottom of

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No. 3 Cougars split with Spartans

The Kennedy Cougars and Pleasant Valley Spartans played a little game of "I've Got A Secret" during their twinbill at Herkelman Field Tuesday night.

The third-ranked Cougars and Spartans will meet again Friday night at Kennedy in the Class 4A substate tournament and neither coach wanted to give away his secrets in the final games of the regular season.

Kennedy put its varsity lineup on the field in Game 1 and cruised, 6-0,behind a four-hit shutout by Jacob Henry for its 29th win of the year.

Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer backed off in the nightcap and cleared his bench on Senior Night, and by game's end it looked like somebody had kidnapped the Cougars and put strangers in those green-and-white uniforms.

Pleasant Valley took the second game, 10-2.

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